Tag Archive for: ISU Junior Grand Prix

Three Top 10 Finishes for Canadian Junior Skaters in Slovenia

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Ljubljana, SLO (October 6, 2024) – Six young Canadian figure skaters took to the ice in Ljubljana, Slovenia this week for the sixth stop on the ISU Junior Grand Prix (JGP) circuit and continued to learn and refine their routines while posting three top-10 finishes.

Grayson Long of Oakville, Ont., finished the men’s competition ranked seventh after posting new personal best scores for his short (66.03) and free programs (133.51) to finish with a new personal best total score of 199.54.

“This was my first time in Slovenia and I had a great time. I didn’t put up two of my best programs ever, but the improvements I made in between this junior grand prix and my last one in Thailand were evident in my GOEs and my program requirements so I was really happy with that aspect. Now I’m excited to keep training and fix the mistakes that I made,” said Long who will make the move to competing as a senior when he returns to Canada.

Jacob Sanchez of the USA won his second JGP of the season with a total score of 229.46 while Adam Hagara of Slovakia settled for silver with a total score of 217.42, and Genrikh Gartung of Germany brought home bronze (208.77).

Canada had two teams in the top 10 in the ice dance competition with Layla Veillon and Alexander Brandys of London, Ont., finishing sixth (148.38), and Aurea Cinçon-Debout of Montreal, Que., and Earl Jesse Celestino of Dollard-des-Ormeaux, Que., finishing ninth (129.71).

Veillon and Brandys came into the competition fresh off a bronze medal performance at the JGP in Czechia a few weeks ago and were happy with their performance in Slovenia: “I thought our performance was pretty good for our second international this year, especially since it’s only October, we still have some room to grow, but it was a good start,” stated Brandys.

Ukranian skaters Iryna Pidgaina and Artem Koval dominated the competition to win gold with a total score of 168.30 while Celina Fradji and Jean-Hans Fourneaux of France took silver (162.86), and Caroline and Brendan Mullen of the USA took bronze (161.16).

Hetty Shi was the lone Canadian in the women’s competition and finished 16th overall as she continues to work on managing the mental aspects of competing. Sophie Joline von Felten from the USA won gold (197.41), Jia Shin of Korea captured silver (193.04), and Mei Okada of Japan took bronze (190.93).

The seventh, and last Junior Grand Prix of the season takes place next week in Wuxi, China from October 9-12, 2024 and will feature Canadian athletes competing in the men’s and women’s competition and ice dance. The season will wrap up with the ISU Grand Prix Final being held in Grenoble, France from December 5-8, 2024.

For full results, please click here.

Lessons Learned for Canadian NextGen Skaters at Bangkok Junior Grand Prix

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Bangkok, THA (September 14, 2024) – It was a week of learning for Canada’s NextGen figure skaters at the third stop on the ISU Junior Grand Prix Circuit in Bangkok, Thailand with Chloe Nguyen and Brendan Giang’s fourth-place finish in the ice dance competition as the top result for Canada.

Nguyen and Giang, both from Burnaby, B.C., had an uncharacteristic fall in their rhythm dance performance on Friday after Nguyen caught an edge, but they bounced back with a strong free dance Saturday to finish just off the podium with a total score of 146.78.

“I think that went pretty good for the most part. There were some little slip ups, but I think we’re overall pretty happy,” said Giang, who together with Nguyen finished sixth at last season’s Junior World Championships. “Our next competition is the Junior Grand Prix in China and I think we’re going to work on making things a lot bigger for the next competition to make our programs feel more full.”

Rachel Martins of Barrie, Ont., and Juel Kowalczyk of Toronto, Ont., made their Junior Grand Prix debut and finished eighth overall with a total score of 127.09. Noemi Mari Tali and Noah Lafornara of Italy won their second gold of the season after claiming top spot two weeks ago in Latvia (169.47). Hana Maria Aboian and Daniil Veselukhin of the USA took silver (160.12), and Elliana and Ethan Peal of the USA took bronze (152.55).

Fan favourite Grayson Long of Oakville, Ont., finished seventh overall in the men’s competition with a total score of 177.75.

