Tag Archive for: 2019 ISU Four Continents Figure Skating Championships

Canadian ice dancers win silver and bronze at ISU Four Continents

ANAHEIM, California – Kaitlyn Weaver and Andrew Poje of Waterloo, Ont., took the silver and Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier of Toronto followed for the bronze in ice dancing on Sunday to conclude the ISU Four Continents figure skating competition.

Madison Chock and Evan Bates of the U.S. won the free dance to get the gold with 207.42 points. Weaver and Poje ranked third for both programs but their consistency gave them the silver with 203.93. Gilles and Poirier move from fourth to third with the second best free dance totalling 202.45.

“We feel really proud of our skate today,” said Poje. “We went out there and just tried to perform the whole story behind our program We were more connected to than in our previous performance.”

The couple skated to a piece from the Quebec rock opera Starmania in tribute to figure skater Denis Ten of Kazakhstan, stabbed to death in a car hijacking last year at age 25.

“It’s a very emotional piece to the last music he performed to,” added Weaver. “It’s a great inspiration, not only because he was an amazing skater but an amazing person. We want to give our best tribute to him.”

Gilles and Poirier were also satisfied with their performance skated to Don MacLean’s hit song Vincent (Starry, Starry Night).

“Every time we perform this we feel a different emotion but we always feel that magic,” said Gilles. “We need to keep creating moments, that we’re proud of and keep going with this momentum to reach our goal to be on the podium at worlds.”

Madison Hubbell and Zachary Donohue of the U.S., first after the rhythm dance, wound up fourth.

Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Nikolaj Sorensen of Montreal were sixth.

Canada ends the competition with three medals. On Saturday, Kirsten Moore-Towers of St. Catharines, Ont., and Michael Marinaro of Sarnia, Ont., won silver in pairs.

Photo Credit: Danielle Earl Photography

Full results: http://www.isuresults.com/results/season1819/fc2019/

Moore-Towers and Marinaro take silver at ISU Four Continents

ANAHEIM, California – Canada’s Kirsten Moore-Towers and Michael Marinaro were 0.06 points short of gold on Saturday in pairs as they earned Canada’s first medal at the 2019 ISU Four Continents figure skating event.

Olympic silver medallists Wenjing Sui and Cong Han of China snuck by the Canadians for the victory with 211.11 points. Moore-Towers and Marinaro, first after the short program Friday, earned 211.05 for silver and Cheng Peng and Yang Jin of China were third at 205.42.

“It’s bittersweet,” said Moore-Towers from St. Catharines, Ont. “We were so close to first place but we’re proud of the performance we put out and we know the areas we need to improve.”

“We’ve definitely come a long way since November,” added Marinaro, from Sarnia, Ont. “There was a big improvement in points but it’s too bad we let a couple get away from us. Lesson for the future that we need every point we can get.”

Evelyn Walsh of London, Ont., and Trennt Michaud of Trenton, Ont., were seventh and Camille Ruest of Rimouski, Que., and Andrew Wolfe of Calgary eighth.

In men’s competition, Olympic silver medallist Shoma Uno of Japan took the gold with 289.12, Boyang Jin of China was second at 273.51 and Vincent Zhou of the U.S. third at 272.22

Keegan Messing of Sherwood Park, Alta., followed in fourth with a career international best 267.61. He was fifth after the short program and produced the third best free skate of the night. His skate included two triple Axels and two quad toes both with one in combination.

“I’m pretty excited,” said Messing. “It’s rewarding for me because this is what I’ve been fighting for every day and to put down two clean programs this week is very satisfying.”

Canadian champion Nam Nguyen of Toronto was 10th and Nicolas Nadeau of Boisbriand, Que., was 11th.

Competition ends Sunday with the free dance. Canadian couples Kaitlyn Weaver and Andrew Poje of Waterloo, Ont., and Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier of Toronto stand third and fourth after Friday’s rhythm dance.

Photo Credit: Danielle Earl Photography

Full results: http://www.isuresults.com/results/season1819/fc2019/

Moore-Towers and Marinaro first after short at ISU Four Continents

ANAHEIM, California – Canadians Kirsten Moore-Towers and Michael Marinaro produced their best short program of the season to stand first in pairs on Friday at the ISU Four Continents figure skating competition.

