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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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.

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

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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. 

Skate Canada Names Teams for 2024 ISU World Synchronized Skating Championships

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OTTAWA, ON (February 13, 2024) – Skate Canada is pleased to name its teams for the upcoming ISU World Junior Synchronized Skating Championships, which is set to take place from March 15-16, 2024 in Neuchâtel, Switzerland, as well as the teams who will compete at the ISU World Synchronized Skating Championships from April 5-6, 2024 in Zagreb, Croatia.  

Skate Canada has a robust selection criterion for each ISU Championship to undertake the selection of teams who will represent Canada at these events. Skate Canada’s selection criteria for ISU Championships can be found on skatecanada.ca.  

2024 ISU WORLD JUNIOR SYNCHRONIZED SKATING CHAMPIONSHIPS  

NEUCHÂTEL, SWITZERLAND – MARCH 15-16, 2024 

  • Les Suprêmes Junior  
  • NEXXICE Junior  

2024 ISU WORLD SYNCHRONIZED SKATING CHAMPIONSHIPS 

ZAGREB, CROATIA – APRIL 5-6, 2024 

  • Les Suprêmes Senior 
  • Nova Senior 

Top Canadian Skaters Head to Waterloo for Novice Canadian Championships and Skate Canada Cup

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OTTAWA, ON (February 13, 2024) – Following the conclusion of the Skate Canada Challenge – Pre-Novice/Novice earlier this month, the country’s best novice skaters are set to compete for national titles in men, women, pair, ice dance and synchronized skating from February 21-25, 2024, at the Waterloo Memorial Recreation Complex in Waterloo, Ontario.  

The competition week will kick off with the 2024 Novice Canadian Championships featuring recently crowned Skate Canada Challenge gold medalists Rui Qin (men), Lia Cho (women), Remie Muramoto and Keith Lau (pair) and Laurence Brière and Julien Lévesque (ice dance), as well as many other up-and-coming talents.   

Later in the week, the country’s top synchronized skating teams will be competing for national titles in novice, open and intermediate at the 2024 Skate Canada Cup on February 24-25, 2024. Last year’s champions, Les Suprêmes (novice) and NEXXICE (intermediate, open) will be looking to defend their titles and bring home another medal.   

Single day and all-event tickets for both events are available through KWTickets with prices starting at $40 for adults and $20 for children 12 and under (plus applicable fees and taxes).  

For more information including the schedule, entries and start orders, please click here. Both events will be live streamed and can be accessed through the event page or the Skate Canada Dailymotion page. 

Gold and Silver for Les Suprêmes Teams at Marie Lundmark Trophy

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Helsinki, Finland (February 11, 2024) – The Les Suprêmes skating club had a fantastic weekend at the Challenger Series Marie Lundmark Trophy in Helsinki, Finland this weekend with their junior team winning gold, and their senior team capturing silver in their respective divisions.

The junior team entered the weekend fresh off a bronze medal performance last weekend at the PGE Hevelius Cup in Poland and won the gold medal here with a total score of 198.65 – two points higher than last weekend. Finnish teams took the next two podium positions with the Valley Bay Synchro team taking silver (197.50), and the Fintastic team taking bronze (195.08).

“Our free program was very calm, and exactly what we’ve been training for this past week and we’re really proud of that,” said Gabriella Musi, co-captain for the Les Suprêmes junior team.

“The crowd is really fun and loud and entertaining so it’s really fun to skate here,” added co-captain Victoria Gimenez.

The Nova junior team from St. Hubert, Que., finished fifth overall with a total score of 169.55 after a much-improved free skate moved them up from eighth after their short program.

The senior competition was a close battle between the top-three teams with the Helsinki Rockettes from Finland winning gold (235.05), Les Suprêmes taking silver (226.72), and Team Unique from Finland taking bronze (223.43).

“We went into our free skate program being super calm and grounded. We wanted to show what we’ve been working hard on for the past few weeks cleaning up the program,” said Julia Bernardo, co-captain for the Les Suprêmes senior team.

“It wasn’t perfect, we know we need to work on our GOE (grade of execution), get it a better higher, so we’ll keep working hard, but we still enjoyed the crowd and had a great time,” added co-captain Olivia Di Giandomenico of their free skate which had some minor errors and gave them third-place scores.

The Nova senior team had two solid skates to finish fifth overall with a total score of 192.05.

This was the final competition for Canadian synchro teams before the Junior World Championships which take place in Neuchâtel, Switzerland from March 15-16, 2024, and the World Championships which take place in Zagreb, Croatia from April 5-6, 2024. Skate Canada will name the teams that will represent Canada at these events this week.

For full results please click here.

