Tag Archive for: 2024 Canadian National Skating Championships

New, Defending, and Returning Champions Crowned on Final Day of 2024 Canadian National Skating Championships

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Calgary, AB (January 13, 2024) – The final day of competition at the 2024 Canadian National Skating Championships taking place at the WinSport Arena in Calgary, Alta., saw two new senior champions crowned, defending champions retain their title, and former champions reclaim their title.

Canada has a new senior women’s national champion after Kaiya Ruiter of Calgary, Alta., delighted her hometown family and friends with a new personal best free skate and the best free skate of the day to win gold with an overall score of 180.86. Ruiter dethroned Madeline Schizas of Oakville, Ont., who was looking for her third-straight national title, but who had a tough skate today and finished the free program ranked third. Schizas had to settle for the silver medal (172.90), while Hetty Shi of Mississauga, Ont., last year’s junior national champion, claimed the bronze medal (162.51).

“That was one of the most special performances I’ve ever had in my life, and to be able to share that with my family and friends and everyone I love, is just surreal,” said Ruiter who will be representing Canada at the Youth Olympic Games in Korea at the end of the month. “I just wanted to enjoy the moment. I love this program so much and I just wanted to share that with the audience.”

Former champions reclaimed their senior national titles in the ice dance competition. Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier of Toronto, Ont., who missed last year’s championships while Gilles recovered from surgery, won their third senior Canadian title with a new personal best free skate (136.17) and a new personal best overall score of 222.95.

“Paul and I really skated like champions today. We stepped out onto the ice and remembered who we were, and why we’re here, and used this as a stepping stone for worlds. We want to be on the top of that podium, so we have to start acting like those champions and I think we really did that today,” said Gilles.

Marie-Jade Lauriault and Romain Le Gac of Ste-Anne-des-Plaines, Que., claimed the silver medal, also with a new personal best free skate (122.50) and personal best overall score (200.50), as did the bronze medallists – Alicia Fabbri of Terrebonne, Que., and Paul Ayer of Brossard, Que., whose free skate score (117.86) and overall score (195.61) were both personal bests as well.

The only skaters to defend their senior national title at these Championships were Deanna Stellato-Dudek of Chicago, USA and Maxime Deschamps of Vaudreuil-Dorion, Que., who won gold in the pair competition, and their second-straight national title with an overall score of 205.79. Lia Pereira of Milton, Ont., and Trennt Michaud of Brantford, Ont., took the silver medal (193.14), while Kelly Ann Laurin of St-Jérôme, Que., and Loucas Éthier of St-Alphonse, Que., captured bronze with a huge new personal best free skate (125.19) and overall score (187.40).

“We’re happy that we were able to come back from that bad performance yesterday and show the work that we’ve been doing on our throws. I was not going to back down from those after what happened yesterday,” said Stellato-Dudek who had an uncharacteristic fall on a throw in yesterday’s short program. “We are our own biggest competitors. All we have to do is our own job and I know what the outcome is going to be,” she added.

There was a new national champion in the men’s competition following the retirement of last year’s champion Keegan Messing – last year’s bronze medallist Wesley Chiu of Vancouver, B.C. put in another solid program to finally claim gold with a total of 232.15, almost 7 points ahead of runner up Aleksa Rakic of Burnaby, B.C. Anthony Paradis of Boisbriand, Que., almost missed the podium after his lace broke mid-program, but came back with renewed energy to win the bronze with a total score of 209.98, only a fraction of a point ahead of Conrad Orzel.

“Having Canadian Champion on my back, I can skate with more pride now, but it also comes with responsibility. Overall, I think it’s really motivating to go back and train hard,” said Chiu.

The 2024 Canadian National Skating Championships will wrap up Sunday with the exhibition gala.

Follow the action via Skate Canada’s livestream here. For full results please click here.

