Tag Archive for: 2022 Skate America

Lauriault and Le Gac Win First Medal Representing Canada at Skate America

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NORWOOD, USA (October 23, 2022) – Marie-Jade Lauriault and Romain Le Gac of Ste-Anne-des-Plaines, Que., won the bronze medal in ice dancing Sunday to conclude Skate America, the opening stop on ISU Grand Prix figure skating circuit. This marked the first international medal for the married couple since they decided to skate for Canada internationally in June 2021.

Two-time world championship silver medallists Madison Chock and Evan Bates of the U.S. held on to top spot with 202.80 points. Their compatriots Kaitlin Hawayek and Jean-Luc Baker won the free dance but stayed second at 202.07. Lauriault and Le Gac, who skated to music from the Pink Panther soundtrack, finished with 178.30 points, their best result of the season.

‘’We’ve been working a long time for this,’’ said Lauriault, 25, born in Laval, Que. ‘’It was a dream we’ve had for a long time. Now that we’ve reached this goal it opens the door to many more dreams we’d like to see come true.’’

Carolane Soucisse of Chateauguay, Que., and Shane Firus of North Vancouver were eighth.

Canada ends the competition with a silver and two bronze. On Saturday, Deanna Stellato-Dudek and Maxime Deschamps of Vaudreuil, Que., were second in pairs followed by Kelly Ann Laurin of St-Jérome, Que., and Loucas Éthier of Deux-Montagnes, Que., in third. For full results, click here.

Canada Opens ISU Grand Prix Season With Two Medals in Pairs

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NORWOOD, USA (October 23, 2022) – Canada opened the ISU Grand Prix figure skating season with two medals in pairs on Saturday at Skate America.

Deanna Stellato-Dudek and Maxime Deschamps of Vaudreuil, Que., took the silver with a personal international best 197.89 points, less than four points behind the winners Alexa Knierim and Brandon Frazier of the U.S. This result was also five points better than their score last month when they claimed gold at the Nebelhorn Trophy ISU Challenger Series event.

It was a first senior Grand Prix medal for Stellato-Dudek 22 years after her Grand Prix debut as a singles skater. Stellato, 39, who retired from singles skating at age 17 due to hip injuries, came back in pairs in 2016.

‘’We wanted to improve our score and also improve some of the levels from the previous event,’’ said Stellato-Dudek. ‘’Right after Four Continents was over, we made a plan for the full six months until we competed again, and I think that’s the difference everyone is seeing.’’

Kelly Ann Laurin and Loucas Éthier won the bronze totalling 156.94, also a personal international high, in the eight-team field.

‘’We are super happy as we had no expectations here,’’ said Éthier. ‘’We were motivated by our performance in the short program. We had an opportunity and we capitalized on it and showed our potential.’’

World junior champion Ilia Malinin of the U.S. took the gold in men’s competition with 280.37 after placing fourth in the short. The 17-year-old is the youngest ever men’s champion at the event. He landed the quad Axel for the second time this season, the only skater to ever successfully land the jump. Kao Miura of Japan won the silver with 273.19 and Junhwan Cha of South Korea was third at 264.05. Roman Sadovsky of Vaughan, Ont., tallied a season’s best 225.41 for fifth and 17-year-old Wesley Chiu of Vancouver followed in sixth at 219.90.

‘’Overall, it was an improvement from my last competition,’’ said Sadovsky, who was third at the Nebelhorn Trophy. ‘’There were some things that were still better at Nebelhorn, and I hope to improve on those at my next event.’’

Competition ends Sunday with the women’s free skate and the free dance. Marie-Jade Lauriault of Ste-Anne-des-Plaines, Que., and Romain Le Gac of Laval, Que., are third after Saturday’s rhythm dance. For full results, click here.

Ten Prominent Canadian Skaters Kick Off the Senior Grand Prix Season at Skate America

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OTTAWA, ON (October 17, 2022) – The senior Grand Prix season officially kicks off this weekend with Skate America, where ten Canadian skaters will be vying for a spot on the podium. The event, which takes place in Norwood, USA from October 21-23, 2022, will include two Canadian entries in men, pair and ice dance.  

17-year-old Wesley Chiu will be making his Senior Grand Prix debut after winning gold and bronze medals on the junior circuit last season, on top of placing third at the 2022 Canadian Tire National Skating Championships. He will be joined by Olympian Roman Sadovsky, who has had a successful season so far, claiming bronze at the 2022 Nebelhorn Trophy in Oberstdorf, Germany.  

Deanna Stellato-Dudek and Maxime Deschamps kicked off their season in spectacular fashion with a first-place finish at the 2022 Nebelhorn Trophy. The duo also had a great showing at last year’s ISU Four Continents Championships®, where they finished just off the podium. Young pair team Kelly Ann Laurin and Loucas Ethier earned their spot at Skate America with a very solid performance at the U.S. International Figure Skating Classic, where they placed fifth.  

Veteran ice dancers Marie-Jade Lauriault and Romain Le Gac, who finished fourth at the U.S. International Figure Skating Classic a few weeks ago, will be competing in ice dance, as will teammates Carolane Soucisse and Shane Firus. Soucisse and Firus put on a great display at the 2022 Nebelhorn Trophy, where they captured a bronze medal for Canada. 

The competition starts on Friday, October 21 with the pair and men’s short programs. On Saturday, all disciplines will compete, starting with the rhythm dance, followed by the women’s short program, and the pair and men’s free programs. The event concludes on Sunday with the free dance and women’s free program.  

The next stop on the circuit will be Mississauga, Ontario, for Skate Canada International 2022. Click here for more information or to buy tickets for the event.  

Team Canada 

Name | Age | Hometown | Coach | Training Location  

Men
Wesley Chiu | 17 | Vancouver, B.C. | Keegan Murphy & Eileen Murphy | Richmond, B.C.
Roman Sadovsky | 23 | Vaughan, Ont. | Tracey Wainman & Grzegorz Filipowski | Richmond Hill, Ont.   

Pair 
Deanna Stellato-Dudek | 39 | Chicago, USA & Maxime Deschamps | 30 | Vaudreuil-Dorion, Que. | Josée Picard | Vaudreuil-Dorion, Que.  
Kelly Ann Laurin | 16 | St-Jérôme, Que. & Loucas Ethier | 22 | Deux-Montagnes, Que. | Stéphanie Valois | Rosemère, Que.   

Ice Dance 
Marie-Jade Lauriault | 25 | Ste-Anne-Des-Plaines, Que. & Romain Le Gac | 27 | Laval, Que. | Marie-France Dubreuil & Patrice Lauzon| Ste-Anne-Des-Plaines, Que.  
Carolane Soucisse | 27 | Châteauguay, Que. & Shane Firus | 28 | North Vancouver, B.C. | Carol Lane & Juris Razgulajevs | Toronto, Ont.   

Team Leader – Mike Slipchuk
Medical Team – Meaghan Shewchuk
Officials – Andrew Bosco & Jacqueline Wickett-Warren 

For more information about the event and full schedules, click here.