Canadian Team Ready to Challenge for the Podium at 2024 ISU Four Continents Championships

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OTTAWA, ON (January 22, 2024) – Canada will be represented by 18 talented skaters at the 2024 ISU Four Continents Figure Skating Championships taking place in Shanghai, China from February 1-4, 2024. The Championships, which are one of the International Skating Union’s (ISU) most significant events, will feature athletes from the Americas, Asia, Africa, and Oceania competing in men’s, women’s, pair, and ice dance events. 

In the women’s field, the Canadian team will be led by two-time national champion and 2023 Nepela Memorial bronze medallist, Madeline Schizas. She will be joined by Sara-Maude Dupuis, who finished in the top-10 at the 2023 ISU Four Continents competition, and Justine Miclette, who brought home a bronze medal from the 2023 Autumn Classic International in Montreal. 

Newly minted senior national champion Wesley Chiu will make his Four Continents debut in the men’s competition. He will be joined by 2023 Skate Canada Challenge gold medallist Conrad Orzel, who finished eighth at the 2023 ISU Four Continents competition, and by 2022 Olympian Roman Sadovsky who will be competing in his first international competition this season after a series of travel mishaps earlier in the season. 

In the pair competition, Deanna Stellato-Dudek and Maxime Deschamps will be looking to add to their growing medal collection after the duo recently won their second national title and brought home bronze from the ISU Grand Prix Final. Lia Pereira and Trennt Michaud, who took home a gold medal from the Grand Prix de France earlier this season, will also be aiming for a spot on the podium, as will national bronze medallists Kelly Ann Laurin and Loucas Éthier. 

As always, Canada will be well-represented in ice dance, with three-time Canadian Champions and 2023 World Championship bronze medallists Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier leading the charge. Joining them will be 2023 Four Continents silver medallists Laurence Fournier-Beaudry and Nikolaj Soerensen, and Marie-Jade Lauriault and Romain Le Gac, who recently finished second at the 2024 Canadian National Skating Championships. 

The competition kicks off Thursday, February 1, with the women’s, men’s, and pair short programs. Friday, February 2, will feature the rhythm dance and women’s free program, while Saturday will feature the men’s and pairs free skate. The competition will wrap up on Sunday, February 4, with the free dance. 

Women 
Sara-Maude Dupuis | 18 | Montreal, Que. | Stephane Yvars | Boucherville, Que.
Justine Miclette | 17 | Chambly, Que. | Yvan Desjardins, Violaine Émard, Vanessa Sauriol | Chambly, Que.
Madeline Schizas | 19 | Oakville, Ont. | Nancy Lemaire & Derek Schmidt | Milton, Ont.      

Men 
Wesley Chiu | 18 | Vancouver, B.C. | Keegan Murphy & Eileen Murphy | Richmond, B.C.
Conrad Orzel | 23 | Toronto, Ont. | Ravi Walia | Edmonton, Alta. 
Roman Sadovsky | 24 | Vaughan, Ont. | Tracey Wainman & Grzegorz Filipowski | Richmond Hill, Ont.  

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.
Marie-Jade Lauriault | 27 | Ste-Anne-des-plaines, Que. & Romain Le Gac | 28 | Ste-Anne-des-plaines, Que. | Marie-France Dubreuil & Patrice Lauzon | Montreal, Que.  

Team Leaders – Mike Slipchuk & Shae Zukiwsky
Medical Team – Scott Fraser & Erika Persson
Officials – André-Marc Allain, Andrew Bosco, Glenn Fortin & Karen Howard  

For more information about the event, click here. 

Canadian Synchronized Skating Teams Kick off Their International Season

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OTTAWA, ON (January 16, 2024) – Canadian junior and senior synchronized skating teams will begin their international competitive season this month with two events – the 2024 Budapest Cup which will take place in Budapest, Hungary from January 19-21, 2024 and the Trophy d’Écosse which will be held in Dumfries, Great Britain from January 26-27, 2024. 

Les Suprêmes, the reigning World Champions and newly minted 2024 Canadian Senior Champions, and NEXXICE senior, the 2023 Canadian Champions, will compete in the senior division at the Budapest Cup, while the Nova junior team, bronze medallists at the Canadian Championships last weekend in Calgary, and Golding Ice Junior, will compete in the junior division. 

