Skate Canada Statement regarding Figure Skating for Change Canada’s Open Letter

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Skate Canada is deeply troubled by the allegations made in an open letter regarding a club in our organization (Champs International Skating Centre of BC).

Skate Canada would like to acknowledge the open letter that was posted to Twitter today by Figure Skating for Change Canada, we also received the letter via email. We have had no previous contact with this group and have not received any complaints or any communications regarding the matters listed in the letter.

Skate Canada is committed to providing an environment where everyone can experience the joy of skating in a safe and healthy manner. We take misconduct extremely seriously, and we have a comprehensive process to address allegations of such behaviour.

In accordance with our policies, Skate Canada has referred the allegations listed in the letter to Skate-Safe. All matters related to misconduct at Skate Canada are managed by Skate-Safe, a misconduct reporting system that is operated by IntegrityCounts a third-party service provider. Complaints received through Skate-Safe are submitted to an independent external Case Manager to ensure an independent review, investigation, and disposition.

Skate-Safe will review the information and determine if the matter should be redirected to Abuse-Free Sport and the Office of the Sport Integrity Commissioner.  Complainants can also report directly to Abuse-Free Sport.

Skate Canada recognizes that historically we have not always had the proper policies and processes in place to address misconduct but since the launch of the National Safe Sport Program in 2019 we believe we are equipped to support our community. We know that trust must be earned, and we hope to rebuild that trust with any members who have been negatively impacted.

Our dedication to a safe environment is a top priority and we have responded directly to Figure Skating for Change Canada through email. We have invited them to work in collaboration to achieve our collective goals in making skating a safe environment for everyone.

All-Event Tickets On Sale Now for 2023 Skate Canada International

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All-event tickets for the 2023 Skate Canada International are on sale now! Tickets can be purchased at ticketmaster.ca for full access to competitions, as well as Thursday practices, and the highly coveted Exhibition Gala. 

All-event tickets will be priced at: P1: $350, P2: $300, P3: $275, P4: $225. All prices are in Canadian dollars, plus applicable taxes, and fees. 

The 2023 Skate Canada International will take place at the Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre, in Vancouver, B.C., from October 27-29, 2023. 

For more information about tickets click here.  

Calgary to Host 2024 Canadian National Skating Championships

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OTTAWA, ON (April 26, 2023) – Skate Canada is pleased to announce that Calgary, Alta. will host the 2024 Canadian National Skating Championships from January 8-14, 2024. The week-long competition will take place at WinSport Arena at Canada Olympic Park, a world-class facility that has played host to multiple high-profile events in the past. The championships will feature the best Canadian figure skaters in men, women, pair, ice dance, and synchronized skating competing at both the junior and senior levels.  

‘’We are excited to return to WinSport Arena after a highly successful 2023 ISU World Junior Figure Skating Championships at this facility,’’ said Debra Armstrong, Chief Executive Officer at Skate Canada. ‘’Calgary is no stranger to hosting sports events and we are confident that athletes from across the country will have a memorable experience at these Canadian National Skating Championships.’’ 

“Calgary looks forward to welcoming back the best skaters from across the country in January 2024,” said Carson Ackroyd, Senior Vice President of Sales with Tourism Calgary. “This event will inject a projected $3.1 million into our visitor economy and will bring hundreds of athletes, coaches, and officials to the city allowing for the opportunity to showcase Calgary’s venues, accommodations, and unique winter visitor experiences.” 

Athletes competing at the 2024 Canadian National Skating Championships will be vying for spots on the Skate Canada National Team and the Canadian teams that will compete at the ISU Four Continents Figure Skating Championships® 2024, the ISU World Junior Figure Skating Championships® 2024, the ISU World Figure Skating Championships® 2024 in Montréal, the ISU World Junior Synchronized Skating Championships® 2024 and the ISU World Synchronized Skating Championships®2024. 

Join our exclusive mailing list to receive event and ticket information for Skate Canada events.  

Chicken Farmers of Canada become the official meat protein of Skate Canada

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OTTAWA, ON (April 18, 2023) – Chicken Farmers of Canada and Skate Canada are proud to announce a new partnership. Beginning this year, Canadian chicken will be the official meat protein of Skate Canada.

This partnership will support both Skate Canada’s recreational and competitive programing through the CanSkate program and assistance for high performance athletes. CanSkate is Skate Canada’s flagship learn-to-skate program that teaches millions of Canadians to reach their recreational and competitive goals on the ice in communities across Canada. Skate Canada’s high-performance teams compete nationally for Canadian titles and for international medals on the world stage.

