Tag Archive for: 2022 ISU Junior Grand Prix

Bashynska and Beaumont Win Second Straight Gold on ISU Junior Grand Prix Circuit

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GDANSK, Poland (October 8, 2022) – Canadians Nadiia Bashynska and Peter Beaumont won gold in ice dance for the second consecutive weekend on Saturday to conclude the sixth stop on the ISU Junior Grand Prix figure skating circuit.

The Ajax, Ont., team bettered their score from last week’s JGP win, also in Gdansk, by more than a point finishing with 171.61 points placing first in both the rhythm dance and free dance.

Darva Grimm and Michail Savitskiy of Germany took the silver with 154.41 and Jordyn Lewis of Komoka, Ont., and Noah McMillan of Ilderton, Ont., won the bronze with 149.83.

‘’This is a big achievement for both of us,’’ said the Ukrainian-born Bashynska, whose grandparents and father were in the audience. ‘’We worked a lot on this and this was our goal.’’

The Canadians stamped their name as an international junior power last season with a bronze at the ISU World Junior Figure Skating Championships®.

‘’Knowing we had a win under our belts was a boost for us this week,’’ added Beaumont. ‘’We went in with the mindset that we could do it again.’’

Lewis and McMillan showed a big improvement on their showing from Riga last month. They jumped from seventh to third and improved their score by over 15 points.

Chaima Ben Khelifa of Laval, Que., and Everest Zhu of Waterloo, Ont., were ninth.

In pairs, Chloe Panetta of Laval, Que., and Kieran Thrasher of Amherstburg, Ont., missed the podium by one spot finishing fourth with 133.72. Last month they were third at the Junior Grand Prix stop in Ostrava, Czechia.

‘’We are satisfied with our performance,’’ said Panetta. ‘’It wasn’t what we fully wanted. We lacked in the levels at this competition.’’

Anastasia Golubeva and Hektor Giotopoulos Moore of Australia were the winners with 161.17, Violetta Sierova and Ivan Khobta of Ukraine second at 154.76 and Sophia Baram and Daniel Tioumentsev of the U.S. third at 152.49.

Ava Kemp and Yohnatan Elizarov of Winnipeg were fifth at 129.37 and Ashlyn Schmitz and Tristan Taylor of Regina sixth at 125.38. Those Canadian couples were second and third at the Riga JGP stop.

Canadian junior champion Anthony Paradis of Boisbriand, Que., took 10th spot in the men’s event which was won by Japan’s Takeru Amine Kataise. Edward Nicholas Vasii of Montreal was 14th.

Ami Nakai of Japan finished ahead of two South Koreans to win the gold in the women’s event. Hetty Shi of Mississauga, Ont., was 13th in the junior Grand Prix debut.

The next stop on the circuit is this Thursday to Saturday in Egna, Italy.

Full Results: http://www.isuresults.com/results/season2223/jgppol2022/

Six NextGen Athletes Close Out the Junior Grand Prix Series in Italy

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OTTAWA, ON (October 6, 2022) – Six Canadian athletes are heading to Egna, Italy for the last stop of the ISU Junior Grand Prix series, taking place from October 12-15, 2022, following a hugely successful season that saw Canada claim five medals in pair and ice dance. The Canadian team will be comprised of one man, one woman, as well as two ice dance teams. 

Competing in her first ISU Junior Grand Prix will be 15-year-old Rose Theroux. Theroux is no stranger to international competition, having competed at the 2022 Cup of Austria where she narrowly missed the podium by 3 points. 

Aleksa Rakic will be competing at his second ISU Junior Grand Prix of the season, having previously finished seventh in Ostrava, Czech Republic. Last season, Rakic claimed a silver medal at both the 2021 Ice Challenge and 2022 Skate Canada Challenge in senior men.  

Junior Grand Prix silver medallists Sandrine Gauthier and Quentin Thieren will be looking to add another medal to their collection, while promising ice dancers Marianne Hubert and William Oddson will aim to improve upon their 10th place result earlier this season.  

