Tag Archive for: Lia Pereira

Six Canadian Skaters to Represent Canada at the Finlandia Trophy

OTTAWA, ON (September 29, 2022) – After successful stops in the United States and Germany, Team Canada is sending a team of six skaters to the 2022 Finlandia Trophy as part of the 2022-23 Figure Skating Challenger Series. The event is set to take place from October 5-9, 2022 in Espoo, Finland. 

Highlighting the women’s category will be 18-year-old Lia Pereira, who returns to international competition after opening the season with a gold medal at the 2022 Cranberry Cup International and finishing 6th at the Courcheval Junior Grand Prix.  

National Team member Conrad Orzel will be the sole man representing Canada at the event. Orzel showcased his talent last season, finishing among the top-10 at the 2022 Canadian Tire National Skating Championships and claiming gold at the 2021 Autumn Classic International. 

Making their senior international debut are promising youngsters Brooke McIntosh and Benjamin Mimar who will be competing in the pair discipline. The duo had a breakout season last year, stepping on the podium at every event they competed in, including winning the top honors at the 2022 Canadian Tire National Skating Championships and finishing third at the 2022 ISU World Junior Figure Skating Championships®.    

Olympic ice dancers Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Nikolaj Soerensen will bring experience to the Canadian contingent, with the duo finishing 10th at the Beijing Olympic Games earlier this year. The pair also claimed a silver medal at the 2022 Canadian Tire National Skating Championships and a bronze medal at 2021 Skate America. 

Team Canada 

Name | Age | Hometown | Coach | Training Location 

Women
Lia Pereira | 18 | Milton, Ont. | Nancy Lemaire & Derek Schmidt | Milton, Ont.  

Men
Conrad Orzel | 22 | Toronto, Ont. | Ravi Walia | Edmonton Alta. 

Pair
Brooke McIntosh | 17 | Toronto, Ont. & Benjamin Mimar | 21 | Terrebonne, Que. | Andrew Evans & Alexander Sheldrick | Toronto Ont. 

Ice dance
Laurence Fournier Beaudry | 30 | Montreal, Que. & Nikolaj Soerensen | 33 | Montreal, Que. | Marie-France Dubreuil & Patrice Lauzon | Montreal, Que.  

Team Leaders – Mike Slipchuk & Shae Zukiwsky 
Medical Team – Josiane Roberge
Officials – Andrew Bosco & Patty Klein  

For more information and results click here 

A Promising Start for Canada’s NextGen in France

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

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. 

Junior Skaters head to Estonia for Junior Championships

OTTAWA, ON: Skate Canada will have a total of 12 skaters competing at the ISU World Junior Figure Skating Championships®2022 in Tallinn, Estonia. Canada will have two entries in each discipline.  The event will take place April 13 – 17, 2022.  

Wesley Chiu, 16, Richmond, B.C., will be the first Canadian entry in men’s. Wesley has had a great season thus far, winning both gold and bronze on the ISU Junior Grand Prix. Recently, Wesley competed at the senior level at the 2022 Canadian Tire National Skating Championships where he finished third. Wesley is coached by Keegan Murphy and Eileen Murphy in Richmond, B.C. 

Stephen Gogolev, 16, Toronto, Ont., is the second Canadian entry in the men’s discipline. Gogolev finished eleventh at the 2021 Warsaw Cup.  Domestically Gogolev captured gold at the 2022 Skate Canada Challenge. Gogolev is coached by Rafael Arutyunyan in Irvine, California, and Lee Barkell in Toronto, Ont.  

Justine Miclette, 16, Chambly, Que., will be the first entry for Canada in women’s. This season, Miclette placed first at both the 2022 Canadian Tire National Skating Championships and the 2022 Skate Canada Challenge in junior women. Internationally, Miclette competed at the junior grand prix event in Kosice, Slovakia, where she finished 15th. Most recently Miclette competed at the Challenge Cup in the Netherlands where she placed fourth. She is coached by Stéphanie Fiorito in Chambly, Que. 