“Our shared vision for the promotion of a healthy and active lifestyle will make for an incredibly successful partnership between Chicken Farmers of Canada and Skate Canada,” said Tim Klompmaker, Chair of Chicken Farmers of Canada. “Chicken Farmers of Canada believes that good nutrition is the fuel needed for both mental and physical performance of Canadian athletes.”

“We are thrilled to be partnering with the Chicken Farmers of Canada. To perform at sport, athletes need to fuel their body with healthy choices to succeed on the ice,” said Debra Armstrong, Chief Executive Officer, Skate Canada. “We are looking forward to collaborating with Chicken Farmers of Canada to promote healthy living through both eating and exercise.”

Chicken Farmers of Canada and Skate Canada both have strong Canadian roots and values around healthy lifestyles. Chicken Farmers of Canada represents Canada’s 2,800 chicken farmers, raising Canada’s number one meat protein safely, and to the highest standards of care. Skate Canada is the largest learn-to-skate teaching organization in Canada and is dedicated to creating a nation of skaters both recreationally and competitively.

For more information, please contact:
Lauren Kennedy, Director of Public Affairs and Communications
[email protected]
613-566-5928

All-Event Tickets: 2023 Skate Canada International

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OTTAWA, ON: All-event tickets for the 2023 Skate Canada International will be available for pre-sale on Monday, April 24, 2023, at 10:00 AM ET, and on sale to the public on Thursday, April 27, 2023, at 10:00 AM ET. The 2023 Skate Canada International will be taking place at the Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre, in Vancouver, B.C., from October 27-29, 2023. 

All-event tickets will be priced at P1: $350, P2: $300, P3: $275, P4: $225. All prices are in Canadian dollars, plus applicable taxes, and fees. 

All-event ticket packages will include all competitions, Thursday practices, and the Exhibition Gala. Tickets can be purchased online at ticketmaster.ca. A maximum of eight tickets can be purchased per individual. 

EVENT INFO 

Skate Canada International is the second competition in the annual International Skating Union (ISU) Grand Prix of Figure Skating® Series. The other events take place in the United States (Skate America), France (Grand Prix de France), China (Cup of China), Finland (Grand Prix Espoo), and Japan (NHK Trophy). 

Each skater/team can be assigned to a maximum of two events. Skaters are awarded points based on their placements at their events. The top six from each discipline (men, women, pairs, and ice dance) qualify for the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final®. 

Join our exclusive mailing list to receive early access to event and ticket information for Skate Canada events! 

ISU World Team Trophy a Unifying Experience for Team Canada

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TOKYO, Japan (April 15, 2023) – Team Canada left it all on the ice at the ISU World Team Trophy in Tokyo, Japan. Wrapping up the 2022-2023 season, eight Canadian skaters competed across the three-day team competition, finishing in 6th place with a total of 68 points. Team USA secured the gold medal with 120 points followed by Team Republic of Korea with silver and Team Japan with bronze.

World Team Trophy is a biennial event where team points are awarded by placement in each segment. Individual scores are then added together to calculate an overall team score.

Team Canada could be seen cheering each other on throughout the competition and decked out in Canadian attire. Team captains, ice dancers Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier, ranked 3rd in both their rhythm dance and free dance collecting a total of 20 points.

“This was our first time doing Team Trophy. We got a taste of it at the Games, doing the team event, and I think in a lot of ways the team spirit feeling was really similar,” said Paul Poirier. “We just felt so together, so connected, and the whole experience this week was just a lot of fun. We really got to celebrate skating.”

“We were also rookies with so many other teammates so I think having that experience just makes us that much more united and we just had a bonding experience that we’ll never forget,” said Piper Gilles. “We’re proud of the team and we were proud to represent them here in Tokyo again.”

In eight trips to the World Team Trophy, Canada has finished on the podium three times, winning silver in 2009 and 2013, and bronze in 2012.

In the men’s event, Canada’s Keegan Messing ranked 9th in the short program, and 7th in the free program, and Stephen Gogolev, Toronto, Ont. ranked 12th and 11th.

In the women’s event, Madeline Schizas of Oakville, Ont. finished 4th after a strong short program with a score of 69.76 and a new personal best, and  finished 9th in the free program. Sara-Maude Dupuis from Montréal, Que. finished 11th after the short program and 12th after the free program.

Canada was represented by Deanna Stellato-Dudek and Maxime Deschamps of Vaudreuil-Dorion, Que. in the pairs event. The dynamic duo continued a power season and ranked 3rd in the short program and 4th in the free program ending their incredible season with new personal best score of 129.73.

This competition brings the 2022-2023 competition season to a close. Canadian athletes will return home and eventually begin preparations for the 2023-2024 season.

