CALGARY, ALBERTA (Nov. 30, 2025) – More than 150 skaters from across the country competed at the 2025-2026 Skate Canada Challenge which wrapped up Sunday, Nov. 30 in Calgary, Alberta.

Held at the Seven Chiefs Sportsplex, this event allowed junior and senior skaters to qualify for the 2026 Canadian National Skating Championships in Gatineau, Quebec, January 5-11, 2026.

The event saw many standout performances including from Olympian Gabrielle Daleman (Toronto, ON) who continued her strong return to competitive figure skating. Spectators were treated to a close battle in the senior women’s event and Daleman had the final say, winning gold with 177.27 points. Uliana Shiryaeva (Coquitlam, BC) finished second with 172.87, while Megan Woodley (Oro-Medonte, ON) was close behind, completing the podium with 172.33 after delivering the best free skate of the day, with 117.19 points.

“I’m happy to have had to the chance to fix little problems here and I am very proud that I didn’t give up and took another step forward. This was my first Skate Canada Challenge in five years and it will be my first Canadian Championships in four years, so I’m very happy to be back,” said Daleman, who is aiming for a third Olympic appearance.

The national junior women’s champion, Lia Cho (Calgary, AB) shone for a second year in a row at Skate Canada Challenge, successfully defending her title on home ice. The 13-year-old athlete earned an impressive total of 187.66 points. Her closest competitors were Quinn Startek (Hamilton, ON), who finished second with 154.04 points, and Victoria Barakhtina (Toronto, ON), in third with 146.16 points.

“It was my first Skate Canada event in my hometown. I am so grateful to see my friends and family members who came to cheer me on. It makes me really happy,” said Cho.

Like Lia Cho, Parker Heiderich (Calgary, AB) was crowned champion in his hometown in the junior men’s event thanks to a brilliant comeback. Sixth after the short program, he was lifted by the crowd and scored 127.07 in the free skate to jump into first place with a total score of 183.21. William Chan (Vancouver, BC) took silver with 180.61, followed by Ethan Luo (Thornhill, ON) with 172.85 points.

“It was incredible! I could hear the whole crowd, cheering so loudly! After my last jump, when I heard them, I almost started to cry during my program,” said Heiderich.

On the senior side, Wesley Chiu (Richmond, BC) won the men’s event with a score of 224.61 having recently returned to competition after being sidelined for a year due to injury. Olympian Keegan Messing (Girdwood, USA) took silver with 221.78, and defending champion Aleksa Rakic (Burnaby, BC) rounded out the podium with a total of 219.55.

“I was in Poland last week, so I didn’t have high expectations coming here. It was a challenge, but it’s in those tougher moments that you learn the most. Winning gold is the cherry on top, it gives me confidence heading into nationals,” said Chiu.

In the junior pairs, Ava Cheung (Richmond, BC) and Stephen Lee (Richmond, BC) also made a comeback in the free skate to climb from third to the top of the podium after scoring 83.24, bringing their total to 124.88. Beau Callahan (Sainte-Amable, QC) and Vladimir Furman (Saint-Hubert, QC) took second place with a final score of 117.88, while Brianna Dion (Ottawa, ON) and Jacob Côté (Halifax, NS) completed the podium with 111.94 points.

Also in the pairs competition, but on the senior side, Miyu Yunoki (Osaka, Japan) and Tristan Taylor (Regina, SK) finished first with a total of 163.34, just ahead of Eliana Secunda (Boulder, USA) and Thierry Ferland (Lévis, QC) who accumulated 145.20 points.

The junior ice dance competition was won by Summer Homick (Tillsonburg, ON) and Nicholas Buelow (Barrie, ON). Already in the lead after the rhythm dance, they defended their rank in the free dance, totaling 156.72 points. Charlie Anderson (London, ON) and Cayden Dawson (Oakville, ON) followed closely behind with 153.18 points. The bronze medal went to Auréa Cincon-Debout (Montreal, QC) and Earl Jesse Celestino (Montreal, QC), who scored 144.00 points.

“Considering where we are in the season, I think we’re happy with our levels. We’ve faced a lot of adversity in the last few weeks. I got injured and then Nicholas got injured. Physically and mentally, we stayed motivated and got through this competition,” said Homick.

Senior ice dancers Marie-Jade Lauriault (Sainte-Anne-des-Plaines, QC) and Romain Le Gac (Laval, QC), added another medal to their season’s collection on Sunday. They finished the event with 195.65 points to take the top spot on the podium.

“It went as we expected. We know we’re not where we want to be for Nationals, but that’s okay because we still have those five weeks to improve,” said Le Gac, who, like his partner, will now turn his attention to the Canadian Championships.

Lily Hensen (London, ON) and Nathan Lickers (Six Nations Grand River, ON) followed in second place (179.05), as did Alyssa Robinson (Ridgetown, ON) and Jacob Portz (Calgary, AB), third at 170.74.

Full competition results are here.