“I’m quite tired, but I had quite a decent long program, so I’m happy with that. And really, after the short program, I was quite disappointed, and so coming into the long it kind of felt like I had nothing left to lose, which kind of really helped my mindset and allowed me to focus a little more for the program,” said Long who will compete next at the Junior Grand Prix in Slovenia.

Yanhao Li of New Zealand took home the gold with a total score of 230.09. Last year’s Junior Grand Prix final champion Rio Nakata of Japan took silver (218.71), while Tonghe Tian of China took bronze (210.39).

The women’s competition saw new senior national team member Hetty Shi of Northville, Michigan, USA take to the ice for the first time internationally this season. The senior women’s bronze medallist at last year’s Canadian National Championships had a tough time with falls in both programs and finished 10th overall.

“(This week) didn’t go as planned, it was very disappointing for me. I think I was a little too nervous. I felt the nerves take control of my body and then it wasn’t good from there. I’m going to do a lot more mental training before the next competition,” said Shi.

Yihan Wang of China dominated the women’s competition, taking home gold with a total score of 194.71. Yo Takagi of Japan took silver (188.54), while Mei Okada of Japan edged out last year’s World Junior Championships silver medallist Jia Shin of Korea for the bronze (175.96).

The fourth Junior Grand Prix of the season takes place next week in Ankara, Turkey from September 18-21, 2024 and will feature Canadian men’s, women’s pair, and ice dance teams. For full results please click here.

Double podium for Canadian Pair Skaters at Junior Grand Prix in Poland

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Gdansk, Poland (October 1, 2023) – Canadian junior pair skaters had a fantastic competition in Gdansk, Poland this week at the sixth stop on the ISU Junior Grand Prix of Figure Skating circuit, coming home with two medals – a gold for Ava Kemp and Yohnatan Elizarov, both of Winnipeg, and bronze for Jazmine Desrochers of Mississauga, Ont., and Kieran Thrasher of Amherstburg, Ont.

Kemp and Elizarov, who competed last week at the Junior Grand Prix stop in Hungary and just missed the podium finishing fourth, were sitting in third following their short program, but a great free skate vaulted them to the top of the podium with a total score of 159.91.

“I’m happy about (the win), but both Ava and I are both really analytical and think we can always do better,” said Elizarov. “Once we have that super good skate and then a gold medal — then we’ll be happy. We need to work on our transitions, and maybe adding one more triple throw.”

Desrochers and Thrasher were sitting in first following their short program, but with a fifth-place finish in the free skate, ended up with their second bronze medal of the season with a total score of 136.95. Violetta Sierova and Ivan Khobta of Ukraine captured silver with a total score of 151.53.

“It was definitely a fun experience with a lot of learning,” said Desrochers, who together with Thrasher also won bronze at the Junior Grand Prix in Hungary. “The short program went well, even though we didn’t feel as great going into it, we were able to put in a good skate with good results which we were happy about. The long program didn’t go as we hoped – we hoped to put out something closer to what we do in practice, which unfortunately we weren’t able to do this time.”

Canada has now qualified three pair teams for the Grand Prix Final which will be held in Beijing, China from December 7th to 10th – Martina Ariano Kent, of Montreal and Charly Laliberté Laurent of Boucherville, Que., Kemp and Elizarov, and Desrochers and Thrasher.

Canada was represented by two brand new teams making their international competitive debuts in ice dance – Jamie Fournier of Brossard, Que., and Everest Zhu of Waterloo, Ont., finished sixth with a total score of 137.41, while Audra Gans of Sainte-Agathe-des-Monts, Que., and Michael Boutsan of Thornhill, Ont., finished 17th with a total score of 115.03.

Darya Grimm and Michail Savitskiy of Germany won gold (155.88), while Mariia Pinchuk and Mykyta Pogorielov of Ukraine took silver (154.52), and Sara Kishimoto and Atsuhiko Tamura of Japan took bronze (150.85).

Also making her international competitive debut was Lulu Lin, 13, of Mississauga, Ont., who finished seventh in the women’s competition.