Competition kicks off on Thursday, October 13 with the men’s short program and rhythm dance. Friday, October 14 will see women skaters take the ice for their short programs and ice dancers complete their free programs. The event concludes on Saturday with the men’s and women’s free programs. For more information and schedules, click here.     

Team Canada 

Name | Age | Hometown | Coach | Training Location 

Women 
Rose Theroux | 15 | Ste-Victoire-de-Sorel, Que. | Marc-André Craig & Amélie Fortin | Chambly, Que.   

Men 
Aleksa Rakic | 18 | Burnaby, B.C. | Joanne McLeod | Burnaby, B.C. 

Ice Dance 
Sandrine Gauthier | 18 | Saint-Constant, Que. & Quentin Thieren | 18 | Mont-Saint-Hilaire, Que. | Patrice Lauzon & Benjamin Brisebois | Montreal, Que.
Marianne Hubert | 18 | Trois-Rivières, Que. & William Oddson | 20 | Calgary, Alta. | Kim Slopak-Weeks & Tyler Myles | Calgary, Alta 

Team Leaders – Andre Bourgeois & Manon Perron
Medical Team – Sylvia Ciurysek
Officials – Limin Jao & Reaghan Fortin 

A Large Canadian Contingent to Tackle Sixth Junior Grand Prix

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OTTAWA, ON (October 3, 2022) – Following a great showing at the fifth Junior Grand Prix, which saw four Canadians finish in the top-10, a large Canadian contingent return to Gdansk, Poland for the sixth event of the series. A total of fifteen athletes will be competing at the event scheduled from October 5-8, including one woman, two men, three pair teams and three ice dance teams. 

14-year-old Hetty Shi will be competing at her first Junior Grand Prix and will be the sole Canadian entry in the women’s category. Hetty previously competed at the 2022 Egna Spring Trophy in Italy and showed a lot of promise as she captured a silver medal in novice women. 

This will also mark Edward Nicholas Vasii’s first Junior Grand Prix participation, after the Montréal native finished 5th in novice men at the 2022 Egna Spring Trophy last season. He will be joined by current Canadian champion Anthony Paradis, who bounced back from fourth to first in order to claim gold at the 2022 Canadian Tire National Skating Championships.   

In the pair discipline, Canada will be sending three solid teams who have already competed in the series this year and have all stepped on the podium. Leading the team will be Chloe Panetta and Kieran Thrasher, who captured a bronze medal at the Ostrava Junior Grand Prix. The first-year junior pair teams comprised of Ava Kemp & Yohnatan Elizarov and Ashlyn Schmitz & Tristan Taylor will bolster the Canadian firepower, having won silver and bronze medals respectively at the Riga Junior Grand Prix. 

Nadiia Bashynska and Peter Beaumont will be setting their sights on another podium finish after winning their first international gold medal last weekend at the fifth ISU Junior Grand Prix. They will be joined by Chaima Ben Khelifa & Everest Zhu and Jordyn Lewis & Noah McMillan who placed fifth and seventh respectively at their first ISU Junior Grand Prix of the season.  

Competitions kick off on Thursday, October 6 with the women, men and pair short programs. Friday, October 7 will see pair and women complete their free program and ice dancers perform their rhythm dance. The event concludes on October 8 with the free dance and men’s free program. For more information and schedules, click here.  

Team Canada 

Name | Age | Hometown | Coach | Training Location 

Women 
Hetty Shi | 14 | Mississauga, Ont. | Andrew Evans & Paul Parkinson | Mississauga, Ont. 

Men
Edward Nicholas Vasii | 16 | Montréal, Que. | Yvan Desjardins &  Violaine Émard| Rosemère, Que.
Anthony Paradis | 15 | Boisbriand, Que. | Yvan Desjardins & Ann-Julie Dion | Rosemère, Que. 

