Tag Archive for: 2016 Rostelecom Cup

Bronze medal for Weaver and Poje at ISU Grand Prix

MOSCOW – Kaitlyn Weaver and Andrew Poje of Waterloo, Ont., won the bronze medal on Saturday at the Rostelecom Cup, to conclude the third stop on the ISU Grand Prix figure skating circuit.

Ekaterina Bobrova and Dmitri Soloviev of Russia took the gold with 186.68 points. Madison Chock and Evan Bates of the U.S. were second at 182.13 while the Canadians followed at 178.57.

‘’We are really pleased with how the performance went,’’ said Poje. ‘’We really wanted to come out there and show the work we’ve put into creating our story and our emotion. We felt really connected to the audience. It’s early in the season but we wanted a strong technical score and to feel like we are on the right track.’’

Weaver and Poje’s new Spanish-flavored long program was ranked second on the day as they nearly reeled in the Americans for the silver. They ended a six Grand Prix event winning streak dating back to 2014.

‘’We’ll take the feedback from here and analyse what worked and what didn’t work in our programs,’’ added Poje. ‘’This being our first competition we want to take the best direction from here until the rest of the season.’’

In pairs, Julianne Séguin of Longueuil, Que., and Charlie Bilodeau of Trois-Pistoles, Que., remained fifth overall following their free skate. Aliona Savchenko and Bruno Massot of Germany won the gold medal ahead of two Russian pairs.

Camille Ruest of Boucherville, Que., and Andrew Wolfe of Montreal were sixth. In the end Séguin and Bilodeau, the Skate America champions two weeks ago, were only 5.5 points from the podium.

‘’It was a tough fight today,’’ said Séguin. ‘’But we continued to believe in ourselves and gave a good performance. It was a learning experience.’’

Bilodeau said it was hard to go into the free skate standing fifth.

‘’We made big errors in the short so we had a strike against us right off the start,’’ he said. ‘’But we were able to stay focused and get through our long program.’’

Ruest and Wolfe completed their debut on the circuit.

“We continued to improve,’’ said Ruest. ‘’We need to continue to gain speed and improve our transitions on our long programs. Our technical scores are where we wanted them to be for now.’’

In men’s competition, world champion Javier Fernandez of Spain took the gold medal with Shoma Uno of Japan second and Alexei Bychenko of Israel third.

Elladj Baldje of Pierrefonds, Que., produced another clean program and was sixth.

‘’There were some small errors but overall it was a satisfying competition for me,’’ said Baldje. ‘’Fitness-wise I felt super strong and that will be a real plus for me in the future. I’m going to continue working on the quad and make it better.’’

The fourth stop on the circuit is next Friday and Saturday in Paris.

Full results: ISU GP Rostelecom Cup 2016

Weaver and Poje unveil thrilling short dance at Grand Prix

MOSCOW – Kaitlyn Weaver and Andrew Poje of Waterloo, Ont., are in third place after a spectacular debut of their Michael Jackson flavoured short dance on Friday at the Rostelecom Cup, the third stop on the ISU Grand Prix figure skating circuit.

Madison Chock and Evan Bates of the U.S., the Skate Canada International silver medallists last week, are first at 75.04, Ekaterina Bobrova and Dmitri Soloviev of Russia second at 74.92 and Weaver and Poje earned 69.81.

‘’We are very pleased with our performance,’’ said Weaver. ‘’This is our first competition of the season for us and we underwent many changes through the summer including this brand new short dance. We came out today feeling calm and excited to perform.’’

The Canadians, who skated a highly original program to three Michael Jackson tunes (The Way You Make Me Feel, Dangerous and Jam), received a rousing and extended ovation from the crowd for their performance.  Weaver and Poje will try to extend their Grand Prix event winning streak to seven in Saturday’s free dance.

‘’We were treated like hometown athletes from the crowd here,’’ Weaver said. ‘’We had an error on our twizzle and lost points there but we are taking away a lot of positives. We can’t wait to show of our free skate.’’

In pairs, Julianne Séguin of Longueuil, Que., and Charlie Bilodeau of Trois-Pistoles, Que., the Skate America champions two weeks ago, are in fifth spot after the short.