“I thought I could have done better, but leading up to the competition, I had some small injuries (hip flexor strain), so a couple jumps hurt a bit more than usual, but overall I think I had a really good skate,” said Lin who was the silver medallist at the 2023 NextGen Competition.

Winning gold was Rena Uezono of Japan with a total score of 192.31 followed by Korean skaters Minsol Kwon (183.52), and Seojin Youn (176.31) who captured silver and bronze respectively.

In the men’s competition, Alec Guinzbourg of Aurora, Ont., finished 11th overall with a total score of 159.25. Juheon Lim of Korea won gold with a total score of 221.55, while Beck Strommer of the USA took silver with a total score of 200.22, and Daiya Ebihara of Japan took bronze with a total score of 184.73.

The final event in the 2023 ISU Junior Grand Prix series takes place from October 4-7, 2023 in Yerevan, Armenia where Canada will be represented by two men and two ice dance teams.

For full results, please click here.

Desrochers & Thrasher Capture Pairs Bronze at ISU Junior Grand Prix in Turkey

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Istanbul, Turkey (September 9, 2023) – Jazmine Desrochers of Mississauga, Ont., and Kieran Thrasher of Amherstburg, Ont., highlighted the ISU Junior Grand Prix of Figure Skating competition that wrapped up Saturday in Istanbul, Turkey, capturing a bronze medal in the pair competition.

Desrochers and Thrasher, a newly formed team that were competing in their first Junior Grand Prix competition, finished with a total score of 146.34 after sitting in second following the short program.

“There was definitely a lot of learning curves this week,” said Desrochers following their free skate. “We were really happy with how our scores ended up in the short program so going into the long there was a bit more pressure, but I’m happy we still got to do it together and to get through it with some ease.”

Anastasiia Metelkina and Luka Berulava of Georgia won gold with a total score of 181.31, while Olivia Flores and Luke Wang of the USA captured silver with a total score of 154.52.

Uliana Shiryaeva of Coquitlam, B.C., made her international debut for Canada in the women’s competition and finished 9th overall with a total score of 147.27. Ami Nakal of Japan won gold (194.65), while Rena Uezono of Japan took silver (187.71), and Yujae Kim of Korea took bronze (183.65).

“For me, my first junior grand prix, I was so excited to be here. I prepared a lot for this competition, and it was a little bit hard for me to be 100% but I tried my best to do everything,” said Shiryaeva who was a bronze medallist at the most recent NextGen competition in Canada.

Canada had two teams in the ice dance event with Dana Sabatini-Speciale of Springwater, Ont., and Nicholas Buelow of Barrie, Ont., finishing 8th overall with a total score of 125.62 and Emma Goodstadt of Oakville, Ont., and Christian Bennett of Charlotte, North Carolina finishing 14th overall with a total score of 117.45.

Mariia Pinchuk and Mykyta Pogorielov of Ukraine won gold (148.82), Yahli Pedersen and Jeffrey Chen of the USA silver (146.37), and Gina Zehnder and Beda Leon Sieber of Switzerland the bronze (143.65).

“Our first practice wasn’t where we would want it to be, but I feel like we fought back and had some good practices after that,” said Buelow who together with Sabatini-Speciale will compete next at the Junior Grand Prix event in Hungary in two weeks. “Rhythm dance wasn’t our best, but we fought back in the free dance and I think we’re both happy with it.”

Canada also had two skaters competing in the men’s event, with David Bondar of Richmond Hill, Ont., finishing 12th (163.23) and Terry Jin of Surrey, B.C., finishing 15th (159.88).

Minkyu Seo of Korea dominated the men’s competition winning gold with a total score of 231.30. Rio Nakata of Japan took silver (222.35), while Daiya Evihara, also of Japan, took bronze (207.17).

The next Junior Grand Prix of the season takes place this upcoming week in Osaka, Japan from September 13-16, 2023 and will feature seven NextGen skaters for Canada – one woman, two men, and two ice dance teams.

For full results, please click here.