Senior Competition Kicks Off at 2024 Canadian National Skating Championships

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Calgary, AB (January 12, 2024) – The 2024 Canadian National Skating Championships have been good for the Les Suprêmes synchronized skating teams from Saint-Léonard, Que. On Friday, their senior team completed a clean sweep for the discipline by winning the senior national title, just one day after their junior team won the junior national title at the WinSport Arena in Calgary, Alta.

The senior Les Suprêmes team are the reigning World Champions so expectations were high for them and they didn’t disappoint, finishing the event with an overall score of 216.79 to win gold. The Nova team from St-Hubert, Que., actually had the top-scoring free skate of the day which moved them up from the third after the short program to capture silver with a total score of 213.97, while Nexxice from Burlington, Ont., who were the reigning Canadian champions, settled for the bronze medal with a total score of 205.95.

“We’re really happy with both of our skates; we had two clean skates, exactly like in practice. Of course, we still have things we can improve, and we’ll be working on that for the next few months,” said Julia Bernardo, co-captain of Les Suprêmes.

While the synchronized skating competition wrapped up, the senior women’s, men’s, pair, and ice dance competitions got started, with the women first in line.

Madeline Schizas of Oakville Ont., the two-time defending Canadian senior champion, finished the day well out in front with a score of 63.63, followed by Kaiya Ruiter who delighted her hometown Calgary crowd and scored a 58.25, and Sara-Maude Dupuis of Montreal, Que., in third with a score of 57.87.

“I thought the performance was good. I really felt like I gave my all on the performance side. The tech elements weren’t all there, but I thought the rest of it was really clean, and overall I’m happy,” said Schizas following the competition.

Next to compete were the ice dance teams, and to no one’s surprise, Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier of Toronto, Ont., the two-time ice dance World Championships bronze medallists, finished the day in first with a score of 86.78. Marie-Jade Lauriault and Romain Le Gac of Ste-Anne-des-Plaines, Que., are sitting in second after scoring 78.00, followed closely by Alicia Fabbri of Terrebonne, Que., and Paul Ayer of Brossard, Que., who established a new personal best score of 77.55 to finish in third.

“We had some cobwebs to get out of the system,” said Poirier. “I wouldn’t say it was the best skate of our lives, but I think some things that we have worked on and changed have been successful and other things just need a little bit more consistency and time to practice. We’re pleased with how this performance went and we’re really looking forward to the free dance tomorrow.”

The pair competition followed the rhythm dance, and saw Deanna Stellato-Dudek of Chicago, USA and Maxime Deschamps of Vaudreuil-Dorion, Que., the defending Canadian champions, finishing in first with a score of 66.86 – just narrowly ahead of Lia Pereira of Milton, Ont., and Trennt Michaud of Brantford, Ont., who finished second with a score of 66.04, due to an uncharacteristic fall on Stellato-Dudek and Deschamps’ throw triple loop. Kelly Ann Laurin of St-Jérôme, Que., and Loucas Éthier of St-Alphonse, Que., sit third with a score of 62.21.

When asked about the fall, Stellato-Dudek commented: “We’ve done probably close to like 100 throws in the past three weeks – working on them a lot. I’m not really sure what went wrong today.” Looking forward to the free skate tomorrow, she added: “The free, we’re just looking to hopefully do a better job than we did at the (Grand Prix) Final and show some of the improvement we’ve worked really hard on for the last three weeks.”

Closing out the evening was the men’s short program which was dominated by Wesley Chiu of Vancouver, B.C. who delivered a solid performance to set a personal best of 88.98. Aleksa Rakic of Burnaby, B.C., currently sits in second place with 75.49, while Anthony Paradis of Boisbriand, Que., made his senior championships debut with a score of 74.16 to finish third.

The competition part of the 2024 Canadian National Skating Championships will finish Saturday with the free skate for all disciplines, with the Championships themselves wrapping up on Sunday with the exhibition gala.

Follow the action via Skate Canada’s livestream here. For full results please click here.

Les Suprêmes Crowned Junior National Synchronized Skating Champions

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Calgary, AB (January 11, 2024) – The Les Suprêmes junior team from Saint-Léonard, Que., claimed the junior national synchronized skating title on Thursday evening at the 2024 Canadian National Skating Championships taking place at the WinSport Arena in Calgary, Alta, setting a new national record along the way.

