National Day for Truth and Reconciliation

/by

On the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, Skate Canada joins those taking time to mourn, listen, and learn with Indigenous communities of Turtle Island. We recognize sport and society are reflections of each other, and commit to working toward truth and reconciliation within the skating community.

Education is essential for truth and reconciliation. If you are not sure where to begin, to learn about residential schools, and survivors’ stories, start here: Residential Schools podcast series; TRC volume featuring survivors’ stories; exhibits (links to add —

“Where are the Children” website and virtual exhibit: https://legacyofhope.ca/wherearethechildren/

Witness Blanket http://witnessblanket.ca/#! )

We also encourage you to learn more about the role of sport in residential schools

Coaches can take action for truth and reconciliation by completing the Aboriginal Coaching Module and the Sport for Life e-learning course on Indigenous Sport and Physical Activity Participation

ISU Junior Grand Prix Action Continues Canada’s NextGen Skater’s Head to Poland

/by

OTTAWA, ONT: Gdansk, Poland is the next stop for Canada’s NextGen skaters on the ISU Junior Grand Prix circuit. It has been an exciting season so far, capturing seven medals to date. At every stop on the circuit, Canada’s junior skaters are competing for a spot at the ISU Junior Grand Prix Final. Skate Canada will have four entries for a total of seven skaters competing at the event. There will be one entry in women, one entry in pairs and two entries in ice dance. This event is scheduled to take place from September 29 to October 2, 2021.    

Catherine Carle, 18 from Georgetown, Ont., will be Canada’s only entry in the women’s discipline. Carle captured the silver medal in junior women at Skate Canada Challenge in 2020. She also placed fourth at the 2019 Volvo Open Cup in Riga, Latvia. Carle is coached by Bruno Marcotte and Brian Shales in Oakville, Ont.  

Chloe Panetta, 18 from Oakville, Ont., and Kieran Thrasher, 17 from Amherstburg, Ont., are Canada’s only pairs entry. This duo previously placed first at the 2021 John Nicks Pairs Challenge in New York. This is their first Junior Grand Prix. Panetta and Thrasher are coached by Bruno Marcotte and Brian Shales in Oakville, Ont.  

Hailey Yu, 16, Burnaby, B.C., and Brendan Giang, 18, Burnaby, B.C., are one of two teams representing Canada in the ice dance discipline. This ice dance team won a bronze medal in the novice division at the Bavarian Open in 2020. They are coached by Aaron Lowe and Meghan Wing in Burnaby, B.C.   

Chaima Ben Khelifa, 16, Laval, Que., and Everest Zhu, 18, Contestogo, Ont., are the second entry in the ice dance discipline at this event. This is their second Junior Grand Prix event, having previously competed at Courchevel, France #2 where they placed eigth. They are coached by Shawn Winter and Elise Hamel in Pierrefonds, Que.   

Dr. Shae Zukiwsky, Skate Canada Senior Director of Performance Excellence and Laura Baker, Skate Canada High Performance Manager will be the Canadian team leaders at this event. Physiotherapist Agnes Makowski of Toronto, Ont., and Dr. Delphine Boury-Simoes of Drummondville, Que., will be the Canadian medical staff on site. Glenn Fortin of Aurora, Ont., and Christine Bourdeau of Laval, Que., will be the Canadian officials at the event.   

For more information visit www.isu.org 

 

CANADIAN ENTRIES AT ISU JGP #6 – GDANSK, POLAND 

Women 
Catherine Carle (18) / Georgetown, Ont. / Skate Oakville / Coached by  Bruno Marcotte and Brian Shales 

Pairs
Chloe Panetta (18) and Kieran Thrasher (17) / Oakville, Ont. and Amherstburg, Ont. / Skate Oakville and Skate Oakville / Coached by Bruno Marcotte and Brian Shales

Ice Dance 
Hailey Yu (16) and Brendan Giang (18) / Burnaby, B.C. and Burnaby, B.C. /  Inlet SC and Champs International Skating Centre of B.C / Coached by Aaron Lowe and Meghan Wing

Chaima Ben Khelifa (16) and Everest Zhu (18) / Laval QC. and Contestogo, Ont. / CPA Laval and Club de Patinage Des-Deux-Rives / Coached by Shawn Winter and Elise Hamel 

D’Alessandro and Waddell Win Second ISU Junior Grand Prix Medal

/by

LJUBLJANA – Toronto ice dancers Natalie D’Alessandro and Bruce Waddell earned a second medal this season on the ISU Junior Grand Prix figure skating circuit on Saturday with a bronze.

