Fifteen Canadian Athletes to Compete on Home Soil at the 2024 ISU World Figure Skating Championships

OTTAWA, ON (February 14, 2024) – There is nothing quite like competing in front of a home crowd, and with the 2024 ISU World Figure Skating Championships being hosted at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Que., from March 18-24, Skate Canada is delighted to name the athletes that will have the opportunity to enjoy this unique milestone next month. 

Canadian athletes will be the ones to beat in both the pair and ice dance competitions as 2024 ISU Four Continents Champions Deanna Stellato-Dudek and Maxime Deschamps in pairs, and Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier in ice dance, headline Team Canada. 

Stellato-Dudek and Deschamps have been enjoying a fantastic season, racking up wins at the Autumn Classic International, Skate Canada International, the Cup of China, the Canadian National Skating Championships, and the Four Continents Championships. Based in Montreal, the pair specifically chose music composed by a Quebec artist for their short program. 

“When Maxime and I were brainstorming ideas for our short program, we knew we had to pay tribute to Maxime’s home and my adopted home of five years,” said Stellato-Dudek about their song choice of “Oxygène” from Cirque du Soleil. “We hope to thrill the audience and do Montreal proud.”  

Deschamps added: “Being able to compete in front of my family and friends will be incredible. I feel very privileged to have this opportunity in my career.” 

Also competing in the pair competition will be Lia Pereira and Trennt Michaud who finished second at the 2024 Canadian National Skating Championships and have stood on the podium at Skate America (silver), and the Grand Prix de France (gold) in their first Grand Prix season together. They will be joined by Kelly Ann Laurin and Loucas Éthier who took bronze at nationals and have top-8 finishes at the Four Continents Championships, NHK Trophy, and Skate Canada International to their credit this season. 

Gilles and Poirier will be among the top contenders in ice dance after claiming bronze at the event last year. The duo enters the competition as Champions at the Four Continents Championships, Cup of China, Skate Canada International, and Canadian National Skating Championships. They will have strong competition from teammates and Montreal natives Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Nikolaj Soerensen who recently captured silver at the 2024 Four Continents Championships, and who have podium finishes at the Grand Prix Espoo (silver) and Grand Prix de France (silver) this season. Rounding out Canada’s ice dance contingent are Quebec athletes Marjorie Lajoie and Zachary Lagha who won silver medals at both the Cup of China and Skate America this season. 

“Paul and I are so excited to be heading to Montreal for the World Championships,” said Gilles. “We had our first World Championships together as a team in London (Ontario), so we know the feeling of skating on home ice. What I remember most is having all our friends and family, and fans cheering for us, and it gave me goose bumps. If this Worlds can be anything like our first one in London, it’s going to be a success.” 

In the men’s competition, newly crowned Canadian champion Wesley Chiu will make his senior World Championships debut and will be joined by 2022 Olympian Roman Sadovsky. Both athletes finished in the top-10 at the recent Four Continents Championships and will be looking to gain valuable experience in front of the Canadian crowd. 

2022 Olympian Madeline Schizas will be Canada’s sole competitor in the women’s field and has had a strong season with a fourth-place finish at Skate Canada International and sixth at the ISU Four Continents Championships. She will be looking to use her years of experience at the international level to challenge the top women skaters in the world. 

The 2024 ISU World Figure Skating Championships will showcase the 200 best figure skaters from 50 countries in four disciplines: men, women, pair, and ice dance. Canada has previously hosted the World Championships 11 times, with Montreal having hosted twice – the last time in 1932.  

TEAM CANADA 

Name | Age | Hometown | Coach | Training Location  

Pair
Kelly Ann Laurin | 18 | St-Jérôme, Que. & Loucas Éthier | 23 | Deux-Montagnes, Que. | Stéphanie Valois | Rosemère, Que.  
Lia Pereira | 19 | Milton, Ont. & Trennt Michaud | 27 | Trenton, Ont. | Alison Purkiss & Nancy Lemaire | Milton, Ont.  
Deanna Stellato-Dudek | 40 | Chicago, USA & Maxime Deschamps | 32 | Vaudreuil-Dorion, Que. | Josée Picard | Vaudreuil-Dorion, Que.   

Ice Dance
Laurence Fournier Beaudry | 31 | Montreal, Que. & Nikolaj Soerensen | 34 | Montreal, Que. | Marie-France Dubreuil & Patrice Lauzon | Montreal, Que.    
Piper Gilles | 32 | Toronto, Ont. & Paul Poirier | 32 | Unionville, Ont. | Carol Lane & Juris Razgulajevs | Scarborough, Ont.
Marjorie Lajoie | 23 | Boucherville, Que. & Zachary Lagha | 24 | Saint-Hubert, Que. | Romain Haguenauer | Montreal, Que. 

Men
Wesley Chiu | 18 | Vancouver, B.C. | Keegan Murphy & Eileen Murphy | Richmond, B.C.
Roman Sadovsky | 24 | Vaughan, Ont. | Tracey Wainman & Grzegorz Filipowski | Richmond Hill, Ont. 

Women
Madeline Schizas | 21 | Oakville, Ont. | Nancy Lemaire & Derek Schmidt | Milton, Ont. 

Tickets for the 2024 ISU World Figure Skating Championships are still available and can be purchased here. Day tickets start at $78.25 CAD and include that day’s competition, and early practice at the Bell Centre (excluding the Exhibition Gala practice). 

For more information about the event, please click here.