GATINEAU, QC (Jan. 6, 2026) – As the 2026 Canadian National Skating Championships got underway on Tuesday, the junior athletes wowed spectators at Centre Slush Puppie in Gatineau.

In the junior men’s short program on Tuesday morning, Parker Heiderich managed to shake off the nervousness of competing at the national championships, topping the standings with a score of 63.74 points.

“I was getting on the ice and told myself it will be fine,” Heiderich said after his routine. “I just had to perform like I’ve been doing in practice.”

For the Calgary native, his stellar showing this morning felt a bit like redemption after his program fell short at the Skate Canada Challenge earlier this season.

“For the free program I will focus on calming back down, get everything ready mentally, because I know I can do it. It’s so exciting, I love being here. It’s a completely different atmosphere than every other competition and it’s just so lovely to be here.”

Alberta’s Travis Trang (63.46 points) and Ontario’s Ethan Luo (61.50 points) sat in second and third place following the short program.

Layla Veillon and Alexander Brandys of Ontario could be well on their way to a Canadian title after their standout performance, finishing the junior rhythm dance in first place with 67.67 points.

“It went well, we felt pretty strong,’ said Brandys after their skate.

“We’ve been working really hard, trying to build again and just really hone in on details, especially. Figuring out what went well and what didn’t and build on that. I think we were able to do that really well and attack it today,” added Veillon.

Summer Homick and Nicholas Buelow of Ontario took second place with 62.77 points, while Charlie Anderson and Cayden Dawson, also of Ontario, secured third with 61.23 points.

In the junior women’s short program, 2025 national champion and Canadian junior record holder Lia Cho dominated the competition, securing first place with an outstanding 66.27 points.

“I’m most proud of performing in front of everyone and staying very happy during my performance,” the 13-year-old Calgary native said after taking to the ice on Tuesday evening.

She’ll look to reclaim her title with a strong showing in the free program on Wednesday. Her focus ahead of that performance: remaining calm.

Victoria Barakhtina of Ontario placed second with 61.64 points, ahead of Quebec’s Mégane Vallières, who finished third with 57.42.

Closing out the evening was the junior pairs short program where duo Julia Quattrocchi and Étienne Lacasse of Quebec emerged at the top of the rankings despite a one-point deduction.

“It was good. A mistake that cost a lot of points, but I think we did the rest pretty well so we’re happy about the rest of the program,” said Quattrocchi.

“I think the way we were going into this competition was good, we had a couple of practices over Christmas break. I think we used them well to be ready for today’s short and Thursday for the free program,” Lacasse added.

Ontario pair Brianna Dion and Jacob Cote (49.41 points), and Ava Cheung and Stephen Parc Qu Lee of British Columbia (47.62 points), finished second and third, respectively.

For the complete results, click here.