They are only eighth points from the leaders. Both skaters fell on the side-by-side jumps and Séguin touched one hand down on the throw.

‘’Of course it wasn’t our best,’’ said Séguin. ‘’I expect we’ll come back much stronger tomorrow because our long program is more polished right now.’’

Natalia Zabiiako and Alexander Enbert of Russia lead at 69.76, Aliona Savchenko and Bruno Massot of Germany are second at 69.51 and Valentina Marchei and Ondrej Hotarek of Italy third at 66.82. Séguin and Bilodeau scored 61.72 and Camille Ruest of Boucherville, Que., and Andrew Wolfe of Montreal are seventh at 60.09.

In men’s competition, Shoma Uno of Japan stands first after the short, world champion Javier Fernandez of Spain is second and Mikhail Kolyada of Russia third.

Elladj Balde of Pierrefonds, Que., produced a clean program but with no quad jump he is ranked sixth.  ‘’The goal was to come here and skate clean,’’ he said. ‘’That’s the way I’ve been skating every day at home. I broke the 37-point barrier for my components which shows that may skating’s improved.’’

Canada has no entries in women’s competition.

All free skates are on Saturday.

Full results: ISU GP Rostelecom Cup 2016

 

Rostelecom Cup marks third stop for Canadian team on ISU Grand Prix circuit

OTTAWA, ON: Skate Canada will have four entries, for a total of seven skaters, in Moscow, Russia, for the 2016 Rostelecom Cup. Canada will have one entry in men’s, two entries in pairs and one entry in ice dance at the event which takes place from November 4-6, 2016.

Elladj Baldé, 25, Montreal, Que., will be the Canadian entry in the men’s category and will be competing at this event for the first time. Baldé placed eighth at his first event this season, the U.S. International Figure Skating Classic. He trains in Montreal, Que., with his coach Bruno Marcotte.

Julianne Séguin, 19, Longueuil, Que., and Charlie Bilodeau, 23, Trois-Pistoles, Que., will be the first of two Canadian pairs entries at the event. This season, they won gold at their assignment on the ISU Challenger Series, the 2016 Autumn Classic International, and also won gold at their first ISU Grand Prix assignment, Skate America. Séguin and Bilodeau are coached by Josée Picard in Chambly, Que.

Camille Ruest, 22, Rimouski, Que., and Drew Wolfe, 21, Calgary, Alta., will also represent Canada in pairs. Earlier this season, the duo placed fourth at their first international assignment together, the 2016 Autumn Classic International. Ruest and Wolfe are coached by Richard Gauthier and Bruno Marcotte in Montreal, Que.

Two-time world medallists Kaitlyn Weaver, 27, Toronto, Ont., and Andrew Poje, 29, Waterloo, Ont., will be the Canadian entry in ice dance. Weaver and Poje have previously competed at this event three times, winning the silver medal in 2011 and 2013, and the gold medal last year. The two-time consecutive Canadian champions are coached by Nikolai Morozov and train in Hackensack, NJ, USA.

Terra Findlay of Echo Bay, Ont., will be the Canadian team leader at the event. Dr. Albert Schumacher of Tecumseh, Ont., and physiotherapist Meghan Buttle of Toronto, Ont., will be the Canadian medical staff onsite. Janice Hunter of West Vancouver, B.C., and Leslie Keen of Vancouver, B.C., will be the Canadian officials at the event.

For results and full entries please visit www.isu.org.

CANADIAN ENTRIES AT 2016 ROSTELECOM CUP

Discipline Name Age Hometown Club Coach
Men Elladj Baldé 25 Montreal, Que. CPA Anjou Kinsmen Bruno Marcotte
Pairs Julianne Séguin / Charlie Bilodeau 19/23 Longueuil, Que. / Trois-Pistoles, Que. CPA Longueuil / CPA Chambly Josée Picard
Pairs Camille Ruest / Drew Wolfe 22/21 Rimouski, Que. / Balmertown, Ont. CPA De Rimouski / Glencoe Club Richard Gauthier / Bruno Marcotte
Ice Dance Kaitlyn Weaver / Andrew Poje 27/29 Toronto, Ont. / Waterloo, Ont. Sault FSC / Kitchener-Waterloo SC Nikolai Morozov