For full results, click here.

Skate Canada saddened by the passing of Hall of Famer Bernard Ford

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Skate Canada was saddened to learn of the passing of Bernard ‘Bernie’ Ford. Ford was an ice dance coach, choreographer, judge, consultant, and technical instructor. He passed away on April 6, 2023, in Calgary, Alberta.

Instrumental in restructuring the Canadian Ice Dance Test system, Ford established the National Ice Dance Centre of Canada and various skating clubs and summer schools. He was a much sought after coach and trained numerous ice dance teams from around the world to national and international titles. Included amongst his Canadian students were Tracy Wilson and Robert McCall who, under his tutelage from 1982-86, claimed the 1986 world bronze medal.

Ford was a successful choreographer and his influence has been felt in all skating disciplines. A technical master, he assisted the ISU Ice Dance Technical Committee in several areas, passed on his knowledge conducting seminars, and was a co-creator of the Cha-Cha Congelado.

The contributions made by this exceptional builder have truly left their mark on the sport of ice dancing in Canada, and around the world. Ford was inducted into the Skate Canada Hall of Fame in 2007.

Skate Canada offers its sincere sympathies to Bernie’s family and friends.

For more details, please see the obituary.

Piper Gilles & Paul Poirier to Lead Team Canada at 2023 ISU World Team Trophy

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OTTAWA, ON (April 6, 2023) – Eight skaters across all four disciplines will represent Canada at the 2023 ISU World Team Trophy in Tokyo, Japan from April 13 to 16, 2023. The event, which will mark the last competition of the 2022-2023 figure skating season, is reserved for the top six nations who compete in a team format with points awarded based on skaters’ placement. 

Team Canada will be led by 2023 world bronze medalists and 2022 Grand Prix Final winners Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier, who will be looking for a fourth consecutive podium finish this season. They will be joined by pair national champions and Grand Prix de France gold medalists Deanna Stellato-Dudek and Maxime Deschamps, who are coming off a 4th place finish at the ISU World Figure Skating Championships.  

In the singles events, two-time Olympian and 2023 national champion Keegan Messing will be competing in the last competition of his illustrious career. Stephen Gogolev, 2019 Junior Grand Prix Final champion and 4th at the 2023 Canadian Tire National Skating Championships, will also be representing Canada in the men’s event. The women’s field will feature two-time national champion and Olympian Madeline Schizas, as well as 2023 Skate Canada Challenge bronze medalist Sara-Maude Dupuis.  

The competition starts on Thursday, April 13, with rhythm dance and the men’s and women’s short programs. Friday will feature the pair short program, the free dance, and the women’s free program. Competition ends on Saturday, April 15, with the pair and men’s free programs. The Gala Exhibition will take place on Sunday. 

Team Canada 

Name | Age | Hometown | Coach | Training Location 

Men 

Stephen Gogolev | 18 | Toronto, Ont. | Rafael Arutyunyan & Lee Barkell | Irvine, USA
Keegan Messing | 31 | Girdwood, USA | Ralph Burghart | Anchorage, USA 

Women 

Sara-Maude Dupuis | 17 | Montreal, Que. | Stéphane Yvars & Françoise Parisé | Boucherville, Que.
Madeline Schizas | 19 | Oakville, Ont. | Nancy Lemaire & Derek Schmidt | Milton, Ont.    

Pair 

Deanna Stellato-Dudek | 39 | Chicago, USA & Maxime Deschamps | 31 | Vaudreuil-Dorion, Que. | Josée Picard | Vaudreuil-Dorion, Que. 

Ice Dance 

Piper Gilles | 30 | Toronto, Ont. & Paul Poirier | 30 | Unionville, Ont. | Carol Lane & Juris Razgulajevs | Scarborough, Ont.  

For more information about the event, click here.  

Canada’s Les Suprêmes repeat as Synchronized Skating World Champions

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LAKE PLACID, N.Y. – Les Suprêmes, from St-Léonard, Que., successfully defended its title on Saturday at the ISU World Synchronized Skating Championships while Nexxice from Burlington, Ont., took fourth spot.

There were no changes in the top-four after Friday’s short program, with Les Suprêmes taking top spot with a season best 240.98 points which was four points more than last year’s winning performance. The national bronze medalists entered the worlds with two international medals this season including a victory.

The Helsinki Rockettes from Finland won the silver with 239.56 and their compatriots Team Unique was third with 237.68.

Canada’s Nexxice was fourth for the second straight year with 228.08. Nexxice, the national champions, also collected two international podiums prior to worlds including a gold medal.

There were 23 entries in total at the championships.

Full results: ISU World Synchronized Skating Championships 2023