At the Trophy d’Écosse, Canada will be represented by the junior teams from NEXXICE, who were the Canadian junior champions in 2023 and silver medallists at the recent 2024 Canadian National Championships, and Ice Ignite who finished fourth at the recent national championships. 

Name | Coaches | Training Location 

2024 BUDAPEST CUP  

Senior   

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

NEXXICE | Shelley Simonton-Barnett & Jennifer Beauchamp-Crichton| Burlington, Ont.   

Junior 

Golding Ice Junior| Vanessa D’Amico & François-Xavier Ouellette | Blainville, Que.

Nova Juniors | Nadine Tougas & Trina McKellar | St-Hubert, Que. 

2024 TROPHY D’ÉCOSSE   

Junior  

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

ICE Ignite Junior | Sheri Moir & Cara Moir | Ilderton, Ont. 

Skate Canada Names Teams for 2024 ISU Championships

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CALGARY, AB (January 14, 2024) – Following the completion of the 2024 Canadian National Skating Championships, Skate Canada has named its teams for two upcoming ISU Championships. The week-long championships were held at Calgary’s WinSport Arena from January 8-14, 2024 and featured junior and senior skaters across the men’s, women’s, pair, ice dance, and synchronized skating disciplines. 

Skate Canada has a robust selection criterion for each ISU Championships to undertake the selection of athletes and teams who will represent Canada at these events. Skate Canada’s selection criteria for ISU Championships can be found on skatecanada.ca. Athletes competing at the 2024 ISU World Figure Skating Championships in Montreal, Canada, will be announced at a later date. 

2024 ISU FOUR CONTINENTS FIGURE SKATING CHAMPIONSHIPS
SHANGHAI, CHINA: JANUARY 30 – FEBRUARY 4, 2024 

Women
Sara-Maude Dupuis
Justine Miclette
Madeline Schizas  

Men
Wesley Chiu
Conrad Orzel
Roman Sadovsky 

 Pair
Kelly Ann Laurin & Loucas Éthier
Lia Pereira & Trennt Michaud
Deanna Stellato-Dudek & Maxime Deschamps 

Ice Dance
Laurence Fournier Beaudry & Nikolaj Soerensen
Marjorie Lajoie & Zachary Lagha
Piper Gilles & Paul Poirier 

2024 ISU WORLD JUNIOR FIGURE SKATING CHAMPIONSHIPS
TAIPEI CITY, TAIPEI: FEBURARY 26 – MARCH 3, 2024  

Women
Lulu Lin
Kaiya Ruiter 

Men
Anthony Paradis
Aleksa Rakic 

 Pair
Ava Kemp & Yohnatan Elizarov
Martina Ariano Kent & Charly Laliberté-Laurent  

Ice Dance
Alisa Korneva & Kieran MacDonald
Chloe Nguyen & Brendan Giang
Layla Veillon & Alexander Brandys

2024 ISU WORLD JUNIOR SYNCHRONIZED SKATING CHAMPIONSHIPS 
NEUCHÂTEL, SWITZERLAND: MARCH 15 – 16, 2024

The two teams selected to represent Skate Canada at the 2024 ISU World Junior Synchronized Championships will be announced on or before February 14, 2024. 

2024 ISU WORLD SYNCHRONIZED SKATING CHAMPIONSHIPS
ZAGREB, CROATIA: APRIL 5-6, 2024

The two teams selected to represent Skate Canada at the 2024 ISU World Synchronized Championships will be announced on or before February 14, 2024. 

New, Defending, and Returning Champions Crowned on Final Day of 2024 Canadian National Skating Championships

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Calgary, AB (January 13, 2024) – The final day of competition at the 2024 Canadian National Skating Championships taking place at the WinSport Arena in Calgary, Alta., saw two new senior champions crowned, defending champions retain their title, and former champions reclaim their title.

Canada has a new senior women’s national champion after Kaiya Ruiter of Calgary, Alta., delighted her hometown family and friends with a new personal best free skate and the best free skate of the day to win gold with an overall score of 180.86. Ruiter dethroned Madeline Schizas of Oakville, Ont., who was looking for her third-straight national title, but who had a tough skate today and finished the free program ranked third. Schizas had to settle for the silver medal (172.90), while Hetty Shi of Mississauga, Ont., last year’s junior national champion, claimed the bronze medal (162.51).

