Les Suprêmes Crowned World Junior Synchronized Skating Champions

Neuchâtel, SUI (March 16, 2024) – Les Suprêmes Junior of Saint-Léonard, Que., were flawless on their way to capturing the gold medal at the 2024 ISU World Junior Synchronized Skating Championships in Neuchâtel, Switzerland this weekend. NEXXICE junior from Burlington, Ont., finished sixth.

Setting a new season’s best score of 131.13 for their free skate, Les Suprêmes finished the competition with a new season’s best total score of 205.14 – well clear of the previous year’s World Champions – Team Fintastic Junior from Finland who took silver with a total score of 199.71. The Skyliners Junior team from the USA captured bronze with a total score of 196.68.

“Our expectation coming in (to this competition) was to attack our programs – that was our main goal at this competition, and this is just a dream come true for all of us. We can’t believe it,” said Gabriella Musi, co-captain for the Les Suprêmes junior team.

Co-captain Victoria Gimenez added: “We’re feeling very accomplished. We are really proud of our season, and we are proud of our two performances. It’s exactly what we wanted to do this weekend.”

The win concludes a fantastic season for the team who earned a gold medal at the Challenger Series Marie Lundmark Trophy in Finland, a bronze at the PGE Hevelius Cup in Poland, and gold at the 2024 Canadian National Championships held in Calgary, Alberta.

NEXXICE Junior entered the competition as the reigning silver medallists from last year’s World Championships, and had two strong performances as well, setting a new season’s best score for their free skate (116.54) – on the way to setting a new season’s best total score of 183.26 to finish sixth overall.

For full results please click here.

Skate Canada Welcomes the World to Montreal for 2024 ISU World Figure Skating Championships

MONTREAL, QC (March 12, 2024) – Skate Canada is excited to welcome the world to the Bell Centre in Montreal, Que., from March 18-24 for the 2024 ISU World Figure Skating Championships. Marking the culmination of the 2023-2024 figure skating season, the event features the 200 best figure skaters from over 40 countries in men’s, women’s, pair, and ice dance. 

All of last year’s World Champions are back to contend for the podium once again including men’s champion Shoma Uno, women’s champion Kaori Sakamoto, and pair champions Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara – all from Japan, as well as ice dance champions Madison Chock and Evan Bates from the USA.  

Canadian athletes will also be vying for spots on the podium in front of family and friends. Deanna Stellato-Dudek and Maxime Deschamps have their sights set on a gold medal in the pair competition after a very successful international season that sees them currently ranked second in the world. Last year’s bronze medallists, Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier, are coming off a gold medal at the ISU Four Continents FIgure Skating Championships and a bronze medal at the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final.  

“For our athletes, competing at a home Worlds may only happen once in their career and will be an experience they will never forget,” said Mike Slipchuk, High Performance Director for Skate Canada. “We are excited to have a team that is ready to take on the best in the world and who are also among the best.”  

The Opening Ceremony will kick off the event on Wednesday, March 20, and will feature performances by Quebec-based synchronized skating teams Les Suprêmes and Nova, and by former National Team member and social media sensation, Elladj Baldé. The Montreal-based chamber choir Seraphim will also perform the national anthem to officially open the week-long event. 

Fans will also get to experience a one-of-a-kind Fan Festival at the Cour Rio Tinto right beside the Bell Centre, where food trucks, booths, and family-friendly activities will be held throughout the week. Competitions will also be streamed on a giant screen so as not to miss any of the action.  

The week will close out with the Exhibition Gala on Sunday, March 24. A fan favourite event, the Gala will feature the event’s medallists, as well as performances by Patrick Chan, Canada’s most decorated male figure skater and an ambassador for the event, three-time World Champion Elvis Stojko, and recently retired two-time Olympian Keegan Messing. They will be joined once again by Elladj Baldé and Les Suprêmes, with special entertainment from the Montreal Symphony Orchestra and Cirque Éloize.

Tickets for the event are still available via ticketmaster.ca. Fans can also watch the action via CBC Sports. 

Junior Synchronized Skating Teams Look to Shine at World Junior Championships

Ottawa, ON (March 4, 2024) – Canada’s top two junior synchronized skating teams are heading to Neuchâtel, Switzerland to compete in the 2024 ISU World Junior Synchronized Skating Championships running from March 15-16. 