Pair 
Ava Kemp| 14 | Winnipeg, Man. & Yohnatan Elizarov | 18 | Winnipeg, Man. | Kevin Dawe & Andrew Evans | Winnipeg, Man.
Chloe Panetta | 19 | Laval, Que. & Kieran Thrasher | 18 | Amherstburg, Ont. | Bruno Marcotte & Brian Shales | Oakville, Ont.
Ashlyn Schmitz | 16 | Shellbrook, Sask. & Tristan Taylor | 20 | Regina, Sask. | David & Vicki Schultz | Regina, Sask. 

Ice Dance 
Nadiia Bashynska | 18 | Ajax, Ont. & Peter Beaumont | 21 | Ajax, Ont. | Carol Lane & Juris Razgulajevs | Scarborough, Ont.  
Chaima Ben Khelifa | 17 | Laval, Que. & Everest Zhu | 19 | Waterloo, Ont. | Shawn Winter & Elise Hamel | Pierrefonds, Que.
Jordyn Lewis | 18 | Komoka, Ont. & Noah McMillan | 18 | Ilderton, Ont. | Scott Moir & Cara Moir | Ilderton, Ont. 

Team Leaders – Carolyn Allwright & Andre Bourgeois 
Medical Team – Olesia Markevych & Pat Stanziano 
Officials – Karen Butcher & Jeff Lukasik  

Canadians Bashynska and Beaumont dominate for gold at ISU Junior Grand Prix

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GDANSK, Poland (October 1, 2022)  – Nadiia Bashynska and Peter Beaumont of Ajax, Ont., reached new heights Saturday with a victory in ice dancing at the fifth stop on the ISU Junior Grand Prix figure skating circuit.

It was their first win in six career junior Grand Prix appearances.

Bashynska and Beaumont smashed the scores they posted in a bronze medal showing at the world junior championships last season, totalling 170.34 points. Phebe Bekker and James Hernandez of Great Britain were a distant second at 158.85 and Celia Fradji and Jean-Hans Fourneaux of France third at 157.11.

The Canadians were initially scheduled to compete at the Junior Grand Prix in Armenia last month which was cancelled.

‘’We were basically prepared weeks ahead of time,’’ said Bashynska, 18. ‘’For Peter and I we’re pretty lucky that we motivate each other every day. So even when we found out about the cancellation we were able  to push through and keep sharp for this competition.’’

Hailey Yu and Brendan Giang of Burnaby, B.C., posted the fourth best free skate but remained sixth at 145.35 and Dana Sabatini-Speciale of Springwater, Ont., and Nicholas Buelow of Barrie, Ont., were 12th out of 24 entries.

Japan was 1-2 in women’s competition. Mao Shimada took the gold with 217.68 and Mone Chiba was second at 205.82. Chaeyeon Kim of South Korea was third at 195.46.

First-year national junior team member Kara Yun, 13, of Burnaby, B.C., was 10th at 166.88. There were 49 entries.

In the men’s event, Lucas Broussard of the U.S. took the title with 209.39 roaring back from fifth spot after the short. Yudong Chen of China jumped from 16th after the short to win the silver with 201.84 and Raffaele Francesco Zich of Italy was third at 200.73.

Alec Guinzbourg of Aurora, Ont., was 10th with 184.00, Rio Morita of Thornhill, Ont., 15th and David Bondar of Richmond Hill, Ont., jumped six spots to place 18th.

The next stop on the circuit is October 6-8, again in Gdansk.

Full results :http://www.isuresults.com/results/season2223/jgp5pol2022/

Canada Sends Ten Skaters to Poland for the Fifth Junior Grand Prix

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OTTAWA, ON (September 26, 2022) – Canada’s next generation of skaters are scheduled to compete in Gdansk, Poland from September 28 to October 1, 2022, which marks the fifth stop on the ISU Junior Grand Prix circuit. The fourth stop of the series, initially set to take place from September 21-24, was cancelled by the ISU due to safety concerns. A total of ten athletes will be competing at the event, including one woman, three men and three ice dance teams. 

