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 16^th-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 15^th 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 22^nd-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 16^th 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 13^th-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.

Gdansk, Poland/Rouen, France (February 3, 2024) – Canadian synchronized skating teams had a very successful weekend bringing home two bronze medals from the Challenger Series PGE Hevelius Cup in Gdansk, Poland and two silver medals from the French Cup in Rouen, France.

The Nova senior team from St-Hubert, Que., climbed into the bronze-medal winning position at the Hevelius Cup after sitting in fifth position following the short program. Their total score of 216.04 was three points improved from their performance at the Canadian National Championships where they finished second.

“At every practice, we practiced every element to make sure that they were all OK. We know we lost some calls at nationals, and it seems like the hard work really paid off because we got all of those calls this weekend, so we’re really happy about that,” said Leonie Nadeau, co-captain of the Nova team that will have very little rest as they head off to Finland next weekend for the Marie Lundmark Trophy competition in Helsinki.

The NEXXICE senior team from Burlington, Ont., was sitting in third position after the short program, but dropped to finish fourth after their free skate with a total score of 212.70, which was also an improvement from their score at nationals where they finished third.

The Haydenettes from the USA won gold with a total score of 234.66, while the Marigold Ice Unity team from Finland captured silver with a total score of 228.81.

In the junior competition at the Hevelius Cup, Canada captured another bronze medal with the Les Suprêmes junior team from Saint-Léonard, Que., climbing onto the podium with a total score of 196.20. The Gold Ice junior team from Brampton, Ont., finished just behind in fourth with a total score of 162.55 which was a big improvement over their score of 146.20 at Canadian nationals.

“We did exactly what we did in practice and were really proud of both of our skates. We really loved the energy of everyone that was there, and it was definitely a fun experience,” said Victoria Gimenez, co-caption of Les Suprêmes.

Ishani Sama, co-captain for the Gold Ice team, added: “We were very excited for our first international competition. This is such a great opportunity for us, and we worked really hard. As a team collectively, we were hoping to achieve a season’s best in our first international and we did!”

The Elite junior team from the USA won gold with a total score of 205.54, while the Skyliners junior team, also from the USA, took silver with a total score of 202.07.

In the junior competition at the French Cup, the NEXXICE junior team added another silver to Canada’s medal haul for the weekend after winning bronze at last weekend’s Trophy d’Écosse in Great Britain. Their total score of 192.14 was an improvement from their score at nationals where they finished second. They were edged out from the top of the podium by the Fintastic team from Finland who won gold with a total score of 196.10. The Mystique team, also from Finland, rounded out the podium, taking bronze with a total score of 175.94.

“We’re very happy with our two clean performances this weekend. We worked hard during our training camp in Nottingham between our two international assignments and are pleased with our improvement,” said Celina Guo, co-captain of the NEXXICE junior team. Her co-captain Natalya Krywetsky added: “The crowd was electric tonight making it an experience we will never forget!”

The relatively new Elite 12 team from NEXXICE made their international debut at the French Cup and delivered two very strong performances to capture the silver medal as well with a total score of 173.73. The Hayden Select team from the USA won gold with a total score of 197.57, while Team Fusion from Spain took bronze with a total score of 125.45.

Next weekend will see the Nova and Les Suprêmes senior and junior teams competing at the Challenger Series Marie Lundmark Trophy in Helsinki, Finland.

For full results from the Challenger Series PGE Hevelius Cup, please click here.

For full results from the French Cup, please click here.

Gangwon, South Korea (February 1, 2024) – The figure skating team event made its debut at the 2024 Winter Youth Olympic Games in Gangwon, South Korea on Thursday after being a mixed-nations event at previous Games, and the Canadian team, composed of Audra Gans and Michael Boutsan, Annika Behnke and Kole Sauve, David Li, and Kaiya Ruiter secured a bronze medal after delivering four great performances to edge out China by one point.

Gans and Boutsan from Prévost, Que., got the competition started for Canada with their ice dance free skate that garnered them a score of 80.24, putting them in fifth place and securing one point for the team.

“This was great,” said Boutsan following their performance. “Canada supporting me, Canada supporting us – it’s an amazing feeling. It brings out your Canadian pride and I think that’s something magical. I can’t wait to go and cheer for our teammates – we’re going to out-cheer all the other countries!”