Les Suprêmes Junior, who finished fifth at the 2023 World Junior Championships, have been enjoying a fantastic season, earning a gold medal at the Challenger Series Marie Lundmark Trophy in Helsinki, Finland, and a bronze from the PGE Hevelius Cup in Gdansk, Poland. The team also won the gold medal at the 2024 Canadian National Championships held in Calgary, Alberta. 

NEXXICE Junior enter the competition as the reigning silver medallists from the 2023 World Junior Championships – Canada’s first medal at that level since 2015. The team has also seen great success this season, earning silver at the French Cup in Rouen, France, a bronze medal at the Trophy d’Écosse in Dumfries, Great Britain, and silver at the 2024 Canadian National Championships. 

The competition begins on Friday, March 15th with the short program, and concludes on Saturday, March 16th with the free skate. 

Name | Coach | Training Location   

Les Suprêmes Junior | Marilyn Langlois, Pascal Denis & Laurie Desilets | Saint-Léonard, Que. 

NEXXICE Junior | Trish Perdue-Mills | Burlington, Ont.  

Canadian Junior Skaters Impress at 2024 World Junior Figure Skating Championships

TAIPEI CITY, TAIWAN (March 2, 2024) – Canada’s next generation of figure skating talent closed out the 2024 ISU World Junior Figure Skating Championships in Taipei City, Taiwan on Saturday with several top-10 performances, and many new personal best scores in the ice dance and men’s competitions.

Chloe Nguyen of Vancouver, B.C., and Brendan Giang of Burnaby, B.C., had the top result of the day finishing sixth overall with a new personal best total score of 151.09 in the ice dance competition – a solid improvement from their 14th-place finish at last year’s competition.

“We’re very happy with both of our performances at this event. We put in a lot of work and it paid off,” said Giang following their free dance which also scored a new personal best for the team of 89.87.

Layla Veillon and Alexander Brandys of London, Ont., weren’t far behind Nguyen and Giang, finishing eighth overall with a new personal best total score of 147.40. Alisa Korneva and Kieran MacDonald of Waterloo, Ont., finished the competition in 17th with a total score of 130.18.

Leah Neset and Artem Markelov of the USA won gold (169.76), while Elizabeth Tkachenko and Alexei Kiliakov of Israel captured silver (162.68), and Darya Grimm and Michaii Savitskiy of Germany took bronze (162.13).

The men’s competition closed out the event and saw Aleksa Rakic of Burnaby, B.C., finishing as the top Canadian in eighth place with a new personal best total score of 211.74, despite some small challenges with his free skate.

“The short was amazing with a new personal best and I’m really proud of that and making the final group,” said Rakic who skated a brilliant short program to set a new personal best on Thursday. “The long, I have mixed feelings. I gave my all, which you can’t be that upset with, but losing the levels on the spins at the end was costly, and that’s disappointing because I don’t usually make that mistake.”

Anthony Paradis of Boisbriand, Que., set new international best scores in both of his programs to finish with a score of 130.42 that saw him finish 15th overall.

Minkyu Seo of Korea won the junior men’s world championship title with a total score of 230.75. Rio Nakata of Japan came back from a disappointing short program to win the free skate and take silver overall (229.31), while Adam Hagara of Slovakia took bronze (225.61).

For full results please click here.

Lin Impresses with 10th Place Finish at World Junior Figure Skating Championships

TAIPEI CITY, TAIWAN (March 1, 2024) – Lulu Lin of Mississauga, Ont., capped off a fantastic 2024 season on Friday with a 10th place finish in the women’s competition at the 2024 ISU World Junior Figure Skating Championships taking place in Taipei City, Taiwan. 

Lin, who captured the Canadian junior national title in January, set a new personal best score of 116.59 for her free skate, giving her a sixth-place ranking for that portion of the competition, and a new personal best overall score of 173.71 to finish 10th overall.

“My expectations (for this event) were to do the best that I can, which I did, and it was to skate clean and be calm throughout both programs,” said Lin who at 14-years-old was competing at her first Junior World Championships. “I’m feeling really good, and I’m really excited for next season and what’s to come.” 