Canada’s Junior Skaters travelling to Russia as Junior Grand Prix Continues

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OTTAWA, ON: The next stop on the Junior Grand Prix circuit is Karsnoyarsk, Russia. Canada’s medal hunt continues at the fourth stop on the circuit. To date, Canada’s skaters have earned five medals: two gold, two silver and a bronze medal as they continue to vie for spots in the ISU Junior Grand Prix Final. Skate Canada will have four entries, for a total of six skaters, competing at the event. There will be one entry in men, one entry in women and two entries in ice dance. This event is scheduled to take place from September 15 to 18, 2021.

Hot off his gold medal win at the Junior Grand Prix in Courchevel, France is Wesley Chiu, of Richmond, B.C.. Chiu is 16 years old and Canada’s only entry in the men’s discipline at this event. Chiu won silver in junior at the 2020 Canadian Tire National Skating Championships. Wesley is coached by Keegan Murphy and Eileen Murphy in Richmond, B.C. 

Lia Pereira, 17, Milton, Ont., is the only entry in women’s discipline for Canada. Pereira captured a bronze medal in junior women at Skate Canada Challenge in 2021. Lia also won silver in Novice Women at the 2020 Canadian Tire National Skating Championships. Pereira is coached by Nancy Lemaire and Derek Schmidt. 

Nadiia Bashynska, 17, Ajax, Ont., and Peter Beaumont, 20, Ajax, Ont., are one of two teams representing Canada in ice dance. This team previously won a bronze at the ISU Junior Grand Prix in Chelyabinsk, Russia in 2019. They also took home a gold medal in junior at the Lake Placid Ice Dance International in 2019 and captured a silver medal in junior at the 2020 Canadian Tire National Skating Championships. They are coached by Carol Lane and Juris Razgulajeys. 

Emma Goodstadt, 16, Oakville, Ont., and Michael Barsoum, 16, North York, Ont., are the second Canadian ice dance team at this event. Goodstadt and Barsoum won the gold medal in novice ice dance at the Bavarian Open in 2020. This team also won the silver medal at the 2020 Canadian Tire National Skating Championships in novice ice dance. They are coached by Carol Lane and Juris Razgulajeys.  

André Bourgeois, Skate Canada NextGen Director and Cynthia Ullmark, of Canmore, Alta., will be the Canadian team leaders at the event. Dr. Edward Pilat of Winnipeg, Man., and Physiotherapist Pat Stanziano of Oakville, Ont., will be the Canadian team medical staff on site. Andrew Bosco of Thorold, Ont., and Patty Klein of Montreal, Que., will be the team officials at the event.  

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

CANADIAN ENTRIES AT ISU JGP #4 – KRASNOYARSK, RUSSIA

Men
Wesley Chiu (16) / Richmond, B.C. / Connaught FSC Richmond / Coached by Keegan Murphy and Eileen Murphy 

Women
Lia Pereira (17) / Milton, Ont. / Milton SC / Coached by Nancy Lemaire and Derek Schmidt 

Ice Dance
Nadiia Bashynska (17) and Peter Beaumont (20) / Ajax, Ont. and Ajax, Ont. / Scarboro FSC and Scarboro FSC / Coached by Carol Lane and Juris Razgulajeys 

Emma Goodstadt (16) and Michael Barsoum (16) / Oakville, Ont. and North York, Ont. / Scarboro FSC and Scarboro FSC / Coached by Carol Lane and Juris Razgulajeys

Competition continues for Canada’s NextGen Skater’s on the ISU Junior Grand Prix Circuit: Next Stop, Slovakia 

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 OTTAWA, ON: Skate Canada’s junior skaters are packing their skates and heading to Kosice, Slovakia for the third stop on this year’s ISU Junior Grand Prix circuit. Canada’s skaters have been performing well so far, taking home two silver medals at the first Junior Grand Prix two weeks ago in Courchevel, France. As the circuit continues, Canada’s junior skaters vie for a spot in the ISU Junior Grand Prix Final. Skate Canada will have five entries, for a total of eight skaters, competing at the event. There will be one entry in men, one entry in women, two entries in ice dance and one entry in pairs. This event is scheduled to take place from September 1 to 4, 2021.  

Corey Circelli, 18, Toronto, Ont., is the only Canadian in the men’s discipline. Circelli won gold in junior at the 2020 Canadian Tire National Skating Championships. He is regularly coached by Brian Orser and Tracey Wilson in Toronto, Ont.. Corey’s coach at this event will be Oula Jaaskelainen.
  

