Eighteen Canadian Skaters headed to Kelowna for 2019 Skate Canada International

OTTAWA, ON: Top Canadian and international figure skaters are headed to Kelowna, British Columbia for the 2019 Skate Canada International, taking place from October 25-27, 2019. The event will be held at Prospera Place and will feature 12 Canadian entries (three entries per discipline in men, women, pairs and ice dance), for a total of 18 skaters.

The event will mark the second of six competitions on the annual International Skating Union (ISU) Grand Prix of Figure Skating series, in which skaters compete to qualify for the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final, taking place from December 5-8, 2019 in Torino, Italy.

In the men’s discipline, Canadian Champion Nam Nguyen, 21, Ajax, Ont., is the first of three Canadian men competing. This event will be Nguyen’s third Skate Canada International appearance, having finished fifth in both 2015 and 2018. This season, he finished fourth at Nebelhorn Trophy a stop on the ISU Challenger series. Nguyen is coached by Robert Burk and trains at the Richmond Hill Training Centre.

Nicolas Nadeau, 22, Boisbriand, Que., will be the second of three Canadian men competing. This will be his second time competing at Skate Canada International, having placed seventh in 2017. This event will be Nadeau’s first competition of the 2019-2020 season. He is coached by Yvan Desjardins in Rosemere, Que.

Vaughn, Ontario’s Roman Sadovsky, 20, rounds out the Canadian men’s entries. This will be his second time competing at Skate Canada International, having finished 12^th in 2018. This season, Sadovsky finished third at Finlandia Trophy an ISU Challenger series event. He is coached by Tracey Wainman and Grzegorz Filipowski in Richmond Hill, Ont.

Gabrielle Daleman, 21, Newmarket, Ont., will be the first of three Canadian entries in women. This season, Daleman placed 13th at Finlandia Trophy. Last season, she finished fifth at the 2019 Canadian Tire National Figure Skating Championships and 11^th at the 2019 ISU World Figure Skating Championships. She is coached by Lee Barkell in Toronto, Ont.

Alicia Pineault, 20, Varennes, Que., will be the second Canadian entry in women. This will be her second time competing at Skate Canada International, having finished 10^th in 2018. Last season, she finished eighth at the Canadian Tire National Skating Championships. She is coached by Stephan Yvars in Boucherville, Que.

Aurora Cotop, 18, Thornhill, Ont., was originally assigned to this event but had to withdraw due to a muscle and bone strain affecting the groin. Replacing Cotop is Véronik Mallet, 25, Sept- Îles, Que. This season, Mallet finished 12^th at Autumn Classic International and 10^th at Skate America. This will be her fourth time competing at Skate Canada International having finished eighth in 2013, and 10^th in both 2014 and 2015. She is coached by Annie Barabé and Sophie Richard in Sept-Îles, Que.

Canadian Champions Kirsten Moore-Towers, 27, St. Catharines, Ont., and Michael Marinaro, 27, Sarnia, Ont., will compete in the pairs discipline. This will be their fourth time competing at Skate Canada International, winning bronze in 2015 and 2018. This season, the team brought home a gold medal from Nebelhorn Trophy. They are coached by Bruno Marcotte in Oakville, Ont.

Evelyn Walsh, 18, London, Ont., and Trennt Michaud, 23, Trenton, Ont., will be the second Canadian entry in pairs. This event will be their second time competing at Skate Canada International, they finished fifth in 2018. This season, they finished sixth at Finlandia Trophy. The duo is coach by Alison Purkiss in Branford, Ont.

Pair team Lubov Ilyushechkina, 27, Toronto, Ont., and Charlie Bilodeau, 26, Trois-Pistoles, Que., will compete at their first grand prix event together. This season, they won bronze at Finlandia Trophy. The duo announced their pairing in March. They are coached by Richard Gauthier in Saint-Léonard, Que.

Piper Gilles, 27, Toronto, Ont., and Paul Poirier, 27, Unionville, Ont., will be the first Canadian entry in ice dance. This event will be their fifth time competing at Skate Canada International, having previously won bronze in 2016 and 2018. This season, the team won gold at Autumn Classic International. They are coached by Carol Lane, Juris Razgulajevs and Jon Lane in Scarborough, Ont.

World Junior Ice Dance Champions Marjorie Lajoie, 18, Boucherville, Que., and Zachary Lagha, 20, Saint-Hubert, Que., will be the second Canadian entry in ice dance. This will be their first time competing at Skate Canada International. This season, the two placed fourth at Finlandia Trophy. They are coached by Marie-France Dubreuil, Patrice Lauzon and Romain Haguenauer in Montreal, Que.

The third Canadian entry in ice dance will be Haley Sales, 22, Kelowna, B.C., and Nikolas Wamsteeker, 22, Burnaby, B.C. This will be their second time competing at Skate Canada International, having finished ninth in 2018. This season, they finished 11^th at Nebelhorn Trophy. They are coached by Megan Wing and Aaron Lowe in Burnaby, B.C.

Six-time national medallist and 2013 Four Continents champion Kevin Reynolds, 29, will service as the official Athlete Ambassador for Skate Canada International. In his role as Athlete Ambassador, Reynolds will handle speaking engagements and media interviews, conduct appearances on behalf of the competing athletes, and of course, interact with fans throughout the week.

Elladj Baldé, 28, Montreal, Que., will act as Skate Canada’s digital host for Skate Canada International for the second year in a row. Baldé has competed internationally for Canada 27 times in junior and senior. He will be taking fans behind the scenes at the event, providing fans with an exclusive look at what takes place at grand prix events.

Tickets can be purchased online, by phone at 1-866-514-5050 toll free or 250-762-5050 locally, or in person at the Prospera Place Box Office.

Manon Perron of Boucherville, Que., and Cynthia Ullmark of Canmore, Alta., will be the team leaders at the event. Dr. Tatiana Jevremovic of London, Ont., and physiotherapist Agnes Makowski of Toronto, Ont., will be the Canadian medical staff onsite. Lynn Dey of Edmonton, Alta., Pam Chislett of Grand Prairie, Alta., Leslie Keen of Vancouver, B.C., and Karen Howard of Regina, Sask., will be the Canadian officials attending the event.

The event will be broadcast by CTV/TSN/RDS and the schedule is available on the Skate Canada website. Practices will be streamed live on the Skate Canada Dailymotion page.

For results and full entries please visit www.skatecanada.ca or www.isu.org.

CANADIAN ENTRIES AT 2019 SKATE CANADA INTERNATIONAL – KELOWNA, BRITISH COLUMBIA