First-year junior and 2022 Canadian Tire National Skating Championships silver medallist Kara Yun will be leading the line for Canada in women. Despite being a newcomer to the junior stage, Yun has previously competed internationally, finishing fourth at last year’s Egna Spring Trophy.  

The men’s team will be led by Alec Guinzbourg, who has competed at several ISU Junior Grand Prix events since joining the Canadian NextGen team and finished just shy of the podium in 2019. Rio Morita will be making his Grand Prix debut in Poland after placing fourth at the 2022 Canadian Tire National Skating Championships last season, while 2022 Egna Spring Trophy bronze medallist David Bondar will be rounding out the team. 

The experienced ice dance duo of Nadiia Bashynska and Peter Beaumont will be competing for the first time this season after a breakthrough 2021-2022 season that saw them win silver at the 2022 Canadian Tire National Skating Championships and bronze at the 2022 ISU World Junior Figure Skating Championships. They will be joined by veterans Hailey Yu and Brendan Giang, as well as 2022 Canadian Tire National Skating Championships novice silver medallists Dana Sabatini-Speciale and Nicholas Buelow.  

The competition starts on Thursday, September 29 with the women’s, pair and men’s short programs. On Friday, pair and women will complete their free program, while ice dance teams will perform their rhythm dance. The event concludes on Saturday with the men’s free program and free dance. The full schedule and results can be found here. 

Team Canada 

Name | Age | Hometown | Coach | Training Location 

Men 
Alec Guinzbourg | 17 | Aurora, Ont. | Lee Barkell & Jeffrey Buttle | Toronto, Ont. 
Rio Morita | 17 | Thornhill, Ont. | Tracey Wilson & Ernest Pryhitka | Toronto, Ont. 
David Bondar | 15 | Richmond Hill, Ont. | Tracey Wainman & Gregor Filipowski | Richmond Hill, Ont. 

Women 
Kara Yun | 13 | Burnaby, B.C. | Joanne McLeod & Neil Wilson | Burnaby, B.C.  

Ice Dance 
Nadiia Bashynska | 18 | Ajax, Ont. & Peter Beaumont | 21 | Ajax, Ont. | Carol Lane & Juris Razgulajevs | Scarborough, Ont.  
Hailey Yu | 17 | Burnaby, B.C. & Brendan Giang | 19 | Burnaby, B.C. | Aaron Lowe & Megan Wing| Burnaby, B.C.
Dana Sabatini-Speciale | 16 | Springwater, Ont. & Nicholas Buelow | 15 | Barrie, Ont. | Mitchell Islam, David Islam & Kelly Johnson | Barrie, Ont.   

Team Leaders – Laura Baker & Shae Zukiwsky
Medical Team – Susan Massitti & Ghislaine Robert
Officials – Karen Howard & Erica Topolski  

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

Skate Canada Statement on Cancellation of Yerevan Junior Grand Prix

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OTTAWA, ON (September 16, 2022) – The International Skating Union (ISU) has announced that the fourth stop on the Junior Grand Prix circuit, scheduled to take place in Yerevan, Armenia from September 21-24, 2022, has been cancelled due to safety concerns.

Skate Canada was set to send a team of six athletes, comprised of two men and two ice dance teams, to the event and will be working with the ISU to find solutions for the athletes impacted.

For more information, please read the full ISU statement here.

Six NextGen Skaters Head to Armenia for the Fourth Stop on the ISU Junior Grand Prix Circuit 

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OTTAWA, ON (September 15, 2022) – Following a successful trip to Riga, Latvia that saw Team Canada claim three medals in pair and ice dance, the next generation of Canadian skaters now head to Yerevan, Armenia for the fourth stop on the ISU Junior Grand Prix circuit. Canada will be represented by two men and two ice dance teams at the event taking place from September 21-24, 2022.

No stranger to international competition, David Bondar will be skating in the men’s event after winning bronze at the Egna Spring Trophy last year. He will be joined by current Canadian champion Anthony Paradis, who bounced back from fourth to first in order to claim gold at the 2022 Canadian Tire National Skating Championships.