Russians Vasilia Kaganovskaia and Valeriy Angelopol maintained top spot for the gold with 167.22 points. Katarina Wolfkostin and Jeffrey Chen of the U.S. took the silver with 163.25 and the Canadians took third spot with 161.79.

D’Alessandro and Waddell beat the Russians three weeks ago for gold at the third stop in Slovakia and were a close second after Friday’s rhythm dance.

Alyssa Robinson of Ridgetown, Ont., and Jacob Portz of Calgary made an impressive climb in the standings with their free dance surging from 11th to sixth overall with 132.09 in their Junior Grand Prix debut.

In women’s competition, Adeliia Petrosian led Russia to a 1-2 finish. Sofia Samodelkina was second and Lindsay Thorngren of the U.S. was third.

Audréanne Foster of Forestville, Que., was 12th in her Junior Grand Prix debut.

‘’It was a wonderful experience,’’ said the 17-year-old Foster. ‘’I’m really proud of both my programs.’’

The next stop on the circuit is this upcoming Thursday to Saturday in Gdansk, Poland.

Full results: http://www.isuresults.com/results/season2122/jgpslo2021/

Canadian ice dancers in hunt for second gold at ISU Junior Grand Prix

/by

LJUBLJANA – Ice dancers Natalie D’Alessandro and Bruce Waddell are chasing a a second victory on the ISU Junior Grand Prix figure skating circuit this season.

The Toronto couple are second after Friday’s rhythm dance with 64.26 points, just slightly behind Russians Vasilia Kaganovskaia and Valeriy Angelopol currently first with 66.00. Katarina Wolfkostin and Jeffrey Chen of the U.S. are third at 62.99.

D’Alessandro and Waddell earned their first international victory at the third stop in Kosice finishing ahead of the same Russians. They were just 0.22 points off their personal best rhythm dance set three weeks ago.

Alyssa Robinson of Ridgetown, Ont., and Jacob Portz of Calgary are 11th.

The men’s free skate was also held on Friday. Alec Guinzbourg of Aurora, Ont., finished 10th in his third appearance on the circuit. Ilya Yablokov of Russia won the event.

‘’My experience here was great,’’ said Guinzbourg, 17. ‘’Even tough the programs were not the best, it still felt good to be out there competing.’’

In Thursday’s women’s short program, Audréanne Foster of Forestville, Que., was ninth.

Competition ends Saturday with the free dance and the women’s free.

Full results: http://www.isuresults.com/results/season2122/jgpslo2021/

Roman Sadovsky snares Olympic spot for Canada at Nebelhorn Trophy

/by

OBERSTDORF, Germany – Roman Sadovsky accomplished his goal on Friday by earning a second Olympic spot in men’s singles for Canada by placing eighth at the Nebelhorn Trophy, a stop on the ISU Challenger Series figure skating circuit.

The 22-year-old from Vaughan, Ont., needed to be in the top-seven countries competing for a spot. One skater in the top-eight was not eligible for a qualifying spot.

‘’I didn’t think it would nearly as hard as what it was,’’ he said. ‘’I was training for this competition and I felt confident but once I stepped on the ice it hit really differently. I’m glad I got that Olympic spot and it’s out of the way.’’

Vincent Zhou of the U.S. took the gold medal with 284.23 points, Adam Siao Him Fa of France was second at 243.78 and Mark Kondratiuk of Russia third at 241.06. Sadovksy scored 207.62, just over four points ahead of two skaters from Turkey.