“That was one of the most special performances I’ve ever had in my life, and to be able to share that with my family and friends and everyone I love, is just surreal,” said Ruiter who will be representing Canada at the Youth Olympic Games in Korea at the end of the month. “I just wanted to enjoy the moment. I love this program so much and I just wanted to share that with the audience.”

Former champions reclaimed their senior national titles in the ice dance competition. Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier of Toronto, Ont., who missed last year’s championships while Gilles recovered from surgery, won their third senior Canadian title with a new personal best free skate (136.17) and a new personal best overall score of 222.95.

“Paul and I really skated like champions today. We stepped out onto the ice and remembered who we were, and why we’re here, and used this as a stepping stone for worlds. We want to be on the top of that podium, so we have to start acting like those champions and I think we really did that today,” said Gilles.

Marie-Jade Lauriault and Romain Le Gac of Ste-Anne-des-Plaines, Que., claimed the silver medal, also with a new personal best free skate (122.50) and personal best overall score (200.50), as did the bronze medallists – Alicia Fabbri of Terrebonne, Que., and Paul Ayer of Brossard, Que., whose free skate score (117.86) and overall score (195.61) were both personal bests as well.

The only skaters to defend their senior national title at these Championships were Deanna Stellato-Dudek of Chicago, USA and Maxime Deschamps of Vaudreuil-Dorion, Que., who won gold in the pair competition, and their second-straight national title with an overall score of 205.79. Lia Pereira of Milton, Ont., and Trennt Michaud of Brantford, Ont., took the silver medal (193.14), while Kelly Ann Laurin of St-Jérôme, Que., and Loucas Éthier of St-Alphonse, Que., captured bronze with a huge new personal best free skate (125.19) and overall score (187.40).

“We’re happy that we were able to come back from that bad performance yesterday and show the work that we’ve been doing on our throws. I was not going to back down from those after what happened yesterday,” said Stellato-Dudek who had an uncharacteristic fall on a throw in yesterday’s short program. “We are our own biggest competitors. All we have to do is our own job and I know what the outcome is going to be,” she added.

There was a new national champion in the men’s competition following the retirement of last year’s champion Keegan Messing – last year’s bronze medallist Wesley Chiu of Vancouver, B.C. put in another solid program to finally claim gold with a total of 232.15, almost 7 points ahead of runner up Aleksa Rakic of Burnaby, B.C. Anthony Paradis of Boisbriand, Que., almost missed the podium after his lace broke mid-program, but came back with renewed energy to win the bronze with a total score of 209.98, only a fraction of a point ahead of Conrad Orzel.

“Having Canadian Champion on my back, I can skate with more pride now, but it also comes with responsibility. Overall, I think it’s really motivating to go back and train hard,” said Chiu.

The 2024 Canadian National Skating Championships will wrap up Sunday with the exhibition gala.

Follow the action via Skate Canada’s livestream here. For full results please click here.

Senior Competition Kicks Off at 2024 Canadian National Skating Championships

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Calgary, AB (January 12, 2024) – The 2024 Canadian National Skating Championships have been good for the Les Suprêmes synchronized skating teams from Saint-Léonard, Que. On Friday, their senior team completed a clean sweep for the discipline by winning the senior national title, just one day after their junior team won the junior national title at the WinSport Arena in Calgary, Alta.

The senior Les Suprêmes team are the reigning World Champions so expectations were high for them and they didn’t disappoint, finishing the event with an overall score of 216.79 to win gold. The Nova team from St-Hubert, Que., actually had the top-scoring free skate of the day which moved them up from the third after the short program to capture silver with a total score of 213.97, while Nexxice from Burlington, Ont., who were the reigning Canadian champions, settled for the bronze medal with a total score of 205.95.

“We’re really happy with both of our skates; we had two clean skates, exactly like in practice. Of course, we still have things we can improve, and we’ll be working on that for the next few months,” said Julia Bernardo, co-captain of Les Suprêmes.

While the synchronized skating competition wrapped up, the senior women’s, men’s, pair, and ice dance competitions got started, with the women first in line.

