Tag Archive for: 2019 Nebelhorn Trophy

Fournier-Beaudry and Sorensen ice dance champions at Nebelhorn Trophy

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OBERTSDORF, Germany – Laurence Fournier-Beaudry and Nikolaj Sorensen of Montreal earned their first international victory on Saturday winning the ice dance event at the Nebelhorn Trophy figure skating competition.

The event is the fifth stop on the ISU Challenger Series, a set of competitions which serves as a tune-up for the upcoming Grand Prix season.

Fournier-Beaudry and Sorensen bettered their previous international best by almost 12 points with a 201.00 score. Kaitlin Hawayek and Jean-Luc Baker of the U.S. were second at 192.47 and their compatriots Christina Carreira and Anthony Ponomarenko third at 190.35.

‘’This really shows that when you commit to something you can make great things happen,’’ said Sorensen. ‘’Not everything was perfect but we are so happy we were able to go out there and give two really good programs.’’

Earlier this month, they took silver at the Lombardia Trophy in Italy and two seasons ago won bronze at the Finlandia Trophy. The veteran couple were 10th at the world championships this past spring.

‘’Having all our teammates in the crowd cheering us one because we were the last event was really special,’’ added Fournier-Beaudry. ‘’It makes us even more humble and happy to be part of this family.

Haley Sales of Kelowna, B.C., and Nikolas Wamsteeker of Langley, B.C., remained 11th.

It was Canada’s second gold of the competition. On Friday, Kirsten Moore-Towers of St. Catharines, Ont., and Michael Marinaro of Sarnia, Ont., won the pairs event.

Moore-Towers and Marinaro win gold in Grand Prix tune-up event

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OBERTSDORF, Germany – Canadian champions Kirsten Moore-Towers and Michael Marinaro launched their international season with a gold medal performance Friday in pairs at the Nebelhorn Trophy figure skating competition.

The event is the fifth stop on the ISU Challenger Series, a set of competitions which serves as a tune-up for the upcoming Grand Prix season.

The Canadians, seventh at the world championships last spring, earned 210.35 points as they neared their international best 211.05. Alexa Scimeca Knierim and Chris Knierim of the U.S. were second Friday at 202.41 and Tae Ok Ryom and Ju Sik Kim of North Korea were third at 183.02.

“We’re definitely happy for a September competition,” said Moore-Towers of St. Catharines, Ont. “We know the areas where we can grow. We’re still learning in our program which spots need to be adjusted. We want to be competitive with the big guns this year and this was a good starting point.”

In men’s competition, Canadian champion Nam Nguyen of Toronto delivered the second best free skate to climb from ninth to fourth place overall.

Maka Ignatove of Russia also made a spectacular comeback surging from seventh to first for the gold with 220.51 points. Koshiro Shamada of Japan took the silver at 214.98 and Alexey Bichenko of Israel was third at 214.70.

Nguyen quickly forgot about  his struggles in Thursday’s short program and finished at 209.84.

“I felt better physically and mentally today,” said Nguyen about his free skate. “I was able to take charge of myself and do what I was suppose to. Considering how bad the short went, I’m pretty happy with how I pulled through for the long.”

Ice dancers Laurence Fournier-Beaudry and Nikolaj Sorensen of Montreal are in first place after Friday’s rhythm dance.

Fournier-Beaudry and Sorensen earned 81.16 points with Christina Carreira and Anthony Ponomarenko of the U.S. second at 76.99 and Olivia Smart of Adrian Diaz of Spain third at 75.80.

Haley Sales of Kelowna, B.C., and Nikolas Wamsteeker of  Langley, B.C., are 11th.
Competition ends Saturday with the free dance.

Full results: Nebelhorn Trophy 2019

Canadian skaters in Germany for Nebelhorn Trophy

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OTTAWA, ON: Skate Canada will have four entries, for a total of seven skaters at the 2019 Nebelhorn Trophy in Oberstdorf, Germany. Canada will have one entry in men, one entry in pair and two entries in ice dance at the fifth event on the 2019 ISU Challenger Series, which takes place from September 25-28, 2019.

Canadian national champion, Nam Nguyen, 21, Ajax, Ont., will be the lone Canadian men entry at the event. Last season, he took home a gold medal at the U.S. International Figure Skating Classic. He is finished fifth at the 2019 ISU World Team Trophy (team) and 16th at the ISU World Figure Skating Championships. Nguyen is coached by Robert Burk at Richmond Hill Training Centre.

Canadian national champions, Kirsten Moore-Towers, 27, St. Catharines, Ont., Michael Marinaro, 27, Sarnia, Ont., 27, will be the pair team representing Canada at the event. Last season, the two finished third at Skate Canada International and second at the ISU Four Continents Figure Skating Championships. The team also finished seventh at the 2019 ISU World Figure Skating Championships. They are coached by Bruno Marcotte in Oakville, Ont.

Laurence Fournier-Beaudry, 27, Lasalle, Que., and Nikolaj Sorensen, 30, Copenhagen, DEN., will be the first of two Canadian ice dance entries. This season, the two took home a silver medal at the 2019 Lombardia Trophy. The 2019 national bronze medallists placed sixth at the ISU Four Continents Figure Skating Championships and 10th at the ISU World Figure Skating Championships last season. They are coached by Marie-France Dubreuil, Patrice Lauzon and Romain Haguenauer in Montreal, Que.

Haley Sales, 22, Kelowna, B.C., and Nikolas Wamsteeker, 22, Langley, B.C. will be the second Canadian entry in ice dance. Last season, the team finished fourth at U.S. International Figure Skating Classic and ninth at Skate Canada International. At the 2019 Canadian Tire National Figure Skating Championships, they finished fourth. The two are coached by Megan Wing and Aaron Lowe in Burnaby, B.C.

Mike Slipchuk, Skate Canada High Performance Director will be the team leader at the event. Dr. Shae Zukiwsky, Senior Director, Performance Excellence, will be the team official at the event. Physiotherapist Scott Fraser of Kingston, Ont., will be the Canadian medical staff onsite.

For more information, please visit www.isu.org.

CANADIAN ENTRIES AT 2019 NEBELHORN TROPHY – OBERSTDORF, GERMANY

DISCIPLINE NAME AGE HOMETOWN CLUB COACH
Men Nam Nguyen 21 Ajax, Ont. Richmond Hill Training Centre Robert Burk
Pair Kirsten Moore-Towers / Michael Marinaro 27 / 27 St.Catharines, Ont. / Sarnia, Ont. St. Catharines SC / Point Edward SC Bruno Marcotte
Ice Dance Laurence Fournier Beaudry / Nikolaj Sorensen 27 / 30 Lasalle, Que. / Copenhagen, DEN Town of Mount Royal FSC / Town of Mount Royal FSC Marie-France Dubreuil / Patrice Lauzon / Romain Haguenauer
Ice Dance Haley Sales / Nikolas Wamsteeker 22 / 22 Kelowna, B.C. / Burnaby, B.C. Kelowna SC / Champs International Skating Centre of BC Megan Wing / Aaron Lowe