Moore-Towers and Marinaro, crowned Canadian champions last month, earned 74.66 points, a career high in international competition. Their clean skate featured a triple twist, side-by-side triple toe and a triple throw loop.

“We did everything to the best of our ability,” said Moore-Towers, from St. Catharines, Ont. “We went out there and did a clean program with big levels.”

Olympic silver medallists Wenjing Sui and Cong Han of China are second at 74.19 and their compatriots Cheng Peng and Yang Jin are third at 69.48.

Evelyn Walsh of London, Ont., and Trennt Michaud of Brantford, Ont., are sixth at 61.91 and Camille Ruest of Rimouski, Que., and Andrew Wolfe of Calgary are eighth at 57.38.

In ice dancing, the U.S. is 1-2 and Canada 3-4 after the rhythm dance. Madison Hubbell and Zachary Donohue lead at 81.95, Madison Chock and Evan Bates are second at 81.17. Kaitlyn Weaver and Andrew Poje of Waterloo, Ont., are third at 80.56 and Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier of Toronto fourth at 78.05.

“It wasn’t our best,” said Poje. “We definitely have things we want to move forward on and we’re looking forward to doing our best again in the free skate.”

Gilles and Poirier were also satisfied with their skate.

“We’ve had some issues with our levels in the short and those were better today,” said Poirier. “The approach to the training we took after nationals has paid off and we’ve set ourselves up well for the free dance.”

Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Nikolaj Sorensen of Montreal are sixth at 73.30.

The women’s competition concluded late Friday. Rika Kihira led Japan to three of the top four placings with the gold. Elizabet Tursynbaeva of Kazakhstan was second and Mai Mihara of Japan third.

Veronik Mallet of Sept-Iles, Que., surged from 12th to ninth and Larkyn Austman of Coquitlam, B.C., was 10th. Canadian champion Alaine Chartrand of Prescott, Ont., was 16th.

“I’m really happy with how I skated,” said Mallet. “Both programs were strong and I replicated what I had been doing in practice.”

Competition continues through to Sunday.

Photo Credit: Danielle Earl Photography

Full results: http://www.isuresults.com/results/season1819/fc2019/

Keegan Messing top Canadian as 2019 ISU Four Continents gets underway

ANAHEIM, California – Keegan Messing of Sherwood Park, Alta., stands fifth after Thursday’s short program in men’s competition at the 2019 ISU Four Continents figure skating competition.

Vincent Zhou of the U.S. leads with 100.18 points, Junhwan Cha of South Korea is second at 97.33 and Boyang Jin of China is third at 92.17. Messing is in medal contention after scoring 88.18.

Canadian champion Nam Nguyen of Toronto is eighth at 79.55 and Nicolas Nadeau of Boisbriand, Que., 11th at 74.44.

“I was a bit slower today,” said Nguyen. “I tweaked by back foot in practice which gave me something to think about when I was skating. I’m glad I got through that to carry the positive momentum I’ve had this season.”

In women’s competition, Bradie Tennell of the U.S. is first after the short program with Kaori Sakamoto of Japan second and Mariah Bell of the U.S. third.

Larkyn Austman of Coquitlam, B.C. is the top Canadian in 11th, Veronik Mallet of Sept-Iles, Que., is 12th and Canadian champion Alaine Chartrand of Prescott, Ont., 21st.

“Apart from an unacceptable mistake I felt pretty good about my program,” said Austman, a 2018 Olympian. “I’m confident I got my levels and I’m happy with the score despite the fall. I feel I can get my minimum technical scores for the worlds in the free skate.”

Chartrand struggled in her warm-up and couldn’t recover.

“I felt uncomfortable,” she said. “I was slipping and I didn’t have enough confidence in my edges. I don’t know what happened. All the practices leading in were good.”

Competition continues through to Sunday.

Full results: http://www.isuresults.com/results/season1819/fc2019/

Eighteen skaters headed to 2019 ISU Four Continents Figure Skating Championships

OTTAWA, ON:  Team Canada will be sending 18 skaters to the 2019 ISU Four Continents Figure Skating Championships  in Anaheim, California, USA from February 7-10. The championships will welcome the best skaters from the Americas, Asia, Australia and Africa.

Canada will have three skaters in each discipline: men, women, pair and ice dance, for a total of 12 entries and 18 athletes.