Madeline Schizas of Oakville Ont., the two-time defending Canadian senior champion, finished the day well out in front with a score of 63.63, followed by Kaiya Ruiter who delighted her hometown Calgary crowd and scored a 58.25, and Sara-Maude Dupuis of Montreal, Que., in third with a score of 57.87.

“I thought the performance was good. I really felt like I gave my all on the performance side. The tech elements weren’t all there, but I thought the rest of it was really clean, and overall I’m happy,” said Schizas following the competition.

Next to compete were the ice dance teams, and to no one’s surprise, Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier of Toronto, Ont., the two-time ice dance World Championships bronze medallists, finished the day in first with a score of 86.78. Marie-Jade Lauriault and Romain Le Gac of Ste-Anne-des-Plaines, Que., are sitting in second after scoring 78.00, followed closely by Alicia Fabbri of Terrebonne, Que., and Paul Ayer of Brossard, Que., who established a new personal best score of 77.55 to finish in third.

“We had some cobwebs to get out of the system,” said Poirier. “I wouldn’t say it was the best skate of our lives, but I think some things that we have worked on and changed have been successful and other things just need a little bit more consistency and time to practice. We’re pleased with how this performance went and we’re really looking forward to the free dance tomorrow.”

The pair competition followed the rhythm dance, and saw Deanna Stellato-Dudek of Chicago, USA and Maxime Deschamps of Vaudreuil-Dorion, Que., the defending Canadian champions, finishing in first with a score of 66.86 – just narrowly ahead of Lia Pereira of Milton, Ont., and Trennt Michaud of Brantford, Ont., who finished second with a score of 66.04, due to an uncharacteristic fall on Stellato-Dudek and Deschamps’ throw triple loop. Kelly Ann Laurin of St-Jérôme, Que., and Loucas Éthier of St-Alphonse, Que., sit third with a score of 62.21.

When asked about the fall, Stellato-Dudek commented: “We’ve done probably close to like 100 throws in the past three weeks – working on them a lot. I’m not really sure what went wrong today.” Looking forward to the free skate tomorrow, she added: “The free, we’re just looking to hopefully do a better job than we did at the (Grand Prix) Final and show some of the improvement we’ve worked really hard on for the last three weeks.”

Closing out the evening was the men’s short program which was dominated by Wesley Chiu of Vancouver, B.C. who delivered a solid performance to set a personal best of 88.98. Aleksa Rakic of Burnaby, B.C., currently sits in second place with 75.49, while Anthony Paradis of Boisbriand, Que., made his senior championships debut with a score of 74.16 to finish third.

The competition part of the 2024 Canadian National Skating Championships will finish Saturday with the free skate for all disciplines, with the Championships themselves wrapping up on Sunday with the exhibition gala.

Follow the action via Skate Canada’s livestream here. For full results please click here.

Les Suprêmes Crowned Junior National Synchronized Skating Champions

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Calgary, AB (January 11, 2024) – The Les Suprêmes junior team from Saint-Léonard, Que., claimed the junior national synchronized skating title on Thursday evening at the 2024 Canadian National Skating Championships taking place at the WinSport Arena in Calgary, Alta, setting a new national record along the way.

The team of 16 skaters, who last won the junior national title in 2022, delivered a very strong free skate to score 125.26 and win the gold medal with a total overall score of 197.55 – a new national record.

“We did exactly what we do at home, and I think our performance really reflected all of our hard work and we’re really proud,” said team co-captain Victoria Gimenez.

When asked if the fact that they were sitting in first after their short program impacted them at all heading into the competition today, Gabriella Musi, the other team co-captain, added: “If we were last, second, or third, it would have been the same thing that we would have delivered on the ice – because at the end of the day, it’s a new day and a level playing field for everybody. The new national record is just a great bonus!”

Last year’s champions, Nexxice from Burlington, Ont., took the silver medal with an overall score of 189.07, while Nova from St-Hubert, Que., took bronze with an overall score of 183.28.

It was a good day for the Les Suprêmes club as their senior team also topped the results with their short program. The team, who are the reigning World Champions, scored a 74.80 to take the lead with the senior team from Nexxice sitting second with a score of 72.24, and the Nova senior team sitting third with a score of 71.81.

