OSHAWA, Ont. (January 13, 2023) – Keegan Messing capped Friday’s start to senior competition by placing first in the men’s short program at the 2023 Canadian Tire National Skating Championships.

Messing, the defending champion, earned 94.40 points with Conrad Orzel of Toronto second at 86.16 and Matthew Newnham of Edmonton, 15^th last year, standing third at 79.75.

A two-time Olympian, Messing has announced this is his last season. He is also dealing this week with the extra stress of his wife Lane due to deliver their second child any day now.

‘’This is my final competition on Canadian soil,’’ said Messing. ‘’To go out there today, to have the crowd right there behind me, I’m overjoyed. I’ve always tried to put on my best performance to entertain the crowd. There are no words.’’

Deanna Stellato-Dudek and Maxime Deschamps of Vaudreuil-Dorion, Que., are on track for their first Canadian title standing first after the pairs short program with 73.20. Brooke McIntosh of Toronto and Benjamin Mimar of Terrebonne, Que., are second at 66.67 and Kelly Ann Laurin of Saint-Jérôme, Que., and Loucas Éthier of Saint-Alphonse-de-Granby , Que., are third at 65.61.

Stellato-Dudek has been battling flu-like systems for the past few weeks.

‘’It’s slowly getting better,’’ said Stellato-Dudek, a double medallist this season on the ISU Grand Prix circuit. ‘’But it’s still not gone, and I feel it when I’m skating. It’s really annoying. But we’re feeling more confident and had better training under our belt heading into nationals than we did for the Grand Prix Final.’’

In ice dancing, Laurence Fournier-Beaudry and Nikolaj Sorensen of Montreal are first after the rhythm dance with 87.06. Marjorie Lajoie of Boucherville, Que., and Zachary Lagha of Saint-Hubert, Que., stand second at 84.91 and Marie-Jade Lauriault and Romain Le Gac of Sainte-Anne-des-Plaines, Que., are third at 77.34.

Two-time defending champions and recently crowned ISU Grand Prix Final champs Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier of Toronto withdrew earlier this week after Gilles underwent an appendectomy.

‘’Our goal since the beginning of the year was to win nationals whether Piper and Paul were here or not,’’ said Sorensen, a double medallist this season on the ISU Grand Prix circuit with his partner. ‘’We know that’s setting the bar high but we’ re trying to step it up and to do that we have to beat people we’ve never beaten before.’’

Defending champion Madeline Schizas of Oakville, Ont., took the lead in the women’s event with 68.32 points in the short program. Lia Pereira of Milton, Ont., follows at 61.21 and Fiona Bombardier of Newmarket, Ont., is third at 60.52.

‘’There were parts I was happy with and parts I was less thrilled about,’’ said Schizas, 19, a 2022 Olympian. ‘’I sometimes struggle when I skate last because of the wait, but I managed it better here than at Skate Canada International (in October).’’

The synchronized skating portion of the competition concluded Friday with NEXXICE from Burlington, Ont., dethroning reigning world champions les Suprêmes from Saint-Léonard, Que. NEXXICE collected 230.39, Nova, from Saint-Hubert, Que., followed at 222.68 and les Suprêmes, first after the short program, were third at 222.18.

‘’Its really special and a dream come true,’’ said NEXXICE co-captain Tegan Orr. ‘’I grew up in synchro so having this happen for me and this group of girls is really special.’’

This was the first time the synchronized skating events were part of the National Skating Championships.

Competition ends Saturday with the senior free skates.

For full results click here.

OSHAWA, ON. (January 11, 2023) – After triumphing on the international stage in the first part of the 2022-23 season, Nadiia Bashynska and Peter Beaumont of Ajax, Ont., added the Canadian junior ice dance title to their resume on Wednesday at the Canadian Tire National Skating Championships.

Bashynska and Beaumont, runners-up last year, totalled 183.97 points, a Canadian junior record. They ranked first in both the short program and free skate.

Sandrine Gauthier of St-Constant, Que., and Quentin Thieren of Mont-Saint-Hilaire, Que., followed at 161.52 and Hailey Yu and Brendan Giang of Burnaby, B.C., were third at 154.70.