Skating to Chasing Cars by Snow Patrol, Sadovsky had a rough start to his program falling on his opening quad Salchow. However he quickly regained his composure and improved throughout the skate.

‘’It would have been a little bit of a nightmare if I didn’t get the spot,’’ he said. ‘’I know I’d be beating myself up but I did what I had to do and I’m happy about it.’’

Canada earned one spot in men’s singles at the word championships this past spring when Keegan Messing posted a sixth-place finish.

Sadovsky was the only Canadian entry at the competition.

Full results: http://www.isuresults.com/results/season2122/csger2021/

Roman Sadovsky on track for second Olympic spot for Canada at Nebelhorn Trophy

/by

OBERTSDORF – Roman Sadovsky of Vaughan, Ont., stands on the edge of earning a second Olympic qualifying spot for Canada placing eighth in Thursday’s men’s short program at the Nebelhorn Trophy, a stop on the ISU Challenger Series figure skating circuit.

Vincent Zhou of the U.S. is first with 97.35 points, Adam Siao Him Fa of France second at 89.23 and Brendan Kerry of Australia third at 85.89.

Sadovsky, the 2020 national senior champion, fell on his opening quadruple Salchow but continuously improved afterwards hanging on to his triple Axel and triple Lutz jumps.

In the men’s event, the top-seven among qualifying countries gets an additional spot for the 2022 Olympic Winter Games.

Gabriele Frangiapani of Italy currently in fourth is not eligible for the Olympic qualifying leaving the 22-year-old Canadian with the last qualifying spot heading into Friday’s free skate.

Canada earned one spot in men’s singles at the word championships this past spring when Keegan Messing posted a sixth-place finish.

Sadovsky is the only Canadian entry at the competition.

Full results: http://www.isuresults.com/results/season2122/csger2021/

Ljubljana, Slovenia is the Next Stop for Canada’s Junior Skaters

/by

OTTAWA, ON: The ISU Junior Grand Prix continues this weekend in Lujbljana, Slovenia. Canada’s junior skaters have secured six medals on the circuit thus far and continue to compete for a spot at the ISU Junior Grand Prix Final. Skate Canada will have four entries for a total six skaters competing at the event. There will be one entry in men, one entry in women, and two entries in ice dance. This event is scheduled to take place from September 22 to 25, 2021.   

Alec Guinzbourg, 17, from Aurora, Ont., will be Canada’s only entry in the men’s discipline for Canada at this event. Guinzbourg placed fourth at the 2019 Junior Grand Prix in Chelyabinsk, Russia. Guinzbourg also won a bronze medal in junior men’s at the 2019 Canadian Tire National Skating Championships. Alec is coached by Lee Barkell and Jeffrey Buttle. 

Audréanne Foster, 17, from Forestville, Que., will be Canada’s only entry in the women’s discipline at the event. Foster won a bronze medal at the Bavarian Open in 2020. She was the novice women’s silver medallist at the 2020 Canadian Tire National Skating Championships. Foster is coached by Karen Sauvageau and Kim Decelles. 

Keep an eye out for Natalie D’Alessandro, 17, Toronto, Ont., and Bruce Waddell, 19, Toronto, Ont., as they head to their second Junior Grand Prix event this season. This ice dance team is on the heels of their gold medal win at the Junior Grand Prix in Kosice, Slovakia earlier in September. D’Alessandro and Waddell also won a silver medal in 2019 at the Junior Grand Prix in Egna-Bolanza, Italy and a bronze medal at the 2020 Bavarian Open. They are coached by Andrew Hallam, Joey Russell and Tracy Wilson.  

Alyssa Robinson, 18, Ridgetown, Ont., and Jacob Portz, 20, Calgary, Alta., are Canada’s second ice dance entry at the event. This is their first Junior Grand Prix. They are coached by Kim Weeks and Tyler Myles in Calgary, Alta.  