The team of 16 skaters, who last won the junior national title in 2022, delivered a very strong free skate to score 125.26 and win the gold medal with a total overall score of 197.55 – a new national record.

“We did exactly what we do at home, and I think our performance really reflected all of our hard work and we’re really proud,” said team co-captain Victoria Gimenez.

When asked if the fact that they were sitting in first after their short program impacted them at all heading into the competition today, Gabriella Musi, the other team co-captain, added: “If we were last, second, or third, it would have been the same thing that we would have delivered on the ice – because at the end of the day, it’s a new day and a level playing field for everybody. The new national record is just a great bonus!”

Last year’s champions, Nexxice from Burlington, Ont., took the silver medal with an overall score of 189.07, while Nova from St-Hubert, Que., took bronze with an overall score of 183.28.

It was a good day for the Les Suprêmes club as their senior team also topped the results with their short program. The team, who are the reigning World Champions, scored a 74.80 to take the lead with the senior team from Nexxice sitting second with a score of 72.24, and the Nova senior team sitting third with a score of 71.81.

“It feels great. We’ve worked really hard the last few weeks to clean our programs, and improve our calls, and just deliver a clean program and I think that’s what we did today,” said Les Suprêmes team co-captain Olivia Digiandomenico.

The senior synchronized skating competition will wrap up Friday with the free skate, while the senior competition gets started with the short program for the women, men, and pair skaters, and the rhythm dance for the ice dance teams.

Follow the action via Skate Canada’s livestream here. For full results please click here.

New Junior Canadian Champions Crowned at 2024 Canadian National Skating Championships

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Calgary, AB (January 10, 2024) – Four new Junior Canadian Champions were crowned on Wednesday at the WinSport Arena in Calgary, Alta., as the 2024 Canadian National Skating Championships continued.

Starting things off for the second day in a row were the junior men. John Kim of Mississauga, Ont., who was leading after the short program and skated last, had a tougher time with his jumps and finished the day in fourth overall. That meant that the title was up for grabs, and Terry Yu Tao Jin of Surrey, B.C., was ready and willing to grab it – he laid down an almost flawless performance to improve from fourth in the short program to take the junior national title with a total overall score of 185.20.

“I’ve worked towards this for a long time, so I feel like I belong here – this feels great,” said Yu Tao Jin who hasn’t previously won a Canadian title. “This competition, I knew I just had to turn my mind off, trust in my technique and my training, and just see where it took me, and it turned out well!”

David Li of Richmond, B.C., who will be heading to the 2024 Youth Olympic Games in a couple of weeks, took the silver medal with a total score of 179.45, while David Shteyngart of Ottawa, Ont., took the bronze with a total score of 175.40.

In the junior pair competition, ISU Grand Prix Final silver medallists Ava Kemp and Yohnatan Elizarov of Winnipeg, Man., continued to dominate, finishing first in the free skate to win gold and their first junior national title with an overall score of 165.50.

“It feels good, we’re still a little bit upset with our performance today as it was a little bit messy, and not quite what we can do, so we’re a little bit disappointed in that, but overall, I think we’re pretty happy with how this went,” said Kemp of their free skate which scored a 105.05, well shy of their personal best score for the routine of 110.92 which they scored at the Grand Prix Final.

Martina Ariano Kent of Mount Royal, Que., and Charly Laliberté-Laurent of Boucherville, Que., moved up from third after the short program to take the silver medal with an overall score of 149.44, leaving Jazmine Desrochers of Mississauga, Ont., and Kieran Thrasher of Amherstburg Ont., to take bronze with a total score of 149.24.

There was a shake-up in the junior women’s competition from the short program as well with Lulu Lin of Mississauga, Ont., skating a very strong technical program to move up from third after the short program to win gold with an overall score of 166.74.

