Tag Archive for: Layla Veillon / Alexander Brandys

A Promising Start for Canada’s NextGen in France

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COURCHEVEL, France (August 27, 2022) – Junior Grand Prix season is officially back! The next generation of Canadian skaters began the 2022-2023 ISU Junior Grand Prix season with a strong start as all the Canadians at the event finished in the top 10.    

Chaima Ben Khelifa of Laval, Que., and Everest Zhu of Waterloo, Ont., produced the best finish for Canada as they finished fifth in junior ice dance. Right behind them were Layla Veillon and Alexander Brandys of London, Ont., who placed sixth in their first ISU Junior Grand Prix.    

“It felt amazing, it was exactly what we had hoped for. We did exactly what our coaches wanted us to do,” said Veillon, 16. “Good confidence boost knowing that we can do it internationally, now domestically we can go and show even more and keep on improving”.   

Hannah Lim and Ye Quan of South Korea took home the gold medal with a score of 161.96. In second place were Celina Fradji and Jean-Hans Fourneaux of France with 147.66 points and capturing bronze were Americans Vanessa Pham and Jonathan Rogers finishing with 143.26  

Lia Pereira of Milton, Ont., had the sixth-best free skate in junior women as she climbed from tenth to finish in sixth place.    

“The short did not go as planned but I am glad that I fought to the end,” said Pereira, 18. “The long today I am very proud of, I was able to get out some really positive GOE in the first couple elements and I was able to fight towards the end and I’m happy with my skate today”.    

It was a one, two finish for Japan in junior women as Hana Yoshida came in first place with 203.52 points and Ayumi Shibayama took the silver with 188.39 points. South Korean Yujae Kim finished in third place with 185.67  

Another newcomer to the ISU Junior Grand Prix circuit, David Li of Richmond, B.C., fought from 12th to finish the event in tenth place in junior men.    

“I really cherish the opportunity to be able to come here and it was a great opportunity to learn, improve and experience new things”, said Li, 15. “The short I think I was a little nervous because it was my first JGP (junior grand Prix) and wasn’t too sure what to expect, for the long I was a little nervous but when I skated, I got into the right mindset and the long was a lot better”.    

Japan had two top-three finishes in junior men with Shunsuke Nakamura capturing the gold medal finishing with 219.65 and Ryoga Morimoto taking home the bronze with 188.66. Younghyun Cha of South Korea came in second with 196.15  

The next stop on the circuit starts Wednesday, August 31st in Ostrava, Czech Republic.   

Full results: ISU Junior Grand Prix de Courchevel 2022 (isuresults.com) 

NextGen Skaters Travel to France to Kick Off the 2022-2023 Skating Season

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OTTAWA, ON (August 22, 2022) – Six NextGen skaters will be representing Canada across three events at the first ISU Junior Grand Prix Series of the season, set to take place in Courchevel, France from August 24-27, 2022. Canadian entries include one participant in each of the men’s and women’s events, as well as two in ice dance. 

David Li of Richmond, B.C., will be the sole athlete to represent Canada in the men’s discipline in his first year as a junior. The 15-year-old had a standout 2022 novice season, which included winning gold at the Egna Spring Trophy in Italy and bronze at the Skate Canada Challenge. He is currently coached by Keegan and Eileen Murphy in Vancouver, B.C. 

In women’s, 18-year-old Lia Pereira of Milton, Ont., will be kicking off her season after finishing first at the 2022 Cranberry Cup International in Boston and 14th at the 2022 ISU World Junior Figure Skating Championships. She is coached by Nancy Lemaire and Derek Schmidt in Milton, Ont.   

Chaima Ben Khelifa, 17, Laval, Que., and Everest Zhu, 19, Waterloo, Ont., will be competing in ice dance, with the duo looking to better last year’s performance that landed them in 8th place. They will be joined by current Canadian novice champions Layla Veillon, 16, London, Ont., and Alexander Brandys, 17, London, Ont. who will be competing in the same event. The teams are coached by Shawn Winter and Elise Hamel in Pierrefonds, Que. and Alma Moir, Scott Moir and Cara Moir in London, Ont. respectively.  

Team Canada 

David Li – Men
Lia Pereira – Women 
Chaima Ben Khelifa & Everest Zhu – Ice dance
Layla Veillon & Alexander Brandys – Ice dance   

Team leaders – Mike Slipchuk & Josée Bourdon
Physiotherapist – Kirsten Lemmon 
Officials – Christine Bourdeau & Cynthia Benson  

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