Justine Miclette, 15, Chambly, Que., is the only Canadian in the women’s discipline. This is Miclette’s first Junior Grand Prix. Justine is coached by Stéphanie Fiorito in Chambly, Que.  

Natalie D’Alessandro, 17, Toronto, Ont. and Bruce Waddell, 19, Toronto, Ont., are one of two teams representing Canada in the ice dance discipline. Natalie and Bruce won bronze at The Bavarian Open in 2020. They also won a silver medal at the Junior Grand Prix in Egna-Bolanza, Italy in 2019. They are coached by Andrew Hallam, Joey Russell and Tracy Wilson in Toronto, Ont.  
Chloe Nguyen, 16, Edmonton, Atla., and Alec Roueche, 19, Surrey, B.C, are the second team representing Canada in ice dance. This is their first Junior Grand Prix. Nguyen and Roueche are coached by Aaron Lowe and Megan Wing in Burnaby, B.C. 

Meghan Fredette, 19, Gatineau, Que. and William St-Louis, 20, Shawinigan, Que. are the only pairs team representing Canada at this event. This pair won a bronze medal at Skate Canada Challenge 2021. They are coached by Marc-Andre Craig.

Mike Slipchuk, Skate Canada High Performance Director and Manon Perron, Skate Canada High Performance Advisor of Boucherville, Que., will be the Canadian team leaders at the event. Dr. Albert Schumacher of Tecumseh, Ont. and Physiotherapist Meaghan Shewchuk of Lloydminster, Alta., will be the Canadian team medical staff on site. Véronique Gosselin of Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Que, and Leslie Keen of Vancouver, B.C., will be the team officials at the event.  

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

CANADIAN ENTRIES AT ISU JGP #3 – KOSICE, SLOVKIA

Men
Corey Circelli (18) / Toronto, Ont. / Toronto Cricket Skating and Curling Club/ Coached by Brian Orser and Tracey Wilson

Women
Justine Miclette (15) / Chambly, Que. / CPA Chambly / Coached by Stéphanie Fiorito

Ice Dance
Natalie D’Alessandro (17) and Bruce Waddell / Toronto, Ont. and Toronto, Ont. / Toronto Cricket Skating and Curling Club and Toronto Cricket Skating and Curling Club / Coached by: Andrew Hallam, Joey Russel and Tracey Wilson

Chloe Nguyen (16) and Alec Roueche (19) / Edmonton, Atla. And Surrey, B.C. / Ice Palace FSC and Champs International Skating Centre of British Columbia / Coached by Aaron Lowe and Megan Wing

Pairs
Meghan Fredette (19) and William St-Louis (20) / Gatineau, Que. And Shawnigan, Que. / CPA Buckingham and CPA Ook Pic de Grand-Mèr / Coached by Marc-Andre Craig

Canada’s Kaiya Ruiter wins a Bronze Medal and Captures A Second Junior Grand Prix Medal

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COURCHEVEL, France – It’s two weeks in a row that Kaiya Ruiter of Calgary, Alta, Junior Canadian Champion has captured a medal on the ISU Junior Grand Prix circuit. Ruiter was ranked third overall after her short program on Thursday. After a solid free skate on Friday, Ruiter has won a bronze medal with a total of 179.92 points, at the ISU Junior Grand Prix in Courchevel, France. This is Ruiter’s second Junior Grand Prix medal this season. Kaiya captured a silver medal at last weekend’s Junior Grand Prix, also in Courchevel, France.

“I’m so proud of myself.” said Ruiter. “Just getting to practice and compete with some incredible skaters has been just incredible and I feel really excited about that.“

Isabeau Levito of the U.S. took gold with 202.35 points, followed by Chaeyeon Kim of Korea, capturing silver with 191.46 points.

In Ice Dance, Canada’s Chaima Ben Khelifa of Laval, Que. and Everest Zhu, of Contestogo, Ont. are currently ranked eight after their rhythm dance with 48.30 points. Currently sitting in first place is, Isabella Flores and Dimitry Tsarevski of the U.S. with 60.56 points. They are followed by another U.S. team, Oona Brown and Gage Brown with 59.79 points and Eva Bernarda and Tom Jochum of France are currently in third with 55.03 points.