The ice dance event will see a mix of more experienced skaters and newcomers, with Nadiia Bashynska and Peter Beaumont leading the team. The duo had a breakthrough 2021-2022 season as they won silver at the 2022 Canadian Tire National Skating Championships and a bronze medal at the 2022 ISU World Junior Figure Skating Championships®. Nicholas Buelow and Dana Sabatini-Speciale will be competing at their first international competition after claiming silver at the 2022 Canadian Tire National Skating Championships.

Competition starts on Thursday, September 22, with ice dance rhythm dance. Men short program and ice dance free dance will take place on September 23, followed by the men free program on September 24. The full schedule and results are available here.

Team Canada 
Name | Age | Hometown | Coach | Training Location

Men 
David Bondar | 15 | Richmond Hill, Ont. | Tracey Wainman & Gregor Filipowski | Richmond Hill, Ont.
Anthony Paradis | 15 | Boisbriand, Que. | Yvan Desjardins & Ann-Julie Dion | Rosemère, Que.

Ice Dance 
Nadiia Bashynska | 18 | Ajax, Ont. & Peter Beaumont | 21 | Ajax, Ont. | Carol Lane & Juris Razgulajevs | Scarborough, Ont.
Dana Sabatini-Speciale | 16 | Springwater, Ont. & Nicholas Buelow | 15 | Barrie, Ont. | Mitchell Islam & Kelly Johnson | Barrie, Ont.

Team Leaders – Andre Bourgeois & Marie Bowness
Medical Team – Delphine Boury-Simoes & Paige Larson
Officials – Ron Conacher & Susan Morriss

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

Canadians Win Three Medals at ISU Junior Grand Prix

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RIGA, Latvia (September 10, 2022) – Canadian figure skaters collected two silver and a bronze at the third stop on the ISU Junior Grand Prix circuit which concluded Saturday.

The ice dancing competition went down to the wire with Germans Dray Grimm and Michai Savitskiy snaring the win with 161.42 points. Sandrine Gauthier of St-Constant, Que., and Quentin Thieren of Mont-St-Hilaire, Que., first after the rhythm dance, took the silver with 156.92. Mariia Pinchuk and Mykyta Pogorielov of Ukraine were third at 150.28.

‘’We had no expectations in terms of results’’ said Thieren, 18. ‘’We felt we were ready entering the competition, but to finish second that was a surprise for us.’’

‘’We wanted to skate and stay connected,’’ added Gauthier, also 18. ‘’We wanted to present what we’ve been working on. Despite some difficulties at the start we fought until the end.’’

Jordyn Lewis of Komoka, Ont., and Noah McMillan of Ilderton, Ont., were seventh.

‘’There’s lots of room for improvement,’’ said Lewis, 18. ‘’For our first time being out on the international circuit there were a of nerves and different feelings than what we are used to. It was a good experience.’’

The other two Canadian medals were in pairs. Cayla Smith and Andy Deng of the U.S. took the gold with 137.23 points. Canadian novice champions Ava Kemp and Yohnatan Elizarov of Winnipeg followed for the silver with a personal best 124.73 and Ashlyn Schmitz of Shellbrook, Sask., and Tristan Taylor of Regina were third at 113.40.

‘’We didn’t have any expectation coming out to our first junior Grand Prix,’’ said Elizarov, 18. ‘’We just wanted to skate our best. I really enjoyed the team environment here which pushes you to do better.’’

‘’We wanted to reach our technical score goals for both the short and the long,’’ added Kemp, 14. ‘’And experience an international competition.’’

Despite the bronze, Schmitz and Taylor were not totally satisfied with the result.

‘’It wasn’t the performance we wanted,’’ said Taylor, 20. ‘’It’s been a fun experience being here and coming home with a medal is awesome. We didn’t get some of the technical levels we wanted but overall, it was a good learning experience.’’

‘’We did improve on our skating skills and components, and we are proud about that,’’ added Schmitz, 16.

It was a Junior Grand Prix debut for all three Canadian medallists.