Kaiya Ruiter, 17, of Calgary, Alta., skated a strong program as well to finish the competition 21st overall with a total score of 161.19. 

“I enjoy every time I get to do that program. I just wanted to go out and enjoy doing it for one of the last times probably, and I did for sure. It’s been wonderful getting to have experience at both the junior and senior level and I’m excited for what’s to come,” said Ruiter, who cited her senior national title win earlier this season as the highlight of her year. 

Mao Shimada of Japan retained the junior women’s title, she won last year with a total score of 218.36 to win gold. Jia Shin of Korea captured silver (212.43) for the third year in a row, and Rena Uezono of Japan took bronze (194.70) in her junior world championships debut. 

The junior ice dance competition also got underway on Friday and all three of Canada’s teams have qualified for the free dance that takes place on Saturday. Chloe Nguyen of Vancouver, B.C., and Brendan Giang of Burnaby, B.C., had the top result of the day to sit seventh. Layla Veillon and Alexander Brandys of London, Ont., sit 11th, and Alisa Korneva and Kieran MacDonald of Waterloo, Ont., sit 18th 

For full results please click here.

Canadian Pair Skaters Finish Just off the Podium at World Junior Figure Skating Championships

TAIPEI CITY, TAIWAN (February 29, 2024) – The pair competition at the 2024 ISU World Junior Figure Skating Championships concluded on Thursday in Taipei City, Taiwan with Martina Ariano Kent and Charly Laliberté-Laurent and Ava Kemp and Yohnatan Elizarov finishing fifth and sixth respectively.

Ariano Kent of Mount Royal, Que., and Laliberté-Laurent of Boucherville, Que., had a strong start to the competition on Wednesday to finish third in the short program with a score of 55.67. After earning a score of 85.89 to finish sixth in the free skate, the pair closed out the competition fifth overall with a total score of 141.26.

“I felt really good about it,” said Ariano Kent of the short program. “It was a lot better than how we were doing in practice, so I was really happy that we were able to improve and do a good performance.”

Kemp and Elizarov, both from Winnipeg, Man., finished fifth in both the short program (54.86) and the free skate (85.81) to finish sixth overall with a total score of 140.67, short of their personal best score of 168.83.

Anastasiia Metelkina and Luka Berulava of Georgia continued their dominant season to win gold with a total score of 179.32. Olivia Flores and Luke Wang of the USA took silver (166.89), while Naomi Williams and Lachlan Lewer, also of the USA, captured bronze (146.00).

The women’s competition started on Wednesday with 2024 Canadian junior national champion Lulu Lin of Mississauga, Ont., posting a new personal best short program score of 57.12 to finish the day in 15th – the top Canadian result of the day. 2024 Canadian senior women’s champion Kaiya Ruiter of Calgary, Alta., was close behind in 19th with a score of 54.62. Both skaters qualified for the free skate which takes place on Friday.

Aleksa Rakic of Burnaby, B.C., laid down an impressive short program in the men’s competition on Thursday, scoring a new personal best of 77.74 to finish the day in fourth place. Anthony Paradis of Boisbriand, Que., also posted a new personal best international score of 63.19 to finish in 21st – both skaters have qualified for the free skate which will close out the competition on Saturday.

For full results please click here.

Canadian Talent on Full Display for Opening Ceremony of 2024 ISU World Figure Skating Championships

OTTAWA, ON (February 26, 2024) – The Bell Centre will come alive on Wednesday, March 20, 2024, with performances by talented Canadian skaters in the Opening Ceremony for the 2024 ISU World Figure Skating Championships, held in Montreal, Quebec.  

Synchronized skating will take centre stage as two Quebec-based teams come together to perform a mesmerizing routine choreographed by Dr. Shae Zukiwsky, Skate Canada’s Senior Director of Performance Excellence. Les Suprêmes, from Saint-Léonard, are the reigning world champions and will be joined by Nova, from St-Hubert, who claimed silver at the last two Canadian Championships. 

Former Canadian National Team member and social media sensation, Elladj Baldé will also showcase his unique freestyle skating that has garnered him millions of fans around the world. 

