Tag Archive for: Kaiya Ruiter

Canadian Skaters Win Four Medals on Second Day of Autumn Classic International

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Pierrefonds, Quebec (September 15, 2023) – Canadian skaters had an amazing day on Friday at the 2023 Autumn Classic International taking place in Pierrefonds, Que., finishing the day with four medals – 1 gold, 1 silver, and 2 bronze from the pair and women’s events.

Deanna Stellato-Dudek, 40, of Chicago, USA and Maxime Deschamps, 31, of Vaudreuil-Dorion, Que., debuted their new free skate to music from “Interview with a Vampire” and were very happy with their score of 131.82 which combined with their first-place score from their short program, earned them a total score of 203.62 to win gold in the pair competition.

“It was the first time we came out with that program so we’re happy with it overall. We have stuff we still need to work on, but overall, we were able to pass the 200-point mark and that was a big goal we set this year and now that’s already done!” said Deschamps following the competition.

Fellow Canadian pair skaters Emmanuelle Proft, 21, of Ottawa, Ont., and Nicolas Nadeau, 25, of Boisbriand, Que., who were competing in their first international competition as a pair, also had a strong free skate, despite a couple of errors, that saw them mount the podium to take the bronze medal with a total score of 165.39.

“Honestly, I’m a bit disappointed in myself as I would have really liked to have done the triple loop side-by-side, but aside from that, I’m happy with our performance. I stayed in the character, and in the choreography, and the solo and I’m really happy about that and I’m even more happy that I get to come home with a medal on home ice,” said Proft.

Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara of Japan, the 2023 World Pair Champions who live and train in Oakville, Ont., captured the silver medal with a total score of 188.05.

In the women’s competition, two-time World Champion Kaori Sakamoto of Japan was unstoppable, winning the gold with a total score of 203.20. Kaiya Ruiter, 17, of Calgary, Alta., improved from her fourth-place finish in the short program to finish second in the free skate, garnering her the silver medal with a score of 172.68.

“It was a fight for sure, but it felt like a good fight,” said Ruiter who was competing in her first international competition this season. “It felt like a good performance, and I’m very excited to take some things that I’ve been working on and put them towards the next performance this season.”

Justine Miclette, 17, of Chambly, Que., rounded out the podium, bringing home the bronze medal with a total score of 169.24.

“I’m pretty happy, I was going out there to have some fun, and I had some fun. The crowd was even bigger than yesterday so that was fantastic. I really felt their energy and it helped me keep going when I was tired at the end. It was an incredible experience,” said Miclette.

The men’s event started today with the short program, and Canadians Stephen Gogolev of Toronto, and Wesley Chiu of Vancouver finished the day sitting in the silver and bronze positions respectively behind Ilia Malinin of the USA. Their competition will wrap up Saturday with the free skate.

After the rhythm dance, Sandrine Gauthier of Saint-Constant, Que., and Quentin Thieren of Mont-Saint-Hilaire, Que., are sitting in sixth, while Alyssa Robinson of Ridgetown, Ont., and Jacob Portz of Calgary, Alta., are sitting 9th. The ice dance competition will wrap up Saturday with the free dance.

For full results click here

Quebec-based Pair Dominate Opening Night of 2023 Autumn Classic International

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Pierrefonds, Quebec (September 14, 2023) – 2023 Canadian pair champions Deanna Stellato-Dudek of Chicago, USA and Maxime Deschamps of Vaudreuil-Dorian, Que., dominated the first night of competition on Thursday at the 2023 Autumn Classic International taking place in Pierrefonds, Que., finishing their short program more than 12 points ahead of the reigning world champions from Japan with a score of 71.90.

“We were coming here just to show off what we worked on this summer, and we’re proud and happy to have been able to deliver a performance like this after all of the work we did this summer,” said Deschamps following the competition.

Stellato-Dudek added: “We really focussed this summer on adding speed and power. We made some new lift positions, more signature to us, and we’re really looking forward to showing those – we did one of them today. We have really unique programs and program choices, and we’re really excited to debut our ‘Interview with the Vampire’ program tomorrow.”

Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara of Japan, the 2023 World Pair Champions who live and train in Oakville, Ont., sit second with a score of 59.13, while Emmanuelle Proft of Ottawa, Ont., and her partner Nicolas Nadeau of Boisbriand, Que., are sitting in third with a score of 58.44. Caidence Derenisky and Raine Eberl of Regina, Sask., are sitting fifth with a score of 52.76.

Justine Miclette of Chambly, Que., had the top Canadian performance in the women’s event with her short program scoring a 59.45 to put her in third at the end of the evening.

“It was a pretty good skate, I was supposed to do the triple flip-triple toe, but I wasn’t feeling super good on the triple toe, so I did a double instead, and I was just trying to do a clean program all the way through because of that,” said Miclette who recently placed 11th at the 2023 ISU Four Continents Figure Skating Championships. “My goal here was to enjoy every moment and so I think I nailed that on the short program.”

Kaiya Ruiter of Calgary, Alta., sits just behind Miclette in fourth with a score of 58.87.

Two-time women’s World Champion Kaori Sakamoto of Japan sits in first with a score of 75.62, while Audrey Shin of the USA sits second with a score of 60.07.

Friday will see the women’s and pair competitions wrap-up with their free skates, while the men will skate their short program, and the dance competition will begin with the rhythm dance. The event will wrap up Saturday with the men’s free skate and the free dance.

For full results please visit: https://skatecanada.ca/results/23aci/cscan2023/

Bashynska and Beaumont Less Than One Point from Podium After Rhythm Dance

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CALGARY, ALTA. (March 3, 2023) – Canadian skaters will be in contention for two medals on Saturday after Nadiia Bashynska and Peter Beaumont posted the fourth best rhythm dance on Friday at the ISU World Junior Figure Skating Championships.

The women’s competition concluded later Friday as Mao Shimada of Japan won the gold medal with 224.54 points. Jia Shin of South Korea took the silver with 201.90 and Ami Nakai of Japan was third at 197.40. Kaiya Ruiter, 16, of Calgary gained a position with her free skate and placed 10th with 169.65.

‘’It was really special to perform here in front of friends and family,’’ said Ruiter. ‘’It was so much fun and a really cool experience.’’

In ice dancing, Katerina Mrazkova and Daniel Mrazek of Czechia lead after the rhythm dance with 71.19. Hannah Lim and Ye Quan of South Korea are second at 71.08 and Phebe Bekker and James Hernandez of Great Britain are third at 68.89. Bashynska and Beaumont, the ISU Junior Grand Prix Final champions this season, notched 68.00. The Ajax, Ont., couple look to improve on their bronze medal performance at last season’s world juniors.

‘’This isn’t a setback,’’ said Bashynska, born in Kyiv, Ukraine. ‘’Perhaps it might be a little benefit for us. It will put less pressure on us for the free dance which is our stronger performance. We plan to come back tomorrow (Saturday).’’

Sandrine Gauthier and Quentin Thieren of Montreal are eighth at 63.09 and Hailey Yu and Brendan Giang of Burnaby, B.C., 14th. The top-20 of the 30 entries advanced to the free dance.

‘’We are really proud of what we did today,’’ said Thieren. ‘’It’s our first year doing international competitions so it’s all about getting experience for us.’’

Competition ends Saturday with the men’s free skate and the free dance. In the men’s event, Wesley Chiu of Richmond, B.C., is second after Thursday’s short program.

For full competition results, click here.

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/