Canadian champion, Nam Nguyen, 20, Ajax, Ont., will represent Canada in the men’s category. Nguyen won his second Canadian title in January and is coached by Robert Burk. He trains at the Richmond Hill Training Centre.

Keegan Messing, 27, Sherwood Park, Alta./ Brantford, Ont., will also compete in the men’s discipline for Canada. He picked up the bronze medal at the 2019 Canadian Tire National Figure Skating Championships in January. He is coached by Ralph Burghart and trains in Anchorage, AK.

The third entry in men’s is Nicolas Nadeau, 21, Boisbriand, Que. He finished 6th at the 2019 Canadian Tire National Skating Championships in January. He is coached by Yvan Desjardins and trains out of Rosemere, Que.

Alaine Chartrand, 22, Prescott, Ont., will be representing Canada in the women’s discipline. She took home the gold medal at the 2019 Canadian Tire National Skating Championships in January. She is coached by Tracey Wainman and Grzegorz Filipowski and trains in Richmond Hill, Ont.

Véronik Mallet, 24, Sept-Iles, Que., will be the second entry in the woman’s discipline for Canada. Mallet finished third at the 2019 Canadian Tire National Skating Championships. She is coached by Annie Barabé and trains in Varennes, Que.

Larkyn Austman, 21, Coquitlam, BC., will be the final entry in the women’s category for Canada. She finished fourth at the 2019 Canadian Tire National Skating Championships. Austman is coached by Zdenek Pazdirek and Liz Putnam and trains in Coquitlam, B.C.

Canadian Champions Kirsten Moore-Towers, 26, St. Catharines, Ont., and Michael Marinaro, 27, Sarnia, Ont., will lead the pair teams representing Canada. They are coached by Bruno Marcotte, Richard Gauthier and Sylvie Fullum and they train in Saint Leonard, Que.

Evelyn Walsh, 17, London, Ont., and Trennt Michaud, 22, Trenton, Ont., will be the second pair team representing Canada. They won the silver medal at the 2019 Canadian Tire National Skating Championships. They are coached by Allison Purkiss and train in Brantford, Ont.

Camille Ruest, 25, Rimouski, Que., and Drew Wolfe, 23, Calgary, Alta., will be the third pair heading to Anaheim. The pair finished third at the 2019 Canadian Tire National Skating Championships. They are coached by Richard Gauthier and Bruno Marcotte and train in Saint Leonard, Que.

In ice dance Canadian champions Kaitlyn Weaver, 29, Toronto, Ont., and Andrew Poje, 31, Waterloo, Ont., will be one of three teams to represent Canada. They are coached by Nikolai Morozov, Igor Shpilband and Pasquale Camerlengo. They train out of Hackensack, New Jersey and Novi, Michigan.

Piper Gilles, 27, Toronto, Ont., and Paul Poirier, 27, Unionville, Ont., will be the second ice dance entry for Canada. The team secured the silver medal at the 2019 Canadian Tire National Skating Championships. They are coached by Carol Lane, Juris Razgulajevs and Jon Lane and train out of Scarborough, Ont.

Laurence Fournier Beaudry, 26, Montreal, Que., and Nikolaj Sorensen, 29, Montreal, Que., will be the third team representing Canada. They finished third at the 2019 Canadian Tire National Skating Championships. The two are coached by Marie-France Dubreuil, Patrice Lauzon and Romain Haguenauer. They train out of Montreal, Que.

Bev Viger of Abbortsford, B.C., and Carolyn Allwright of Waterloo, Ont., will be the team leaders at the event. Debra Armstrong, Skate Canada Chief Executive Officer, and Mike Slipchuk, Skate Canada High Performance Director will also be traveling with the team. Dr. Cole Beavis of Saskatoon, Sask., and Siobhan Karam of Toronto, Ont., will be the Canadian medical staff onsite.

Leanna Caron, of Timmins, Ont., Lynne Dey of Edmonton, Alta., Pam Chislett of Grand Prairie, Alta., and Susan Blatz of Burlington, Ont. will be the Canadian officials at the event.

Emma Lindblad, Skate Canada Communications Coordinator, will be the media attaché at the event. She can be reached onsite at [email protected] or 819-743-2056.