Manon Perron of Boucherville, Que., and Raoul LeBlanc of Milton, Ont., will be the Canadian Team Leaders at the event. Physiotherapist, Sylvia Ciurysek of Berwyn, Alta., and Dr. Marianne Chabot of Boucherville, Que., will be the Canadian medical staff on-site. Ron Conacher of Toronto, Ont., and Jacqueline Wickett-Warren of Ottawa, Ont., will be the Canadian officials at the event.  

For more information www.isu.org 

 

CANADIAN ENTRIES AT ISU JGP #5 – LJUBLJANA,SLOVENIA 

Men  
Alec Guinzbourg (17) / Aurora, Ont. / Granite Club / Coached by Lee Barkell and Jeffrey Buttle

Women 
Audréanne Foster (17) / Forestville, Que. / Patinage Baie-Comeau / Coached by Karen Sauvageau and Kim Decelles.

Ice Dance 
Natalie D’Alessandro (17) and Bruce Waddell (19) / Toronto, Ont. and Toronto, Ont. / Toronto Cricket Skating and Curling Club and Toronto Cricket Skating and Curling Club / Coached by Andrew Hallam, Joey Russell and Tracy Wilson.

Alyssa Robinson (18) and Jacob Portz (20) / Ridgetown, Ont. and Calgary, Alta.. / Calata FSC and Calata FSC / Coached by Kim Weeks and Tyler Myles.  

Roman Sadovsky to Compete at Nebelhorn Trophy

/by

OTTAWA, ON: Roman Sadovsky, Canada’s 2020 National Men’s Champion is headed to Nebelhorn Trophy to compete for Canada’s second men’s berth at the 2022 Olympic Winter Games. The Nebelhorn Trophy is an Olympic qualifier and the third stop of the ISU Challenger Series. The event is scheduled to take place from September 21-25, 2021, in Oberstdorf, Germany.

Roman Sadovsky is 22 years old, from Vaughan, Ont., and is the reigning Canadian men’s champion having won the gold medal at the 2020 Canadian Tire National Skating Championships. Sadovsky also took home the gold medal at 2021 Skate Canada Challenge and won a bronze medal at both the 2019 NHK Trophy and the Finlandia Trophy in 2019. Roman is coached by Tracey Wainman and Grzegorz Filipowski.

Mike Slipchuk, Skate Canada High Performance Director will be the team leader at this event. Karen Butcher, Skate Canada President of Greely Ont., will also be attending the event. Physiotherapist Scott Fraser of Kingston, Ont., will be the Canadian medical staff onsite and Andrea Derby of Uxbridge, Ont., will be the Canadian Official attending the event.

For more information, please visit www.isu.org 

CANADIAN ENTRIES AT ISU CS NEBELHORN TROPHY – OBERSTDORF, GERMANY

Men
Roman Sadovsky (22) / Vaughan, Ont. / York Region Skating Centre / Coached by Tracey Wainman and Grzegorz Filipowski

 

Gilles and Poirier Open International Season with Victory at Autumn Classic International

/by

PIERREFONDS, Que. – Ice dancers Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier of Toronto opened their international season Saturday with a victory to conclude the Autumn Classic International figure skating competition.

The world championship bronze medallists earned 208.97 points for top spot with Olivia Smart and Adrian Diaz of Spain second at 191.31 and Caroline Green and Michael Parsons of the U.S. third at 188.43.

‘’We’re very pleased with the way both programs went,’’ said Poirier. ‘’We didn’t try to force things or have that perfect skate. We just want to get everything sharper and we’re really excited to deliver such a strong showing and show that we keep improving.’’

Marjorie Lajoie of Boucherville, Que., and Zachary Lagha of St-Hubert, Que., the 2019 world junior champions, totalled 181.74 for fourth.

‘’We’re really happy with the free dance and we didn’t hold back,’’ said Lagha. ‘’During the off season we really worked on our skating skills and made some needed changes to our programs.’’