Bashynska and Beaumont, world junior championship bronze medallists last March, won their three ISU Junior Grand Prix assignments this season including the Grand Prix Final in December.

‘’It’s been surreal to win every event so far,’’ said Beaumont. ‘’Considering it was a goal we threw out there at the beginning of the season. We’ve proven it’s been possible so far.’’

Three other junior free skates were also held Wednesday.

Edward Nicholas Vasii of Rivière-des Prairies, Que., upset two medallists from last year to win the gold medal in the men’s junior event.

Vasii ranked second in both Tuesday’s short program and Wednesday’s free skate but emerged as the victor with 191.00 points. Grayson Long of Toronto, first after short, took the silver with 178.93. Anthony Paradis of Boisbriand, Que., soared from 12^th after the short to third spot with the best score in the free skate totaling 178.90.

Paradis and Long were 1-2 in the same event last year.

‘’I wasn’t expecting this,’’ said Vasii, in his national junior debut. ‘’I was impressed with myself to have such a great performance with all the stress. I gained some confidence in the short program and I just continued to skate for myself.’’

Hetty Shi of Mississauga, Ont., last year’s novice national champ, posted the best skates in both the short and free to win the women’s junior gold with 165.61. Rose Théroux of Sorel, Que., followed for silver with 159.13 and Quebec’s Aleksa Volkova took the bronze at 155.40.

‘’It’s a bit overwhelming,’’ said Shi. ‘’I learned how to better control my emotions this year and that was one of my goals.’’

In junior pairs, Chloe Panetta of Laval, Que., and Kieran Thrasher of Amherstburg, Ont., took the title with a personal best 147.84. Ava Kemp and Yohnatan Elizarov of Winnipeg were second at 127.52 and Martina Ariano Kent and Alexis Leduc of Montreal third at 119.41.

‘’This is what we’ve been working for all season,’’ said Panetta. ‘’There have been a lot of ups and downs and we came through when it mattered.’’

Competition continues Thursday with junior and senior synchronized skating.

For full results click here.

OSHAWA, Ont. (December 7, 2022) – Skate Canada is excited to announce that Olympians and three-time ice dance World medallists Kaitlyn Weaver and Andrew Poje will be making their first appearance as Event Ambassadors at the 2023 Canadian Tire National Skating Championships, taking place from January 9-15, 2023 at the Tribute Communities Centre in Oshawa, Ontario.  

Two-time Canadian champion, Nam Nguyen, will also be on-site in Oshawa serving as In-Venue Host. After retiring earlier this summer, Nguyen will bring his expertise to the rink by interacting with athletes and fans alike during competition days. 

Weaver and Poje’s role will see them promote the event and lend their personalities to public appearances, media interviews and in-venue activities. They will also be interacting with athletes and fans throughout the event. 

“It is an honour to return to the Canadian Tire National Skating Championships this year as event ambassadors,” said Weaver. “I treasure every moment of our journey, from standing at centre ice, to now leading the standing ovation for the next generation of Canadian champions. I can’t wait to reconnect with fans who supported us through our career and new fans we have yet to meet.” 

Following their retirement from figure skating in 2019, Weaver and Poje continue to skate together in Stars on Ice and other professional shows. Weaver is also known for her work in equality, diversity, inclusion, and accessibility as a pioneer for queer athletes and representation in figure skating, while Poje has appeared in two seasons of “Battle of the Blades”. In 2021, Poje joined the coaching staff at Kelowna Skating Club and was recently appointed to Skate Canada’s Board of Directors as a Director-at-Large. 

ABOUT THE 2023 CANADIAN TIRE NATIONAL SKATING CHAMPIONSHIPS 

Athletes competing at the 2023 Canadian Tire National Skating Championships vie for spots on the Skate Canada National Team and the Canadian teams that will compete at the ISU Four Continents Figure Skating Championships® 2023, the ISU World Junior Figure Skating Championships® 2023, the ISU World Figure Skating Championships® 2023, the ISU World Synchronized Skating Championships® 2023, and the ISU World Junior Synchronized Skating Championships® 2023.  

Single-session tickets are still available and can be purchased at Tributecommunitiescentre.com. Ticket prices begin at $25 (plus applicable fees) and range per session.