Next up was Canada’s newly minted Youth Olympic Games pair gold medallists Behnke (Peace River, Alta.) and Sauve (Grand Prairie, Alta.) who performed brilliantly to score a huge new personal best score of 82.39 for their free skate, a first-place finish, and five points for the team.

“This was really cool. I loved how everyone was cheering us on – I just really enjoyed it and am so grateful for it,” enthused Behnke who together with Sauve, carried the Canadian flag into the Closing Ceremonies for the Games later in the day.

Li from Richmond, B.C., scored a 116.61 for his men’s free skate, adding a further two points to the team total with his fourth-place finish.

“It was a little more nerve wracking having the whole team watching you, but I started off really strong, and I just need to keep that level of intensity throughout the program,” said Li.

Ruiter from Calgary, Alta., had a much better free skate than she did on Tuesday, scoring a 103.41 to finish fourth, adding another two points to the total, and securing the bronze medal for Canada.

“I think the team is what contributed to having a much better free skate today, it’s just having the energy and the team excitement – we helped each other rise up and it was a very special moment. I still can’t believe we won a medal. Wearing this medal around my neck with the Olympic rings, it’s just so surreal, it’s crazy! And so much fun to do as a team,” said an excited Ruiter after the medal presentations.

Because only two teams performed a pair routine during the team competition, the top-3 scores for each team were counted, leaving Canada with 9 points and the bronze medal. The Korean team won gold with 13 points, while the USA captured the silver with 12 points.

For full results please click here.

Skate Canada is extremely disappointed with the International Skating Union’s (ISU) position on the long-awaited awarding of medals for the 2022 Beijing Olympic Games Figure Skating Team Competition.

The Court for Arbitration for Sport (CAS) ruled that in addition to a four-year ban from competition, the ban includes “the disqualification [of] all competitive results” achieved by Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva since the positive test. The ISU in its recent decision is not applying Rule 353, which states that “competitors having finished the competition and who initially placed lower than the disqualified competitor will move up accordingly in their placement.”

Skate Canada strongly disagrees with the ISU’s position on this matter and will consider all options to appeal this decision.

Gangwon, South Korea (January 29, 2024) – Annika Behnke and Kole Sauve made Canadian figure skating history on Monday at the 2024 Youth Olympic Games in Gangwon, South Korea as they won Canada’s first-ever gold medal, and first-ever individual event medal at a Youth Olympic Games.

Behnke from Peace River, Alta., and Sauve of Grand Prairie, Alta., led throughout the competition, scoring a 39.09 for their short program on Saturday where despite falling on the element, they were the only team to attempt a throw triple loop.

Behnke had a small stumble at the very beginning of their free skate on Monday, but the pair recovered swiftly and performed flawlessly from then on to dominate the competition and score a 74.54 giving them a total score of 113.63. This was well ahead of the silver-medal winning team from the USA – Cayla Smith and Jared McPike (98.00), and the bronze medal team from Spain – Caroline Shan Campillo and Pau Vilella (94.03).

“It feels amazing, I’m really happy. I want to thank all my coaches who have helped me get this far,” said Behnke who together with Sauve were competing in front of their largest crowd ever at the Gangneung Ice Arena – scene of so much success for Canada at the 2018 Winter Olympic Games.

When asked how they recovered after their stumble today, Sauve added: “We just took it one element at a time. After that happened and we got the twist done, we forgot about it. It’s a lot easier to have another person there with you, so they can bring you back up after a mistake.”

In the men’s singles competition, David Li from Richmond, B.C., skated a personal best free skate (118.57) to move up from 11^th after the short program to finish 10^th overall with a total score of 175.73.

“I think the free program, some of the jumps were a little bit shaky, but I’m happy to pull it out and I’m still working on my mental ability to correct things in the program,” said Li who was the junior men’s silver medallist at the 2024 Canadian National Skating Championships last month in Calgary.

Hyungyeom Kim from Korea thrilled his home country crowd to win the gold (216.73) while Adam Hagara from Slovakia took the silver (216.23), and Yanhao Li from New Zealand the bronze (208.84).

The ice dance and women’s singles competitions will wrap up on Tuesday with their free skates, and the team competition will conclude the figure skating competition at the Youth Olympic Games on Thursday.

For full results please click here.