The Montreal-based chamber choir Seraphim will perform the national anthem to officially open the week-long event that will feature 200 of the best figure skaters from 50 countries performing in four disciplines – men, women, pair, and ice dance.  

The Opening Ceremony will be preceded by the pair short program and will be followed by the women’s short program. Tickets can be purchased at ticketmaster.ca to enjoy all three events.  

First-ever Champions in Senior Elite 12 Crowned at Skate Canada Cup

Waterloo, ON (February 25, 2024) – The Les Suprêmes team from St-Léonard, Que., repeated as the novice champions at the 2024 Skate Canada Cup synchronized skating competition that wrapped up in Waterloo, Ont., on Sunday night, while new champions were crowned in the open, intermediate, and for the first-time ever, the senior elite 12 division.

The Les Suprêmes team led the novice competition on both days, winning gold with a total score of 132.75. Team NEXXICE from Burlington, Ont., repeated as the silver medallists for a second year with a total score of 126.94, while the Nova team from St. Hubert, Que., captured the bronze medal with a total score of 125.71.

Only two teams competed in the first edition of the senior elite 12 division, with the NEXXICE team taking the gold with 169.84 total points, and the Black Gold Elite 12 team from Calgary, Alta., taking silver with 155.82 points.

“The competition went really well. We had some blips going into this competition, but we rallied together and pulled each other up and took care of each other and put out two skates that we can be really proud of,” said Paige Westerman from the NEXXICE elite 12 team. “This is the first year for a lot of the girls on the senior team, so this is a really special way to end their first senior season, and being the first senior elite 12 champions is really cool since it’s such a new thing in Canada.”

NEXXICE’s intermediate team also placed on the podium, taking the silver medal in that division with a total score of 127.28. Winning gold in the intermediate division was the Starlight team from Ottawa, Ont., with a total score of 131.90, and taking bronze was the EDGE team from Oakville, Ont.

In the Open division, the Nova team and the Cassiopée team from Sherbrooke, Que., who finished second and third last year, battled it out for the gold this year with Nova finally triumphing with a total score of 152.52 to Cassiopée’s total score of 150.79 to take silver. Capturing bronze was the Elite Synchro team from Quebec with a total score of 140.75.

“The competition went really great – especially our first skate. It was really a team effort,” said Gabrielle Paul from the Nova team.

Her teammate Sandrine Lapointe added: “We felt it, and we did it for ourselves, without thinking about the points and the ranking, and this was great for us to live this as a team. We worked hard on our team spirit so it’s cool to have this reward after all this work.”

For full results please click here.

New Novice Canadian Figure Skating Champions Crowned in Waterloo

Waterloo, ON (February 23, 2024) – The 2024 Novice Canadian Championships wrapped up on Friday at the Waterloo Memorial Complex in Waterloo, Ont., with Lia Cho of Calgary, Alta., rewriting the record books yet again with another Canadian record to win gold in women’s singles.

Cho’s total score of 166.56 obliterated the record of 153.81 she set just two weeks ago at the 2024 Skate Canada Challenge – Pre-Novice/Novice competition held in Oakville, Ont.

“I feel amazing,” enthused Cho following her free skate performance. “This feels nice, but it’s not about winning, it’s about showing how much I love skating. I like both of my programs, I like my short music a lot, but I really like my long program because it has more jumps and I’m kind of a jumper.”

The women’s podium was a mirror image of the podium from the Skate Canada Challenge with Cho winning gold, Sandrine Blais of Quebec taking silver (133.90), and Ksenia Krouzkevitch of Ontario taking bronze (132.24).

The podium for ice dance looked quite similar to the Challenge podium as well with Laurence Brière of Carignan, Que., and Julien Lévesque of Boucherville, Que., winning gold again with an improved total score of 116.35. Taking silver this weekend however was Alyson Lacombe of St-Césaire, Que., and Morgan Laliberté-Laurent of Boucherville, Que., who captured bronze (108.38) at Challenge. Tasha Lai and Mickey Becker-Pos of Vancouver, B.C., the silver medallists from Challenge, took bronze (107.68).

“This is an awesome feeling. We’re really grateful for everything. Next year we’re going to junior, so we’re going be changing the program, changing category, so we’re going to be looking to improve everything,” said Lévesque.