Canadian Ice Dance team Miku Makita of Anmore, B.C. and Tyler Gunara of Burnaby, B.C, withdrew from the competition.

In medal contention is Wesley Chiu of Richmond, B.C. Wesley is currently in first place after the men’s short program. Chiu has a strong 13.03 point lead. Edward Appleby of Great Britain is currently in second with 63.23 pts and in third position is Arlet Levandi of Estonia with 61.73 points.

Competition ends Saturday with the free skates for men and ice dancing.
Full results: www.isuresults.com/results/season2122/jgpfra22021/

 

 

Canadian ice dancers snare silver to conclude first ISU Junior Grand Prix

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COURCHEVEL, France – Miku Makita of Annmore, B.C., and Tyler Gunara of Burnaby, B.C. won the silver medal in ice dancing on Saturday to conclude the first stop on the ISU Junior Grand Prix figure skating circuit.

It was a first Junior Grand Prix medal in four appearances for the Canadian couple which joined forces in 2016. It was also Canada’s second silver of the competition. On Friday Kaiya Ruiter of Calgary took silver in the women’s event.

In ice dancing, Katarina Wolfkostin and Jeffrey Chen of the U.S. took the gold with 165.01 points followed by Makita and Gunara in second at 149.39. Hannah Lim and Ye Quan of South Korea were third at 144.27.

‘’We came back here in the long and did what we wanted to do,’’ said Makita. ‘’We trained really hard to be well prepared to deal with the altitude here.’’

Makita and Gunara, fifth at the Youth Olympics and eighth at the world juniors in early 2020, earned level fours in their Tango for their combination spin, straight line lift and rotational lift.

‘’It was weird competing again after a year and half and having judges on the panel and people watching you,’’ said Gunara.

Hailey Yu and Brendan Giang of Burnaby, B.C., climbed to eighth from ninth with their free skate.

‘’We just wanted to think back to our training and be as confident as we could,’’ said Giang. ‘’I wish we would have felt this normal as we did in our free dance, in the rhythm dance but overall it was pretty good for the first time this season.’’

It was a 1-2 American finish in men’s competition. Ilia Malinin took the gold with 214.64, Lucas Broussard was second at 192.31 and François Pitot of France third at 182.26.

Pitot edged Canadian junior champion Corey Circelli of Toronto in fourth by a mere 0.09 points. Circelli fell on his opening triple Axel and struggled in his skate after an impressive short program to stand second on Thursday.

‘’It was definitely a tough one today,’’ admitted Circelli. ‘’I’m still trying to process what happened. I think all the management around the competition I need to get use to again.’’

Courchevel will also be the second stop on the circuit this upcoming Thursday to Saturday.

http://www.isuresults.com/results/season2122/jgpfra2021/

Canada’s Kaiya Ruiter wins silver medal at season opening ISU Junior Grand Prix

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COURCHEVEL, France – Canadian junior champion Kaiya Ruiter of Calgary produced a flawless performance in the women’s free skate Friday to win the silver medal as the ISU Junior Grand Prix figure skating season kicked off in the French Alps.

‘’I’m so excited,’’ said Ruiter. ‘’Just to come here to Courchevel and perform in front of a live crowd was really special.’’

Lindsay Thorngren of the U.S. took the gold with 181.45 points followed by the 15-year-old Canadian in second at 177.60. Clare Seo of the U.S., the leader after Thursday’s short program was third at 174.80.

Ruiter was third after her short. In the free skate to music from Mulan, she landed all her seven jumps including one triple combination and two double combos. There were 22 entries.

‘’The program is about strength and determination. I just wanted to go out there and skate a personal best and give everything I have,’’ she said. ‘’I enjoyed the whole thing, from the second I got on the ice to the second I got off.’’

