World-Class Talent Heads to Vancouver for 2023 Skate Canada International

OTTAWA, ON (October 23, 2023) – Following a successful weekend at Skate America that saw Canadians win two silver medals, the ISU Grand Prix series stops in Vancouver, B.C. this week for the 49th edition of Skate Canada International. The event, which will be held at the Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre from October 27-29, 2023, will draw some of the top skaters from around the world, including two-time ISU World Champion Kaori Sakamoto (JPN), 2023 ISU World silver medalist Junhwan Cha (KOR), 2023 ISU Four Continents Champion Kao Miura (JPN), ISU European silver medalists Lilah Fear & Lewis Gibson (GBR), as well as eighteen talented Canadian athletes. 

Three-time Skate Canada International winners Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier will be the favourites in the ice dance event, with the duo finishing third at the 2023 ISU World Figure Skating Championships and achieving several career-best results last season. They will be joined by 2022-2023 Skate Canada Challenge winners Alicia Fabbri and Paul Ayer, as well as Molly Lanaghan and Dmitre Razgulajevs.  

In the pair event, all three teams will be vying for a spot on the podium after winning medals at their respective Grand Prix assignments last year. Deanna Stellato-Dudek and Maxime Deschamps will be among the top contenders, with the team coming off a win at 2023 Autumn Classic International a few weeks ago. They will be joined by 2022 NHK Trophy bronze medalists Brooke McIntosh and Benjamin Mimar and 2022 Skate America bronze medalists Kelly Ann Laurin and Loucas Éthier.  

2023 Canadian Champion Maddie Schizas will be looking to better her result from last year after finishing 7th in the women’s event. Kaiya Ruiter, who recently finished second at the 2023 Autumn Classic International, and Sara-Maude Dupuis will be competing alongside her as they both make their senior Grand Prix debut in front of a home crowd. 

Completing the team will be 2023 Cranberry Cup International silver medalist Wesley Chiu, 2023 Canadian Tire National Skating Championships silver medalist Conrad Orzel and Aleksa Rakic, who will be replacing Roman Sadovsky. 

Competition starts on Friday, October 27 with every discipline performing their short program/rhythm dance. All medals will be awarded on Saturday, October 28, as all disciplines will perform their free program/free dance. The event concludes on Sunday with the exhibition gala. For more information about the event or to view the livestream, click here. To purchase single-session tickets, visit ticketmaster.ca. 

Team Canada 

Name | Age | Hometown | Coach | Training Location 

Women
Sara-Maude Dupuis | 18 | Montreal, Que. | Stéphane Yvars & Françoise Parisé | Boucherville, Que. 
Kaiya Ruiter | 17 | Calgary, Alta. | Scott Davis | Calgary Alta. 
Madeline Schizas | 20 | Oakville, Ont. | Nancy Lemaire & Derek Schmidt | Milton, Ont.    

Men
Wesley Chiu | 18 | Vancouver, B.C. | Keegan Murphy & Eileen Murphy | Richmond, B.C.
Conrad Orzel | 23 | Toronto, Ont. | Ravi Walia | Edmonton, Alta.
Aleksa Rakic | 19 | Burnaby, B.C.| Joanne McLeod | Burnaby, B.C.  

Pair
Kelly Ann Laurin | 17 | St-Jérôme, Que. & Loucas Éthier | 23 | Deux-Montagnes, Que. | Stéphanie Valois | Rosemère, Que.   
Brooke McIntosh | 18 | Toronto, Ont. & Benjamin Mimar | 22 | Terrebonne, Que. | Andrew Evans & Alexander Sheldrick | Brantford, Ont.
Deanna Stellato-Dudek | 40 | Chicago, USA & Maxime Deschamps | 31 | Vaudreuil-Dorion, Que. | Josée Picard | Sainte-Julie, Que.    

Ice Dance
Alicia Fabbri | 20 | Terrebonne, Que. & Paul Ayer | 25 | Brossard, Que. | Marie-France Dubreuil & Patrice Lauzon | Montreal, Que. 
Piper Gilles | 31 | Toronto, Ont. & Paul Poirier | 31 | Unionville, Ont. | Carol Lane & Juris Razgulajevs | Scarborough, Ont.
Molly Lanaghan | 24 | Doncaster, GB & Dmitre Razgulajevs | 26 | Ajax, Ont. | Carol Lane & Juris Razgulajevs | Scarborough, Ont.    

Team Leaders – Carolyn Allwright & Cynthia Ullmark
Medical Team – Tatiana Jevremovic & Agnes Makowski
Officials – Beth Crane, Glenn Fortin, Reaghan Fortin & Erica Topolski