“It feels great. We’ve worked really hard the last few weeks to clean our programs, and improve our calls, and just deliver a clean program and I think that’s what we did today,” said Les Suprêmes team co-captain Olivia Digiandomenico.

The senior synchronized skating competition will wrap up Friday with the free skate, while the senior competition gets started with the short program for the women, men, and pair skaters, and the rhythm dance for the ice dance teams.

Follow the action via Skate Canada’s livestream here. For full results please click here.

New Junior Canadian Champions Crowned at 2024 Canadian National Skating Championships

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Calgary, AB (January 10, 2024) – Four new Junior Canadian Champions were crowned on Wednesday at the WinSport Arena in Calgary, Alta., as the 2024 Canadian National Skating Championships continued.

Starting things off for the second day in a row were the junior men. John Kim of Mississauga, Ont., who was leading after the short program and skated last, had a tougher time with his jumps and finished the day in fourth overall. That meant that the title was up for grabs, and Terry Yu Tao Jin of Surrey, B.C., was ready and willing to grab it – he laid down an almost flawless performance to improve from fourth in the short program to take the junior national title with a total overall score of 185.20.

“I’ve worked towards this for a long time, so I feel like I belong here – this feels great,” said Yu Tao Jin who hasn’t previously won a Canadian title. “This competition, I knew I just had to turn my mind off, trust in my technique and my training, and just see where it took me, and it turned out well!”

David Li of Richmond, B.C., who will be heading to the 2024 Youth Olympic Games in a couple of weeks, took the silver medal with a total score of 179.45, while David Shteyngart of Ottawa, Ont., took the bronze with a total score of 175.40.

In the junior pair competition, ISU Grand Prix Final silver medallists Ava Kemp and Yohnatan Elizarov of Winnipeg, Man., continued to dominate, finishing first in the free skate to win gold and their first junior national title with an overall score of 165.50.

“It feels good, we’re still a little bit upset with our performance today as it was a little bit messy, and not quite what we can do, so we’re a little bit disappointed in that, but overall, I think we’re pretty happy with how this went,” said Kemp of their free skate which scored a 105.05, well shy of their personal best score for the routine of 110.92 which they scored at the Grand Prix Final.

Martina Ariano Kent of Mount Royal, Que., and Charly Laliberté-Laurent of Boucherville, Que., moved up from third after the short program to take the silver medal with an overall score of 149.44, leaving Jazmine Desrochers of Mississauga, Ont., and Kieran Thrasher of Amherstburg Ont., to take bronze with a total score of 149.24.

There was a shake-up in the junior women’s competition from the short program as well with Lulu Lin of Mississauga, Ont., skating a very strong technical program to move up from third after the short program to win gold with an overall score of 166.74.

“I’m really happy. I came into this competition not really expecting to win, but I skated my best and I think that’s what matters the most,” said Lin who won gold at the 2023 Skate Canada Challenge – Junior/Senior competition this past December. “I landed most of my jumps. I think by the end, I got a little bit overexcited, so moving forward, I’m going to work on being calm throughout the whole program.”

Aleksa Volkova of Lac Brôme, Que., maintained second place to win silver with an overall score of 158.00, while Mély-Ann Gagner of Sherbrooke, Que., improved mightily with her free skate to move up from eighth after the short program to take bronze with a total score of 147.84. Megan Woodley of Oro Station, Ont., who was leading after the short program, struggled with her free skate and finished sixth overall.

The junior ice dance competition closed out the day and saw 2022 novice champions Layla Veillon and Alexander Brandys of London, Ont., deliver a flawless free dance to take the win with a score of 160.80. Skate Canada Challenge gold medallists Chloe Nguyen of Vancouver, B.C. and Brendan Giang of Burnaby, B.C. finished second with 154.25 and Alisa Korneva and Kieran MacDonald of Kitchener-Waterloo, Ont. moved up from fourth to win the bronze with a score of 147.

“We really tried not to focus on how close we were to first and the distance between second and third because in the end anything can happen, and we just wanted to put out our best skate. Whatever was going to happen we were going to be proud and obviously winning is an amazing bonus,” said Veillon.

The synchronized skating portion of the competition also began today, with the junior synchronized skating teams taking to the ice to perform their short programs. Les Suprêmes from Saint-Léonard, Que., finished the day in first with a score of 72.29, with the Nexxice team from Burlington, Ont., just behind them with a score of 71.60, followed by Nova from St-Hubert, Que., in third with 69.23.