In ice dancing, Miku Makita of Annmore, B.C., and Tyler Gunara of Burnaby, B.C. are in second spot after the rhythm dance with 57.41 points. Katarina Wolfkostin and Jeffrey Chen of the U.S. have built a solid lead with 64.75 while Katerina Mrazkova and Daniel Mrazek of the Czech Republic are third at 57.04.

The Canadians, together since 2016, are chasing their first medal in four ISU Junior Grand Prix appearances. They were fifth at the Youth Olympics and eighth at the world junior championships in early 2020.

Hailey Yu and Brendan Giang of Burnaby, B.C., are ninth at 44.84.

Canada is also in medal contention in men’s competition. Canadian junior champion Corey Circelli of Toronto stands second after Thursday’s short program with 76.63. Ilia Malinin of the U.S. leads at 80.07 and Lucas Broussard of the U.S. is third at 62.65.

Competition ends Saturday with the free skates for men and ice dancing.

Full results: http://www.isuresults.com/results/season2122/jgpfra2021/

Canada’s NextGen Skaters Head to France to kick off 2021-2022 ISU Junior Grand Prix 

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OTTAWA, ON: Skate Canada’s junior skaters are excited to get back to competition, kicking off the 2021–2022 skating season with the ISU Junior Grand Prix Series. The first stop of seven, on this year’s circuit will be in Courchevel, France. Along the way, Canada’s top junior skaters will compete against the world for a coveted spot at the ISU Junior Grand Prix Final. Skate Canada will have four entries, for a total of six skaters, competing at the event. There will be one entry in men, one entry in women, and two entries in ice dance at the competition. This event is scheduled to take place from August 18-21, 2021.  

Corey Circelli, 18, Toronto, Ont., is the only Canadian in the men’s discipline. Circelli won gold in junior at the 2020 Canadian Tire National Skating Championships. He is coached by Brian Orser and Tracey Wilson in Toronto, Ont..  

Kaiya Ruiter, 15, Calgary, Alta., is the only Canadian in the women’s discipline. Ruiter won gold in junior at the 2020 Canadian Tire National Skating Championships. She also won gold in junior at the 2020 Bavarian Open. She is coached by Scott Davis and Jeff Langdon in Calgary, Alta.  

Miku Makita, 18, Annmore, B.C., and Tyler Gunara, 19, Burnaby, B.C., are one of two ice dance teams representing Canada at this event. The team finished fifth at the 2020 Youth Winter Olympic Games. They are coached by Aaron Lowe and Megan Wing in Burnaby, B.C.  

Hailey Yu, 16, Burnaby, B.C., and Brendan Giang, 18, Burnaby, B.C., will also represent Canada in the ice dance discipline. This ice dance team won a bronze medal in the novice division at the Bavarian Open in 2020. They are coached by Aaron Lowe and Meghan Wing in Burnaby, B.C.  

André Bourgeois, Skate Canada NextGen Director and Carolyn Allwright of Waterloo, Ont., will be the Canadian team leaders at the event. Physiotherapist Meaghan Shewchuk of Lloydminster, Alta., will be the Canadian team medical staff on site. Susan Morriss of Victoria, B.C, and Erica Topolski of Fredericton, N.B., will be the team officials at the event.  

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

CANADIAN ENTRIES AT ISU JGP #1 – COURCHEVEL, FRANCE 

DISCIPLINE  NAME  AGE  HOMETOWN  CLUB  COACH 
 

Men 

  

Corey Circelli 

  

18 

  

Toronto, Ont. 

 Toronto Cricket Skating and Curling Club   

Brian Orser and Tracey Wilson 
 

Women 

 Kaiya Ruiter   

15 

  

Calgary, Alta. 

 

 The Glencoe Club   

Scott Davis and 

Jeff Langdon 
 

Ice Dance 

 Miku Makita / Tyler Gunara   

18/19 

  

Annemore, B.C. /  Burnaby, B.C. 

  

Inlet Skate Club of Port Moody 

  

Aaron Lowe and Meghan Wing 
 

Ice Dance 

 Hailey Yu / Brendan Giang   

16/18 

  

Burnaby, B.C. / Burnaby, B.C.  

 Inlet SC / Champs International Skating Centre of B.C. 

 

 Aaron Lowe and Meghan Wing