Eight Canadian Teams Qualify for the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final

OTTAWA, ON (November 28, 2023) – Canadian skaters of all levels had a remarkable 2023 Grand Prix season, winning a total of 16 medals on the world stage and 16 of them earning the opportunity to represent Canada at the ISU Grand Prix Final taking place in Beijing, China from December 7-12, 2023. In the senior field, Canada will count two pair teams and three ice dance teams, and will be represented by three pair teams in the junior field. 

Senior pair skaters Deanna Stellato-Dudek & Maxime Deschamps have claimed gold at every competition they entered this season, starting with the Autumn Classic International in Montreal, Que., followed by Skate Canada International and the Cup of China. The duo also set a new personal best score and broke the 200-point barrier for the first time, placing them as some of the top contenders in their discipline. They will be joined by Lia Pereira & Trennt Michaud who have had a breakthrough first Grand Prix season together where they claimed silver at Skate America and gold at the Grand Prix de France.  

In ice dance, 2023 ISU World Figure Skating Championships bronze medalists Piper Gilles & Paul Poirier will be looking to defend their 2022 Grand Prix Final title and looked in fine form to do so after winning gold at both Skate Canada International and the Cup of China. Canadian Champions Laurence Fournier Beaudry & Nikolaj Soerensen are also looking strong after capturing silver medals at the Grand Prix de France and NHK Trophy, while Marjorie Lajoie & Zachary Lagha, who also claimed two silver medals, will be competing at their first Grand Prix Final. 

Junior Grand Prix series rookies Martina Ariano Kent & Charly Laliberté Laurent were the top Canadian junior pair team to qualify for the final with a gold medal finish at the ISU Junior Grand Prix event in Austria, and a bronze medal at the Budapest, Hungary Junior Grand Prix. The new team of Jazmine Desrochers & Kieran Thrasher also made their Junior Grand Prix series debut this year and captured two bronze medals from the Istanbul, Turkey and Gdansk, Poland Junior Grand Prix events. In their second year on the Junior Grand Prix circuit, Ava Kemp and Yohnatan Elizarov won gold at the Gdansk, Poland event, and finished fourth at the Budapest, Hungary competitions to earn their spot at the Final for the second year in a row. 

The competition starts on Thursday, December 7 with the junior and senior pair short programs. The following day, medals will be awarded to senior pair skaters, while the senior ice dance teams will complete their rhythm dance. The competition will wrap up on Saturday, December 9 with medals being awarded to both junior pair skaters and senior ice dance teams. The exhibition gala will take place on Sunday. 

For full entry lists and results, please click here.  

Team Canada   

Name | Age | Hometown | Coach | Training Location   

Senior Pair
Lia Pereira | 19 | Milton, Ont. &  Trennt Michaud | 27 | Brantford, Ont. | Alison Purkiss | Brantford, Ont.  

Deanna Stellato-Dudek | 40 | Chicago, USA & Maxime Deschamps | 31 | Vaudreuil-Dorion, Que. | Josée Picard | Vaudreuil-Dorion, Que. 

Senior Ice Dance
Laurence Fournier Beaudry | 31 | Montreal, Que. &  Nikolaj Soerensen | 34 | Montreal, Que. | Marie-France Dubreuil & Patrice Lauzon | Montreal, Que.  

Piper Gilles | 31 | Toronto, Ont. & Paul Poirier | 32 | Unionville, Ont. | Carol Lane & Juris Razgulajevs | Scarborough, Ont. 

Marjorie Lajoie | 23 | Boucherville, Que. &  Zachary Lagha | 23 | Saint-Hubert, Que. | Pascal Denis & Romain Haguenauer | Montreal, Que.  

Junior Pair 
Martina Ariano Kent | 16 | Mount Royal, Que. & Charly Laliberté-Laurent | 18 | Boucherville, Que. | Marc-André Craig & David Alexandre Paradis | Chambly, Que.   

Jazmine Desrochers | 16 | Mississauga, Ont. & Kieran Thrasher | 19 | Amherstburg, Ont. | Bruno Marcotte | Oakville, Ont. 

Ava Kemp | 15 | Winnipeg, Man. & Yohnatan Elizarov | 19 | Winnipeg, Man. | Lee Barkell & Kevin Dawe | Toronto, Ont. 

Team Leaders – Andre Bourgeois & Mike Slipchuk
Medical Team – Mireille Landry & Lee Schofield
Officials – Jodi Abbott & Reaghan Fortin