Lia Pereira, 18, Milton, Ont., is the second entry in women. This season, Pereira finished in 10th place at the 2021 ISU Junior Grand Prix in Krasnoyarsk, Russia. She also competed at the senior level domestically, finishing fourth at the 2022 Skate Canada Challenge and 10th at the 2022 Canadian Tire National Skating Championships. The most recent competition for Pereira was the Challenge Cup in the Netherlands in which she finished in sixth place. Pereira is coached by Nancy Lemaire and Derek Schmidt in Milton, Ont. 

Brooke McIntosh, 17, Toronto, Ont., and Benjamin Mimar, 20, Terrebonne, Que., are the first Canadian entry in pairs. The pair captured gold at both the 2022 Canadian Tire National Skating Championships and the 2022 Bavarian Open in Germany. They are coached by Andrew Evans, Alexander Sheldrick-Male, and Pavol Porac in Mississauga, Ont. 

Chloe Panetta, 18 from Oakville, Ont., and Kieran Thrasher, 17 from Amherstburg, Ont., are Canada’s second pairs entry. This duo previously placed sixth at the ISU Junior Grand Prix in Gdansk, Poland. The pair also finished fourth at the 2022 Canadian Tire National Skating Championships. Panetta and Thrasher are coached by Bruno Marcotte and Brian Shales in Oakville, Ont. 

Natalie D’Alessandro, 17, Toronto, Ont., and Bruce Waddell, 20, Toronto, Ont., are the first entry in ice dance. D’Alessandro and Waddell have had a great season, most recently capturing the silver medal in junior ice dance at the 2022 Egna Dance Trophy and gold at the 2022 Canadian Tire National Skating Championships. They are coached by Andrew Hallam, Joey Russell, and Tracy Wilson in Toronto, Ont. 

Nadiia Bashynska, 17, Ajax, Ont., and Peter Beaumont, 20, Ajax, Ont., are the second of two teams representing Canada in ice dance. Bashynska and Beaumont previously won silver at the 2022 Canadian Tire National Skating Championships and bronze at the ISU Junior Grand Prix in Linz, Austria. They are coached by Carol Lane and Juris Razgulajevs in Scarborough, Ont. 

Manon Perron of Boucherville, Que., and Andre Bourgeois, Skate Canada NextGen Director will be the team leaders at the event. Skate Canada President Karen Butcher will be the team official. Cynthia Benson of Quispamsis, N.B., Reaghan Fortin of Aurora, Ont., Veronique Gosselin of Saint-Jean-sur- Richelieu, Que., Sabrina Wong of Toronto, Ont., will be the Canadian judges at the event. Sylvia Ciurysek of Berwyn, Alta., and Dr. Erika Persson of Edmonton, Alta., will be the Canadian medical staff on site.  

Fans can watch the event by accessing the ISU livestream 

Canadian Ice Dancers Fourth at ISU Junior Grand Prix

KRASNOYARSK, Russia – Nadiia Bashynska and Peter Beaumont of Ajax, Ont., were less than three points from the podium on Saturday finishing fourth in the ice dancing event to conclude the fourth stop on the ISU Junior Grand Prix figure skating circuit.

Russia was 1-2 with Irina Khavronina and Dario Cirisano taking the gold with 167.31 points and Sofia Leonteva and Daniil Gorelkin second at 165.14. Angela Ling and Caleb Wein of the U.S. were third at 160.23.

Bashynska and Beaumont remained in fourth earning an international best 157.34. They won a bronze at the ISU Junior Grand Prix in Chelyabinsk, Russia in 2019 and were silver medallists in junior at the 2020 Canadian Tire National Skating Championships.

‘’We’re pretty satisfied with both of our skates,’’ said Bashynska. ‘’We need to fix some technical issues that we had here for our next event.’’

Emma Goodstadt of Oakville, Ont., and Michael Barsoum of North York, Ont., were 11th in their international debut.

The Russians grabbed the top-five positions in women’s competition led by Sofia Akateva who won the gold medal.

Lia Pereira of Milton, Ont., in her Junior Grand Prix debut, was 10th.

‘’I learned a lot more about myself about how to handle the pressure of an event like this,’’ said Pereira. ‘’It was an amazing experience.’’

Canada ends the competition with a bronze medal earned by Wesley Chiu of Richmond, B.C., on Friday in the men’s event.

The next stop on the circuit is this upcoming Thursday to Saturday in Ljubljana, Slovenia.

Full results: http://www.isuresults.com/results/season2122/jgprus2021/