There was a shuffle of the podium from Challenge in the pair competition as well, with Siyul Bella Back and Gavin Mahoney from Innisfail, Ont., improving from silver at Challenge to win gold at Canadian Championships with a total score of 116.84. Challenge’s gold medallists Remi Muramoto and Keith Lau of Mississauga, Ont., took silver this weekend with a total score of 111.90, and Julia Di Menna and Félix-Antoine Chartrand of Quebec, who had to withdraw from Challenge, took the bronze with a total score of 95.80.

“The competition went really well, it was the best performance we’ve had all season,” said Mahoney. “There were a lot of proud and fun moments here, but honestly, my proudest moment was finishing the competition here with Bella and being able to share that experience together.”

The men’s competition at Novice Canadians was the only category to truly see a change-up from the Skate Canada Challenge just two weeks ago, with Kento Nakashima of Edmonton, Alta., improving from a seventh-place finish at Challenge to win gold this weekend with a total score of 131.65 after posting top scores for both his short and free programs.

“I’m so excited and I’m overwhelmed that I took first place,” said Nakashima who finished eighth at the 2023 Novice Canadian Championships. “I feel like one of the factors that got me to first was that I was having fun, and I was confident, and I think that’s really important in skating.”

Rui Qin of Mississauga, Ont., the gold medallist at Skate Canada Challenge, took bronze this weekend with a total score of 122.44, while Travis Tang of Edmonton, Alta., the bronze medallist from Challenge took silver with a total score of 122.59.

The Skate Canada Cup competition for synchronized skating starts tomorrow with competition at the novice, intermediate, open, and Senior Elite 12 levels. Competition wraps up Sunday.

For full results please click here.

Junior Canadian Skaters Look to Make Mark at 2024 World Junior Figure Skating Championships

OTTAWA, ON (February 21, 2024) – Canada’s up-and-coming figure skaters have big goals for the 2024 ISU World Junior Figure Skating Championships, which will take place in Taipei City, Taiwan from February 26 to March 3, 2024. Team Canada will feature two pair teams, three ice dance teams, two men, and two women. 

Pair team Ava Kemp and Yohnatan Elizarov placed sixth at the 2023 World Junior Championships held in Calgary, Alta., and will enter this year’s competition riding a high after capturing a silver medal at the ISU Grand Prix Final, gold at the Junior Grand Prix (JGP) Solidarity Cup in Gdansk, Poland, and gold at the 2024 Canadian National Skating Championships (nationals). They will be joined by Martina Ariano Kent and Charly Laliberté-Laurent who finished fourth at the Grand Prix Final, won gold at the JGP Cup of Austria, bronze at the JGP Budapest, and took silver at nationals. 

The ice dance competition will feature all of the junior medallists from nationals with gold medallists Layla Veillon and Alexander Brandys, silver medallists Chloe Nguyen and Brendan Giang – who also captured silver at the JGP Cup of Austria, and bronze medallists Alisa Korneva and Kieran MacDonald. All teams will be looking to gain valuable experience on the international stage. 

The men’s event will be promising after both skaters recently podiumed in the senior men’s competition at nationals. Aleksa Rakic captured silver at the event and also finished fourth at the 2023 Cranberry Cup and fifth at the Nebelhorn Trophy. 2023 national junior bronze medallist Anthony Paradis delivered an inspired performance to claim bronze at his first senior nationals. 

Kaiya Ruiter will look to cap off a strong season at the event after earning her first Canadian senior championships title in January, and silver medals at Skate Canada Challenge and the Autumn Classic International. She finished tenth at the World Junior Championships last year that were held in her hometown of Calgary, Alta. She’ll be joined by Lulu Lin who continues her climb up the ranks after being crowned the junior Canadian champion in January and finishing seventh at the Junior Grand Prix Solidarity Cup in Poland.  

TEAM CANADA 

Name | Age | Hometown | Coach | Training Location

Pair
Ava Kemp | 15 | Winnipeg, Man. & Yohnatan Elizarov | 21 | Winnipeg, Man. | Kevin Dawe & Lee Barkell | Toronto, Ont. 
Martina Ariano Kent | 16 | Mount Royal, Que. & Charly Laliberté-Laurent | 18 | Boucherville, Que. | Marc-André Craig & David Alexandre Paradis | Chambly, Que.   