Thursday will see the junior synchronized skating teams perform their free skate, and the senior synchronized skating teams will complete their short program.

Follow the action via Skate Canada’s livestream here. For full results please click here.

Junior Skaters Shine on First Day of 2024 Canadian National Skating Championships

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Calgary, AB (January 9, 2024) – The 2024 Canadian National Skating Championships kicked off Tuesday at the WinSport Arena in Calgary, Alberta with the short program for the junior men, women, and pair skaters, and the rhythm dance for junior ice dance.

The junior men got the competition going, and John Kim of Mississauga, Ont., had the best performance of the day with a score of 67.79 to take the lead. Kim was the 2020 national novice champion, and finished third at the 2022 National Championships, but missed last year’s championships after taking a year off. David Bondar of Richmond Hill, Ont., finished the day in second with a score of 67.45, followed by David Shteyngart of Ottawa, Ont., in third with a score of 65.65.

Next up was the junior pair competition which saw Ava Kemp and Yohnatan Elizarov of Winnipeg, Man., silver medallists at the recent ISU Grand Prix Final, dominating the competition to take the top spot with a new personal best score of 60.45 in their short program.

“I thought our program went very well. I stumbled a little bit throughout the program, but I’m really happy with the elements we performed,” said Elizarov, who together with Kemp finished sixth at the 2023 World Junior Championships held at the WinSport Arena last year. “For tomorrow, we just need to focus on ourselves, and the elements, and maybe we’ll get another PB.”

Jazmine Desrochers of Mississauga, Ont., and Kieran Thrasher of Amherstburg Ont., who brought home a bronze medal from the 2023 ISU Grand Prix Final are sitting in second with a score of 51.54, while Martina Ariano Kent of Mount Royal, Que., and Charly Laliberté-Laurent of Boucherville, Que., who finished fourth at the Grand Prix Final, are sitting third with a score of 49.74.

Megan Woodley of Oro Station, Ont., skated a very strong technical program to finish the day in the top spot in the junior women’s competition with a new personal best score of 59.15.

“My program went really well,” said Woodley. “My goal for tomorrow’s free skate is to just take it jump by jump and focus on just doing the technique right and then it’ll just go where it goes.”

Aleksa Volkova of Lac-Brôme, Que., is sitting second with a score of 57.13, while Lulu Lin of Mississauga, Ont., sits third with a score of 56.58.

The day wrapped up with the ice dance teams performing their rhythm dance, with 2023-2024 Skate Canada Challenge winners Chloe Nguyen of Vancouver, B.C. and Brendan Giang of Burnaby, B.C. scoring a season’s best of 67.06 to place first. Layla Veillon and Alexander Brandys of London, Ont., were second with 64.41 and the new team of Jamie Fournier of Brossard, Que., and Everest Zhu of Waterloo, Ont. sit in third with 58.67.

“I think we put out what we wanted to, and we felt really good on the ice when we were out there so we’re happy with what we did,” said Giang.

Wednesday will feature the completion of the junior competition with the free skate for men, women, pair, and ice dance, and the beginning of the synchronized skating competition with the short program for the juniors.

Follow the action via Skate Canada’s livestream here. For full results please click here.

Skate Canada Statement Regarding USA Today Article

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Skate Canada is committed to providing an environment where everyone can experience the joy of skating in a safe and healthy manner. We take harassment, bullying, and abuse issues extremely seriously, and we have a comprehensive process to address allegations of such behaviour.

All complaints of misconduct for program signatories who are members of the Skate Canada National High Performance Team are managed by Abuse-Free Sport through the Office of the Sport Integrity Commissioner (OSIC) to ensure an independent review, investigation and disposition.

As a Program Signatory, Skate Canada complies with any directives of Abuse-Free Sport and its agents, including the Director of Sanctions and Outcomes (DSO).

Skaters on the Hunt for Canadian Championship Titles at The 2024 Canadian National Skating Championships in Calgary

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OTTAWA, ON (January 2, 2024) – The figure skating elite from across Canada are set to converge on the WinSport Arena at Canada Olympic Park in Calgary, Alta. for the 2024 Canadian National Skating Championships from January 8-14, 2024. Over 300 skaters in the men, women, pair, ice dance, and synchronized skating disciplines across the junior and senior levels will look to shine as they compete for the title of 2024 Canadian champion. 