In women’s competition, Ji Shin of South Korea won the gold, Soho Lee of the U.S. was second and Ami Nakai of Japan third. Canadian junior champion Justine Miclette of Chambly, Que., was eighth. She was seventh after the short program.

‘’I made some big mistakes in my long program,’’ said Miclette, 16, ranked 11th for her free skate. ‘’What I’ll take out of this is that I was much more confident after those errors and didn’t let them get to me for the rest of the skate.’’

In the men’s event, Nikolaj Memola of Italy was the winner with Rio Nakata of Japan second and Rakhat Bralin of Kazakhstan third. Grayson Long of Oakville, Ont., was 12th and David Shteyngart of Ottawa 14th.

‘’There were some things I could definitely improve on,’’ said Long, 14. ‘’I’m pretty happy with my first junior Grand Prix experience. I was happy to achieve all the levels for my spins because I know international judges can be harsh.’’

Shteyngart, 15, said he was hesitant at times.

‘’When it came to the technical part, I think I slowed down,’’ he said. ‘’I wanted to make sure I completed my elements because my short wasn’t my very best. That ended up costing me more than I was expecting in the free skate.’’

The fourth stop on the circuit is in two weeks in Yerevan, Armenia. Full results can be found here.

Canadian NextGen Skaters to Compete in Czech Republic at Second ISU Junior Grand Prix

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OTTAWA, ON (August 29, 2022) – Following a successful first stop at the ISU Junior Grand Prix in France last weekend, Canadian NextGen skaters now head to Ostrava, Czech Republic to compete at the second round of the series from August 31 to September 3, 2022. Canada will boast a team of eight skaters for a total of five entries, including men, women and pair, as well as two entries in ice dance. 

Aleksa Rakic, 17, will be the sole man competing for Canada at this event. The Burnaby, B.C. native obtained a silver medal in senior men at the 2022 Skate Canada Challenge, on top of finishing second in junior men at the 2021 Cup of Austria. He is coached by Joanne McLeod in Burnaby, B.C.  

The women’s event will see Sara-Maude Dupuis, 17, Montreal, Que., compete for a spot on the podium after winning the 2022 NextGen Junior Women’s Competition in July and finishing tenth at the 2021 ISU Junior Grand Prix in Linz, Austria. She is coached by Stéphane Yvars and Françoise Parisé in Boucherville, Que. 

Chloe Panetta, 19, Laval, Que., and Kieran Thrasher, 18, Amherstburg, Ont., will be competing in the pair discipline. The duo cracked the top ten at last year’s ISU World Junior Championships where they finished with a solid seventh place. Panetta and Thrasher also placed sixth at the 2021 ISU Junior Grand Prix event in Gdansk, Poland. They are coached by Bruno Marcotte and Brian Shales in Oakville, Ont.  

Completing the team will be two ice dance teams, the first being led by Hailey Yu, 17, Burnaby, B.C., and Brendan Giang, 19, Burnaby, B.C. Yu and Giang had a strong showing at the 2022 Canadian Tire National Skating Championships, finishing just shy of the podium. They are coached by Aaron Lowe and Megan Wing in Burnaby, B.C. The newly formed ice dance duo of Marianne Hubert, 18, Trois-Rivières, Que., and William Oddson, 20, Calgary, Alta., will also represent Canada in ice dance. Despite being new, the pair has already claimed a bronze medal at the NextGen Junior Ice Dance Competition in July and are coached by Kim Slopak-Weeks and Tyler Myles in Calgary, Alta. 

Team Canada
Aleksa Rakic – Men 
Sara-Maude Dupuis – Women 
Chloe Panetta and Kieran Thrasher – Pair 
Hailey Yu and Brendan Giang – Ice dance 
Marianne Hubert and William Oddson – Ice dance   

Team leaders – André Bourgeois and Danielle Williams
Medical team – Physiotherapist Meaghan Shewchuk and Dr. Lydia Schultz
Officials – Jodi Abbott and Erica Topolski  

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