Ice Dance
Alisa Korneva | 17 | Waterloo, Ont. & Kieran MacDonald | 21 | Waterloo, Ont. | Carleigh MacDonald & Paul MacIntosh | Waterloo, Ont. 
Chloe Nguyen | 18 | Vancouver, B.C. & Brendan Giang | 20 | Burnaby, B.C. | Aaron Lowe & Megan Wing | Burnaby, B.C.
Layla Veillon | 17 | London, Ont. & Alexander Brandys | 18 | London, Ont. | Scott Moir & Cara Moir | London, Ont.  

Men
Anthony Paradis | 16 | Boisbriand, Que. | Yvan Desjardins & Violaine Émard | Rosemère, Que.
Aleksa Rakic | 19 | Burnaby, B.C. | Joanne McLeod | Burnaby, B.C. 

 

Women
Lulu Lin | 13 | Mississauga, Ont. | Andrew Evans & Paul Parkinson | Mississauga, Ont. 
Kaiya Ruiter | 17 | Calgary, Alta. | Scott Davis & Jeff Langdon | Calgary, Alta. 

Team Leaders – Andre Bourgeois & Manon Perron 
Medical Team – Delphine Boury-Simoes & Mike McMurray
Officials – Laura Carr & Patty Klein 

For more information about the event, please click here. 

Figure Skating Stars Past & Present Headline Exhibition Gala at 2024 ISU World Figure Skating Championships

OTTAWA, ON (February 21, 2024) – Multi-generational figure skating talent is set to perform at the Exhibition Gala taking place on Sunday, March 24, 2024, at the Bell Centre in Montreal as the curtain closes on the 2024 ISU World Figure Skating Championships which run from March 18-24. 

A fan-favourite event, the Exhibition Gala features all medallists from the men’s, women’s, pair, and ice dance events thinking outside of the box to showcase the beauty, athleticism, and showmanship of figure skating to their fans. 

The event will also showcase several of Canada’s top skaters from the past, including the most decorated male figure skater in Canadian history, and one of the Event Ambassadors for the World Championships – Patrick Chan, who has a record 10 Canadian national titles, three World Championship titles, and three Olympic medals to his name. Chan will be joined by Elvis Stojko, also a three-time World Champion, as well as a seven-time Canadian national champion, and two-time Olympic medallist, and recently retired two-time Olympian Keegan Messing who captured his second Canadian national championship in 2023. 

Adding a unique flair to the event, the reigning World Champions in synchronized skating, Les Suprêmes from Saint-Léonard, Que., will showcase their mesmerizing discipline, seamlessly coordinating 16 skaters to move as one cohesive unit at remarkable speeds, executing intricate elements and footwork. Joining this incredible line-up is viral social media sensation, and Guinness World Record Holder Elladj Baldé who will wow the crowd with his stunning freestyle skating that has garnered him more than 1.5 million followers on TikTok. 

The Exhibition Gala will also include entertaining performances by members of the Montreal Symphony Orchestra and Cirque Éloize. 

Mark your calendars for this extraordinary event, commencing at 2 pm ET. Tickets are still available via ticketmaster.ca.  

Skate Canada to Appeal Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games Bronze Figure Skating Team Medal

Skate Canada, together with the Canadian athletes from the team figure skating event at the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games and the Canadian Olympic Committee, have made the decision to formally appeal the International Skating Union’s (ISU) decision in respect of the bronze figure skating team medal. Our appeal is rooted in a commitment to fairness, transparency, and the integrity of the sport.

Skate Canada believes that it is crucial for the integrity of competitive figure skating that rules and regulations are upheld consistently and fairly. While we respect the decisions made by the ISU, we disagree with the conclusion they have reached and believe that an independent review will provide much needed clarity for all impacted parties.

While we pursue this appeal, we want to express our full support and admiration for the gold and silver medallists from the United States of America and Japan. Their hard work, dedication, and exceptional performances deserve to be recognized, and we sincerely hope that they receive their well-deserved medals in a timely manner.

We appreciate the support of the skating community as we pursue this matter further.