With the retirement of last year’s men’s champion Keegan Messing, the men’s title will be up for grabs with several skaters in the mix including 2023 silver medallist Conrad Orzel, 2023 Autumn Classic International bronze medalist Stephen Gogolev, 2022 Olympian Roman Sadovsky, and 2023 Cranberry Cup International silver medallist Wesley Chiu. 

Madeline Schizas will be looking to claim her third consecutive women’s title, with 2023 Autumn Classic International silver medallist Kaiya Ruiter hot on her heels.  

Deanna Stellato-Dudek and Maxime Deschamps, the reigning pair champions, will be coming off a dominating Grand Prix season that saw them capture a bronze medal at the Grand Prix Final. The new team of Lia Pereira and Trennt Michaud will also be looking to step on the podium after a successful Grand Prix season that saw the pair win the 2023 Grand Prix de France. 

Last year’s ice dance champions Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Nikolaj Soerensen will have a fight on their hands with the return of two-time national champions and 2023 Grand Prix Final bronze medallists Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier after the duo missed last year’s event due to illness. Two-time 2023 Grand Prix silver medalists Marjorie Lajoie and Zachary Lagha will also be on the watch list after the duo set a new personal best score at the Cup of China. 

In synchronized skating, the battle will be fierce between Nexxice who will be looking to defend their 2023 title, and the two-time reigning World Champions, Les Suprêmes. 

In addition to competing for medals, skaters will be vying for spots on the Skate Canada National Team and the Canadian teams that will compete at the 2024 ISU Four Continents Figure Skating Championships, the 2024 ISU World Junior Figure Skating Championships, the 2024 ISU World Figure Skating Championships being hosted in Montreal, Que., the 2024 ISU World Junior Synchronized Skating Championships, and the 2024 ISU World Synchronized Skating Championships. 

Single-session tickets for the 2024 Canadian Tire National Skating Championships are currently on sale and begin at $35 (plus applicable fees). Tickets can be purchased at ticketmaster.ca. 

For more information including the schedule, entries and start orders, click here.  

Triple Medal Day for Canadian Skaters at ISU Grand Prix Final

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Beijing, China (December 9, 2023) – Canadian figure skaters captured three medals on the final day of the 2023 ISU Grand Prix Final in Beijing, China on Saturday with Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier capturing bronze in senior ice dance, while Ava Kemp and Yohnatan Elizarov took silver, and Jazmine Desrochers and Kieran Thrasher took bronze in the junior pair competition.

Gilles of Toronto, Ont., and Poirier of Unionville, Ont., the reigning Grand Prix Final champions, came into the competition as strong favourites after recording wins at Skate Canada International and the Cup of China but had to settle for bronze (213.58) after Madison Chock and Evan Bates of the USA skated flawlessly to win gold (221.61), and the Italian couple of Charlene Guignard and Marco Fabbri also stepped up their routine to capture silver (215.51).

“We’re very happy. We really lost ourselves in the program and over time this program is really starting to grow with us, and we’re learning how to push it out at certain points. It’s taken some time to really figure out where to go with it, and the more we perform it, the easier it’s gotten, and the easier it’s become to reflect our stories and everything we’re trying to emote on the ice,” said Gilles following the performance.

Laurence Fournier-Beaudry and Nikolaj Soerensen of Montreal, Que., finished the day in fifth with a total score of 195.57, but gained a lot of experience for the rest of the season.

“Sometimes it’s just a little harder than others. I had a really hard time adjusting to the schedule here in China, I’ve slept pretty bad every night, so I think fatigue got to me a little bit,” said Soerensen. “We changed the program quite a bit since Finland, so we’re really happy with the direction it’s going. It’s moving in the right direction, and it’s a program we love so much. It’s the kind of story that we really enjoy telling on the ice.”

Marjorie Lajoie of Boucherville, Que., and Zachary Lagha of Saint-Hubert, Que., who were competing in their first senior Grand Prix Final, finished sixth with a total score of 193.63.