“I’m really happy. I came into this competition not really expecting to win, but I skated my best and I think that’s what matters the most,” said Lin who won gold at the 2023 Skate Canada Challenge – Junior/Senior competition this past December. “I landed most of my jumps. I think by the end, I got a little bit overexcited, so moving forward, I’m going to work on being calm throughout the whole program.”

Aleksa Volkova of Lac Brôme, Que., maintained second place to win silver with an overall score of 158.00, while Mély-Ann Gagner of Sherbrooke, Que., improved mightily with her free skate to move up from eighth after the short program to take bronze with a total score of 147.84. Megan Woodley of Oro Station, Ont., who was leading after the short program, struggled with her free skate and finished sixth overall.

The junior ice dance competition closed out the day and saw 2022 novice champions Layla Veillon and Alexander Brandys of London, Ont., deliver a flawless free dance to take the win with a score of 160.80. Skate Canada Challenge gold medallists Chloe Nguyen of Vancouver, B.C. and Brendan Giang of Burnaby, B.C. finished second with 154.25 and Alisa Korneva and Kieran MacDonald of Kitchener-Waterloo, Ont. moved up from fourth to win the bronze with a score of 147.

“We really tried not to focus on how close we were to first and the distance between second and third because in the end anything can happen, and we just wanted to put out our best skate. Whatever was going to happen we were going to be proud and obviously winning is an amazing bonus,” said Veillon.

The synchronized skating portion of the competition also began today, with the junior synchronized skating teams taking to the ice to perform their short programs. Les Suprêmes from Saint-Léonard, Que., finished the day in first with a score of 72.29, with the Nexxice team from Burlington, Ont., just behind them with a score of 71.60, followed by Nova from St-Hubert, Que., in third with 69.23.

Thursday will see the junior synchronized skating teams perform their free skate, and the senior synchronized skating teams will complete their short program.

Follow the action via Skate Canada’s livestream here. For full results please click here.

Junior Skaters Shine on First Day of 2024 Canadian National Skating Championships

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Calgary, AB (January 9, 2024) – The 2024 Canadian National Skating Championships kicked off Tuesday at the WinSport Arena in Calgary, Alberta with the short program for the junior men, women, and pair skaters, and the rhythm dance for junior ice dance.

The junior men got the competition going, and John Kim of Mississauga, Ont., had the best performance of the day with a score of 67.79 to take the lead. Kim was the 2020 national novice champion, and finished third at the 2022 National Championships, but missed last year’s championships after taking a year off. David Bondar of Richmond Hill, Ont., finished the day in second with a score of 67.45, followed by David Shteyngart of Ottawa, Ont., in third with a score of 65.65.

Next up was the junior pair competition which saw Ava Kemp and Yohnatan Elizarov of Winnipeg, Man., silver medallists at the recent ISU Grand Prix Final, dominating the competition to take the top spot with a new personal best score of 60.45 in their short program.

“I thought our program went very well. I stumbled a little bit throughout the program, but I’m really happy with the elements we performed,” said Elizarov, who together with Kemp finished sixth at the 2023 World Junior Championships held at the WinSport Arena last year. “For tomorrow, we just need to focus on ourselves, and the elements, and maybe we’ll get another PB.”

Jazmine Desrochers of Mississauga, Ont., and Kieran Thrasher of Amherstburg Ont., who brought home a bronze medal from the 2023 ISU Grand Prix Final are sitting in second with a score of 51.54, while Martina Ariano Kent of Mount Royal, Que., and Charly Laliberté-Laurent of Boucherville, Que., who finished fourth at the Grand Prix Final, are sitting third with a score of 49.74.

Megan Woodley of Oro Station, Ont., skated a very strong technical program to finish the day in the top spot in the junior women’s competition with a new personal best score of 59.15.

“My program went really well,” said Woodley. “My goal for tomorrow’s free skate is to just take it jump by jump and focus on just doing the technique right and then it’ll just go where it goes.”

Aleksa Volkova of Lac-Brôme, Que., is sitting second with a score of 57.13, while Lulu Lin of Mississauga, Ont., sits third with a score of 56.58.