Carolane Soucisse of Chateauguay, Que., and Shane Firus of North Vancouver were fifth and Haley Sales of Kelowna, B.C., and Nikolas Wamsteeker of Langley, B.C. took sixth.

In an all-Canadian men’s event, Conrad Orzel of Woodbridge, Ont., took the gold with 207.31 points, Bennet Toman of Brampton, Ont., was second at 172.33 and Beres Clements of Gibson, B.C., third at 153.48.

After landing two quads in the short on Friday, Orzel couldn’t execute them cleanly in the free skate and he also fell on one of his triple Axels.

‘’There’s some good takeaways from this competition despite a really bad long,’’ said Orzel, 21, sixth at this event in 2019. ‘’There’s no way of sugar coating it, it was not what I had been showing in practice. But it helps me re-evaluate how I should prepare when I compete.’’

Besides Saturday’s four medals, Canada also won a silver in pairs with Vanessa James and Eric Radford on Friday.

Full results: https://results.skatecanada.ca/2021ACI/

Canadian Ice Dancers Fourth at ISU Junior Grand Prix

/by

KRASNOYARSK, Russia – Nadiia Bashynska and Peter Beaumont of Ajax, Ont., were less than three points from the podium on Saturday finishing fourth in the ice dancing event to conclude the fourth stop on the ISU Junior Grand Prix figure skating circuit.

Russia was 1-2 with Irina Khavronina and Dario Cirisano taking the gold with 167.31 points and Sofia Leonteva and Daniil Gorelkin second at 165.14. Angela Ling and Caleb Wein of the U.S. were third at 160.23.

Bashynska and Beaumont remained in fourth earning an international best 157.34. They won a bronze at the ISU Junior Grand Prix in Chelyabinsk, Russia in 2019 and were silver medallists in junior at the 2020 Canadian Tire National Skating Championships.

‘’We’re pretty satisfied with both of our skates,’’ said Bashynska. ‘’We need to fix some technical issues that we had here for our next event.’’

Emma Goodstadt of Oakville, Ont., and Michael Barsoum of North York, Ont., were 11th in their international debut.

The Russians grabbed the top-five positions in women’s competition led by Sofia Akateva who won the gold medal.

Lia Pereira of Milton, Ont., in her Junior Grand Prix debut, was 10th.

‘’I learned a lot more about myself about how to handle the pressure of an event like this,’’ said Pereira. ‘’It was an amazing experience.’’

Canada ends the competition with a bronze medal earned by Wesley Chiu of Richmond, B.C., on Friday in the men’s event.

The next stop on the circuit is this upcoming Thursday to Saturday in Ljubljana, Slovenia.

Full results: http://www.isuresults.com/results/season2122/jgprus2021/

James and Radford Take Silver in International Debut at Autumn Classic International

/by

PIERREFONDS, Que. – Vanessa James and Eric Radford launched their new partnership for Canada with a silver medal in pairs on Friday at the Autumn Classic International figure skating competition.

This past April, two-time world champion and three-time Olympic medallist Radford announced he was coming out of retirement to skate for Canada once again. But this time it was with new partner Vanessa James, a European champion and world championship medallist who formerly competed for France.

Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara of Japan stayed in first place for the victory Friday with 204.06 points followed by the new Canadian pair with 184.01. Ashley Cain-Gribble and Timothy Leduc of the U.S. hung on for third with 170.64.

Skating to Harry Styles, James and Radford opened with a solid triple twist and executed a clean throw triple Salchow later on. But they were shaky on their side-by-side jumps with James falling once and stepping out of another.

‘’We were hoping for better obviously,’’ said Radford, 36. ‘’But there’s so much for us we have to keep in perspective, and we are finding out how to do this. We know we are going to have a clearer target at our next competition. We have a huge opportunity here and that’s how we are going to take this.’’

‘’For me it’s a learning lesson on how to control my stress,’’ added the 33-year-old James, born in Scarborough, Ont. ‘’I’m taking this as a step in our career.’’