Kemp and Elizarov of Winnipeg, Man., and Desrochers of Mississauga, Ont., and Thrasher of Amherstburg, Ont., both skated season’s best performances to secure their silver (168.83) and bronze (156.33) medals respectively in the junior pair competition. Martina Ariano Kent of Mount Royal, Que., and Charly Laliberté-Laurent of Boucherville, Que., finished the day in fourth (150.70).

The Georgian team of Anastasiia Metelkina and Luka Berulava continued their dominance from the short program to win gold with a total score of 202.11.

“I feel good about that program. It’s the first program we’ve ever done internationally with two throw triples, and it’s a really stressful competition, so we’re really happy that we managed to bring those out,” said Elizarov. “Every competition we’ve been getting season’s bests and that’s really what you want. It doesn’t really matter for placement as long as you’re improving yourselves.”

Desrochers and Thrasher, who have been skating together for less than a year, were delighted with their free skate performance that scored 101.42 to move them up from fourth position to take bronze.

“We’re really happy with that skate. Our goal, other than the points, was just to show everyone that we can do a good free program because in the past on the international stage, we haven’t shown people that, so that was another goal we’ve accomplished at this competition,” said Thrasher.

Next up for Canadian skaters is the 2024 Canadian National Skating Championships taking place in Calgary, Alta., from Jan 8-14, 2024.

For full results please click here.

Bronze for Pair Skaters Stellato-Dudek and Deschamps at ISU Grand Prix Final

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Beijing, China (December 8, 2023) – Canadian skaters captured their first medal of the ISU Grand Prix Final on Friday with Deanna Stellato-Dudek of Chicago, USA and Maxime Deschamps of Vaudreuil-Dorion, Que., winning a bronze medal in the senior pair competition.

The pair was sitting in second following their short program on Thursday, and despite no major mistakes, some small execution errors dropped them into third in the free skate to finish the competition with bronze and an overall score of 204.30.

“We were the top team by, like, 10 points so we know this is way below expectations,” said Stellato-Dudek about their performance and the fact that they were the top-team coming into this competition. “But we are still scoring really competitively with mistakes on almost all the big elements, so if we can just clean it up, we’re know going to get higher than what we got at Skate Canada.”

Deschamps added: “After coming back from the Cup of China, we have been working on a lot of stuff and we were able to perform it today. We are so proud overall of the week and also what we wanted to make better this week.”

Minerva Fabienne Hase and Nikita Volodin of Germany also had some small mistakes in their program, and have been battling illness, but hung on to win the gold medal with a total score 106.43, while the Italian team of Sara Conti and Niccolo Macii had the best free skate of the day to move up to take the silver medal with a total score of 205.88

Lia Pereira of Milton, Ont., and Trennt Michaud of Brantford, Ont., who were competing in their first Grand Prix Final, finished sixth with a total score of 185.16.

“We’re proud of what we did today,” said Pereira. “Coming from a not-so-good short – we haven’t had to do that yet, we’ve been fortunate to skate good shorts in most of our competitions so far, so that was a setback mentally and I think we did a really good job recovering from that today, and wanting to continue to push ourselves and have new experiences.”

While the senior pair competition wrapped up, competition began for senior ice dance, and saw strong performances from all six teams. Piper Gilles of Toronto, Ont., and Paul Poirier of Unionville, Ont., the reigning Grand Prix Final Champions are the top Canadian team, sitting in third with a score of 85.17 for their rhythm dance.

“I think we’re pleased. We’ve made quite a few changes in the program since the Cup of China to try to boost the energy, and we’re really proud of that skate. We just enjoyed the moment,” said Gilles.

Laurence Fournier-Beaudry and Nikolaj Soerensen of Montreal, Que., had a small touch in their side-by-side twizzles that put them in fifth with a score of 74.82, while Marjorie Lajoie of Boucherville, Que., and Zachary Lagha of Saint-Hubert, Que., the youngest team in the competition, are sitting just behind in sixth with a score of 74.74.

Madison Chock and Evan Bates of the USA are sitting in first with a score of 89.15, while Charlene Guignard and Marco Fabbri of Italy sit second with a score of 85.82.

The ISU Grand Prix Final concludes Saturday with the free dance for the senior ice dance teams, and the free program for the junior pair skaters.

For full results please click here