The day wrapped up with the ice dance teams performing their rhythm dance, with 2023-2024 Skate Canada Challenge winners Chloe Nguyen of Vancouver, B.C. and Brendan Giang of Burnaby, B.C. scoring a season’s best of 67.06 to place first. Layla Veillon and Alexander Brandys of London, Ont., were second with 64.41 and the new team of Jamie Fournier of Brossard, Que., and Everest Zhu of Waterloo, Ont. sit in third with 58.67.

“I think we put out what we wanted to, and we felt really good on the ice when we were out there so we’re happy with what we did,” said Giang.

Wednesday will feature the completion of the junior competition with the free skate for men, women, pair, and ice dance, and the beginning of the synchronized skating competition with the short program for the juniors.

Follow the action via Skate Canada’s livestream here. For full results please click here.

Tickets on Sale Next Week for 2024 Canadian National Skating Championships

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OTTAWA, ON (October 12, 2023) – Tickets for the 2024 Canadian National Skating Championships will be available for pre-sale on Monday, October 16, 2023, at 10:00 AM ET, and on sale to the public on Thursday, October 19, 2023, at 10:00 AM ET. The 2024 Canadian National Skating Championships will take place at WinSport Arena at Canada Olympic Park, in Calgary, Alberta, from January 8-14, 2024.  

Day tickets will be available from Tuesday, January 9 to Thursday, January 11. Day tickets begin at $35, plus applicable taxes and fees, and prices range by day. Please note that day tickets will be general admission.  

Single session tickets will be available for events taking place from Friday, January 12 to Sunday, January 14. Single session tickets begin at $50, plus applicable taxes and fees, and prices range by session. Please note that single session tickets will be assigned seating. Tickets can be purchased online at Ticketmaster.ca.  

Due to limited seating capacity, all-event tickets are not being sold for this event. Buy your tickets early so you don’t miss out! 

ABOUT THE CANADIAN NATIONAL SKATING CHAMPIONSHIPS 

Athletes competing at the event vie for spots on the Skate Canada National Team and the Canadian teams that will compete at the ISU Four Continents Figure Skating Championships® 2024, the ISU World Junior Figure Skating Championships® 2024, the ISU World Figure Skating Championships® 2024, the ISU World Synchronized Skating Championships® 2024, and the ISU World Junior Synchronized Skating Championships® 2024. 

Calgary to Host 2024 Canadian National Skating Championships

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OTTAWA, ON (April 26, 2023) – Skate Canada is pleased to announce that Calgary, Alta. will host the 2024 Canadian National Skating Championships from January 8-14, 2024. The week-long competition will take place at WinSport Arena at Canada Olympic Park, a world-class facility that has played host to multiple high-profile events in the past. The championships will feature the best Canadian figure skaters in men, women, pair, ice dance, and synchronized skating competing at both the junior and senior levels.  

‘’We are excited to return to WinSport Arena after a highly successful 2023 ISU World Junior Figure Skating Championships at this facility,’’ said Debra Armstrong, Chief Executive Officer at Skate Canada. ‘’Calgary is no stranger to hosting sports events and we are confident that athletes from across the country will have a memorable experience at these Canadian National Skating Championships.’’ 

“Calgary looks forward to welcoming back the best skaters from across the country in January 2024,” said Carson Ackroyd, Senior Vice President of Sales with Tourism Calgary. “This event will inject a projected $3.1 million into our visitor economy and will bring hundreds of athletes, coaches, and officials to the city allowing for the opportunity to showcase Calgary’s venues, accommodations, and unique winter visitor experiences.” 

Athletes competing at the 2024 Canadian National Skating Championships will be vying for spots on the Skate Canada National Team and the Canadian teams that will compete at the ISU Four Continents Figure Skating Championships® 2024, the ISU World Junior Figure Skating Championships® 2024, the ISU World Figure Skating Championships® 2024 in Montréal, the ISU World Junior Synchronized Skating Championships® 2024 and the ISU World Synchronized Skating Championships®2024. 

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