Deanna Stellato-Dudek and Maxime Deschamps of Vaudreuil, Que., missed a berth on the podium by less than a point finishing fourth at 169.91 while Lori-Ann Matte and Thierry Ferland of Levis, Que., remained seventh.

In the women’s free skate, Marilena Kitromillis of Cyprus won the gold ahead of two South Koreans: Young You and Seoyeon Ji.

Emily Bausback of Vancouver, B.C. was the top Canadian climbing from ninth to seventh. Gabrielle Daleman of Newmarket, Ont., was eighth and Alison Schumacher of Tecumseh, Ont., 10th.

“There’s a lot of positive takeaways from this competition,’’ said Bausback, whose free skate ranked sixth. ‘’I learned a lot about myself and how to deal with my nerves. It’s something I can build on going into Skate Canada International.’’

In ice dancing, world championship bronze medallists Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier of Toronto, Ont. are first after the rhythm dance with 83.35, Olivia Smart of Adrian Diaz of Spain are second at 75.20 and Caroline Green and Michael Parsons of the U.S. third at 73.93.

‘’We were very pleased with our speed today because it’s always hard to come out for the first event and not overdo it,’’ said Gilles. ‘’We skated very sensible and considering where we are in the season, we are super happy.’’

There are three other Canadian entries: Marjorie Lajoie of Boucherville, Que., and Zachary Lagha of St-Hubert, Que., are fourth at 71.27, Carolane Soucisse of Chateauguay, Que., and Shane Firus of North Vancouver are fifth at 65.11 and Haley Sales of Kelowna, B.C., and Nikolas Wamsteeker of Langley, B.C. are sixth at 59.91.

All three entries in men’s competition are Canadian. After the short program, Conrad Orzel of Woodbridge, Ont., is first with 80.82 points, Bennet Toman of Brampton, Ont., second at 63.30 and Beres Clements of Gibson, B.C., third at 55.48.

‘’I was really nervous and holding back on some of the jumps,’’ said Orzel, 21, in his third season at the senior level.

The ISU Challenger Series provides an opportunity for senior skaters to compete at an international level and earn world ranking points.

Competition ends Saturday at the Pierrefonds Sportplexe with the men’s free skate and the free dance.

Full results: https://results.skatecanada.ca/2021ACI/

Canada’s Wesley Chiu lands first international event quad, wins bronze medal at ISU Junior Grand Prix

/by

KRASNOYARSK, Russia – Wesley Chiu of Richmond, B.C., landed his first quad jump at an international event on route to a bronze medal in men’s competition on Friday at the fourth stop on the the ISU Junior Grand Prix figure skating circuit.

Gleb Lutfullin led Russia to a 1-2 finish with 230.42 points while Egor Rukhin was second at 223.29. The sixteen-year-old Chiu, fourth after Thursday’s short program, climbed one spot for the bronze with a personal best 217.59.

Skating to music by Muse, Chiu executed a clean long program which included landing a quad toe loop for his second medal on the circuit this season. He earned gold at the second stop in France.

‘’It’s another great milestone I’ve achieved,’’ said Chiu, about landing the quad ‘’I look forward to doing more in the future.  Today’s free was a fight for sure, but it was all worth it in the end.’’

In the women’ short program, Russian skaters grabbed the top four spots led by Sofia Akateva. Lia Pereira of Milton, Ont., in her Junior Grand Prix debut is ninth.

Nadiia Bashynska and Peter Beaumont of Ajax, Ont., are in the medal hunt in ice dancing standing fourth after the rhythm dance with a career international high 60.35 points. Russia stands 1-2 with Irina Khavronina and Dario Cirisano first at 66.52 and Sofia Leonteva and Daniil Gorelkin second at 63.70. Angela Ling and Caleb Wein of the U.S. are third at 60.35.

Emma Goodstadt of Oakville, Ont., and Michael Barsoum of North York, Ont. are ninth.

Canada has no entries in pairs.

Competition ends Saturday.

Full results: http://www.isuresults.com/results/season2122/jgprus2021/