Lia Cho Sets New Canadian Novice Record to Wrap-up Skate Canada Challenge – Pre-Novice/Novice Competition

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Oakville, ON (February 4, 2024) – Lia Cho of Calgary, Alta., set a new Canadian record at the 2023-2024 Skate Canada Challenge – Pre-Novice/Novice competition that took place this weekend at the Sixteen Mile Sports Complex in Oakville, Ont., enroute to winning gold in the novice women’s category – just a year after winning the pre-novice category.

“Today felt amazing. It wasn’t the best I could, but I’m so happy to be here and it’s such an honour. I said to myself that it’s not about winning, or getting medals, it’s about how happy I am to be here, and showing the judges how happy I am to skate,” said Cho who scored an amazing 54.70 for her short program on Saturday but had a slightly tougher time in the free skate where she scored a 99.11 – the third-highest score of the day. Her total score of 153.81 bested the previous Canadian record of 152.50 set by Amy Shao Ning Yang at the Canadian Championships in 2020.

The women’s novice podium was a carbon copy of the pre-novice podium at last year’s event with Sandrine Blais of Quebec finishing second with a total score of 145.48, and Ksenia Krouzkevitch of Ontario finishing third with a total score of 144.46.

The men’s novice podium also looked remarkably similar to last year’s pre-novice podium with Rui Qin of Mississauga, Ont., winning gold (132.82), and Travis Trang of Edmonton, Alta. – last year’s silver medallist at pre-novice, taking bronze this year in novice (110.71). Parker Heiderich of Calgary, Alta., took the novice silver medal (114.49) – a healthy improvement from his 16th-place finish at the novice level last year.

Pre-novice pair skaters from last year that moved up to novice this year also performed well with Siyul Back and Gavin Mahoney from Innisfail, Ont., moving up from bronze last year to silver this year (104.47). Lily Evans of Pouch Cove, Nfld., and Mark Butt of Bloomfield, Nfld., finished just off the podium in fourth as pre-novices last year, and improved to take bronze in novice this weekend (91.86). Last year’s pre-novice silver medallist – Keith Lau, won gold this year in novice with new partner Remie Muramoto (108.76) – both skaters train in Mississauga, Ont.

“Coming into this competition was a little bit stressful, but once things were going, things felt better and we felt more confident in the skate,” said Lau.

In the novice ice dance competition, some new partnerships saw successful results with Laurence Brière of Carignan, Que., and Julien Lévesque of Boucherville, Que., winning gold after dominating the competition to finish with a total score of 110.24. Tasha Lai and Mickey Becker-Pos of Vancouver, B.C., who won gold last year at the pre-novice level, captured silver (105.99), and new duo Alyson Lacombe of St-Césaire, Que., and Morgan Laliberté-Laurent of Boucherville, Que., took bronze (104.85).

Tobias Liu of Markham, Ont., was overjoyed to win the men’s pre-novice competition with a total score of 110.39 after finishing 15th last year. Alexander Ge of B.C. and Umberto Daher of Alberta had a close battle for second with Ge emerging victorious to take silver with a total score of 103.33, to Daher’s 103.31.

“I’m really happy and feel really accomplished. I’m proud of saving my triple toe,” said Liu following the competition.

The pre-novice women’s title was won by Vienna Vidinovski of Markham, Ont., with a total score of 101.95 with Maélia Ruel of Quebec not far behind taking silver with a total score of 101.30. Julianne Hébert of Quebec improved mightily from her 22nd-place result from last year to take the bronze with a total score of 100.15.

“This feels really good – almost unreal,” said Vidinovski. “I was thinking I’d come top-5, or top-10 – I really wasn’t expecting gold. I’m really proud of landing my triple toe in my free program.”

Jaslynn Wong and Nico Conforti from Richmond, B.C., won gold in the pre-novice pair competition after a huge free skate that moved them from fifth place after the short program to first and a total score of 83.05. Ava Cheung and Stephen Lee, also from B.C., moved up from 16th last year to take silver this year with a total score of 82.23, and Dana Yun and Kody Ng of Alberta captured bronze with a total score of 72.28.

The pre-novice ice dance competition was won by Annabelle Théroux and Rafael Gossard of Quebec with a total score of 93.17. Florence Beausoleil and Rémi Thibault, also of Quebec, took the silver with a total score of 90.10, and Kayleigh Chao and Jonathan Ma of Ontario improved from their 13th-place result last year, to take the bronze with a total score of 84.89.

The top-18 skaters in the novice division have now qualified for the 2024 Novice Canadian Championships taking place at the Waterloo Memorial Recreation Complex in Waterloo, Ont., from February 21-24, 2024.

For full results please click here.