Stellato-Dudek and Deschamps Dominate Pairs Competition on Opening Day of Skate Canada International

HALIFAX, CAN (October 25, 2024) – The 50th edition of Skate Canada International (SCI) kicked off Friday at the Scotiabank Centre in downtown Halifax, N.S., with reigning World Champions Deanna Stellato-Dudek and Maxime Deschamps dominating the pair competition to the delight of the Canadian crowds.

Stellato-Dudek of Chicago, USA and Deschamps of Vaudreuil-Dorion, Que., were the last skaters to take to the ice in the pair competition, with their short program securing the top score of the day (73.23). The score was well clear of the rest of the field, but still not quite where the team wanted to be after the first day.

“It’s always fun to be in front of a Canadian crowd, and we feel the work we put into the second mark showed in our score. Unfortunately we had technical mistakes this time and didn’t get the score we were hoping for,” said Stellato-Dudek who had her eyes set on a score in the high 70s.

Pairs team Kelly Ann Laurin of St-Jérôme, Que., and Loucas Éthier of St-Alphonse, Que., finished the day ranked last with a score of 52.16 after receiving a score of zero for their death spiral.

“We’re a little disappointed with the little mistakes that we made – but I don’t think there were any major mistakes. We had a little stumble on the death spiral, and we weren’t expecting a super high score – but I can’t even explain how we got that score,” said Éthier following the competition. “Tomorrow, we’ll just try to skate how we usually skate and just do it for ourselves as we can’t control the rest.”

Annika Hocke and Robert Kunkel of Germany are in second heading into the free skate tomorrow, followed by Anastasia Golubeva and Hektor Giotopoulos Moore of Australia in third.

Madeline Schizas of Oakville, Ont., was the top Canadian performer in the women’s competition, finishing the day ranked fifth overall with a score of 65.28 for her short program.

“I’ve skated some clean programs, but something about this program just makes me happy to get out there and happy to compete,” said Schizas following the competition.

Kaiya Ruiter of Calgary, Alta., the reigning Canadian senior women’s champion, wasn’t far behind Schizas, scoring a 57.66 to finish the day in seventh place, while Sara Maude Dupuis of Montreal, Que., finished the day in 9th place with a score of 54.15.

Kaori Sakamoto proved why she’s a three-time World Champion – dominating the competition with a score of 74.97 to top the leader board for the women heading into the free skate Saturday. Alysa Lui of the USA is sitting in second (67.68), while Kimmy Repond of Switzerland sits in third (66.94).

Skate Canada International continues Saturday with all four disciplines competing. The ice dancers will take to the ice first to perform their rhythm dance, followed by the men performing their short program. The day will wrap up with the free skate and medals awarded for the pairs and women’s competition. The competition will close on Sunday with medals awarded for ice dance and the men’s competition.

For full results please click here.

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