Canada Sends Ten Skaters to Poland for the Fifth Junior Grand Prix

OTTAWA, ON (September 26, 2022) – Canada’s next generation of skaters are scheduled to compete in Gdansk, Poland from September 28 to October 1, 2022, which marks the fifth stop on the ISU Junior Grand Prix circuit. The fourth stop of the series, initially set to take place from September 21-24, was cancelled by the ISU due to safety concerns. A total of ten athletes will be competing at the event, including one woman, three men and three ice dance teams. 

First-year junior and 2022 Canadian Tire National Skating Championships silver medallist Kara Yun will be leading the line for Canada in women. Despite being a newcomer to the junior stage, Yun has previously competed internationally, finishing fourth at last year’s Egna Spring Trophy.  

The men’s team will be led by Alec Guinzbourg, who has competed at several ISU Junior Grand Prix events since joining the Canadian NextGen team and finished just shy of the podium in 2019. Rio Morita will be making his Grand Prix debut in Poland after placing fourth at the 2022 Canadian Tire National Skating Championships last season, while 2022 Egna Spring Trophy bronze medallist David Bondar will be rounding out the team. 

The experienced ice dance duo of Nadiia Bashynska and Peter Beaumont will be competing for the first time this season after a breakthrough 2021-2022 season that saw them win silver at the 2022 Canadian Tire National Skating Championships and bronze at the 2022 ISU World Junior Figure Skating Championships. They will be joined by veterans Hailey Yu and Brendan Giang, as well as 2022 Canadian Tire National Skating Championships novice silver medallists Dana Sabatini-Speciale and Nicholas Buelow.  

The competition starts on Thursday, September 29 with the women’s, pair and men’s short programs. On Friday, pair and women will complete their free program, while ice dance teams will perform their rhythm dance. The event concludes on Saturday with the men’s free program and free dance. The full schedule and results can be found here. 

Team Canada 

Name | Age | Hometown | Coach | Training Location 

Men 
Alec Guinzbourg | 17 | Aurora, Ont. | Lee Barkell & Jeffrey Buttle | Toronto, Ont. 
Rio Morita | 17 | Thornhill, Ont. | Tracey Wilson & Ernest Pryhitka | Toronto, Ont. 
David Bondar | 15 | Richmond Hill, Ont. | Tracey Wainman & Gregor Filipowski | Richmond Hill, Ont. 

Women 
Kara Yun | 13 | Burnaby, B.C. | Joanne McLeod & Neil Wilson | Burnaby, B.C.  

Ice Dance 
Nadiia Bashynska | 18 | Ajax, Ont. & Peter Beaumont | 21 | Ajax, Ont. | Carol Lane & Juris Razgulajevs | Scarborough, Ont.  
Hailey Yu | 17 | Burnaby, B.C. & Brendan Giang | 19 | Burnaby, B.C. | Aaron Lowe & Megan Wing| Burnaby, B.C.
Dana Sabatini-Speciale | 16 | Springwater, Ont. & Nicholas Buelow | 15 | Barrie, Ont. | Mitchell Islam, David Islam & Kelly Johnson | Barrie, Ont.   

Team Leaders – Laura Baker & Shae Zukiwsky
Medical Team – Susan Massitti & Ghislaine Robert
Officials – Karen Howard & Erica Topolski  

For more information, please visit www.isu.org.