For more information, please visit isu.org

CANADIAN ENTRIES AT 2019 ISU FOUR CONTINENTS FIGURE SKATING CHAMPIONSHIPS

DISCIPLINE NAME AGE HOMETOWN CLUB COACH
Men Keegan Messing 27 Sherwood Park, Alta. / Brantford, Ont. Sherwood Park FSC Ralph Burghart
Men Nam Nguyen 20 Ajax, Ont. Richmond Hill Training Centre Robert Burk
Men Nicolas Nadeau 21 Boisbriand, Que. CPA Boisbriand Yvan Desjardins
Women Alaine Chartrand 22 Prescott, Ont. York Region Skating Academy Tracey Wainman / Grzegorz Filipowski
Women Véronik Mallet 24 Sept-Îles, Que. CPA Sept-Îles Annie Barabé
Women Larkyn Austman 21 Coquitlam, B.C. Coquitlam Skating Club Zdenek Pazdirek / Liz Putnam
Pair Kirsten Moore-Towers / Michael Marinaro 26/27 St. Catherines, Ont. / Sarnia, Ont. St. Catharines SC / Point Edward SC  Bruno Marcotte / Richard Gauthier / Sylvie Fullum
Pair Evelyn Walsh / Trennt Michaud 17/22 London, Ont. / Trenton, Ont. London SC / Trenton SC Alison Purkiss
Pair Camille Ruest / Drew Wolfe 25/23 Rimouski, Que. / Calgary, Alta. CPA Rimouski / Glencoe Club Calgary Richard Gauthier / Bruno Marcotte
Ice Dance Kaitlyn Weaver / Andrew Poje 29/31 Toronto, Ont. / Waterloo, Ont. Granite SC / Kitchener-Waterloo SC Nikolai Morozov / Igor Shpilband / Pasquale Camerlengo
Ice Dance Piper Gilles / Paul Poirier 27/27 Toronto, Ont. / Unionville, Ont. Scarboro FSC / Scarboro FSC Carol Lane / Juris Razgulajevs / Jon Lane
Ice Dance Laurence Fournier Beaudry / Nikolaj Sorensen 26/29 Montreal, Que. / Montreal, Que. Rodovre SC / Rodovre SC Marie-France Dubreuil / Patrice Lauzon / Romain Haguenauer

Skate Canada names teams for 2019 ISU Championships

SAINT JOHN, NB: After completion of the 2019 Canadian Tire National Skating Championships, Skate Canada has named the teams for the three upcoming ISU Championships. The week-long championships were held in Saint John, N.B., at the Harbour Station from January 14-20, 2019.

2019 ISU WORLD FIGURE SKATING CHAMPIONSHIPS
SAITAMA, JAPAN – MARCH 18-24, 2019
MEN
Nam Nguyen
Keegan Messing
WOMEN
Alaine Chartrand
TBD*
TBD*
PAIR
Kirsten Moore-Towers / Michael Marinaro
Evelyn Walsh / Trennt Michaud
ICE DANCE
Kaitlyn Weaver / Andrew Poje
Piper Gilles / Paul Poirier
Laurence Fournier Beaudry / Nikolaj Sørensen
*To be determined after the 2019 ISU Four Continents Figure Skating Championships
2019 ISU FOUR CONTINENTS FIGURE SKATING CHAMPIONSHIPS
ANAHEIM, CA, USA – FEBRUARY 4-10, 2019
MEN
Nam Nguyen
Keegan Messing
Nicolas Nadeau
WOMEN
Alaine Chartrand
Véronik Mallet
Larkyn Austman
PAIR
Kirsten Moore-Towers / Michael Marinaro
Evelyn Walsh / Trennt Michaud
Camille Ruest / Andrew Wolfe
ICE DANCE
Kaitlyn Weaver / Andrew Poje
Piper Gilles / Paul Poirier
Laurence Fournier Beaudry / Nikolaj Sørensen
2019 ISU JUNIOR WORLD FIGURE SKATING CHAMPIONSHIPS
ZAGREB, CROATIA – MARCH 4-10, 2019
MEN
Stephen Gogolev
Joseph Phan
WOMEN
Alison Schumacher
PAIR
Brooke McIntosh / Brandon Toste
Gabrielle Levesque / Pier-Alexandre Hudon
ICE DANCE
Marjorie Lajoie / Zachary Lagha
Alicia Fabbri / Paul Ayer