Tag Archive for: Nam Nguyen

Team North America Ready to Compete at the 2016 KOSÉ Team Challenge Cup

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SPOKANE, WASHINGTON, USA: For the first time ever, skaters from Skate Canada and U.S. Figure Skating will come together to compete as Team North America at the inaugural KOSÉ Team Challenge Cup. The event will be held April 22-24 at the Spokane Arena in Spokane, Washington, USA.

Team North America will consist of four Canadian and six American entries for a total of 10 entries and 14 skaters in total.

TEAM NORTH AMERICA – 2016 KOSÉ TEAM CHALLENGE CUP

Discipline Name Hometown Training Town Country
Ladies Gabrielle Daleman Newmarket, Ontario Toronto, Ontario CAN
Ladies Gracie Gold Hermosa Beach, California El Segundo, California USA
Ladies Ashley Wagner Alexandria, Virginia Los Angeles, California USA
Men Jason Brown Highland Park, Illinois Monument, Colorado USA
Men Nam Nguyen Toronto, Ontario Toronto, Ontario CAN
Men Adam Rippon Clarks Summit, Pennsylvania Los Angeles, California USA
Pairs Meagan Duhamel / Eric Radford Lively, Ontario / Balmertown, Ontario Montreal, Quebec CAN
Pairs Alexa Scimeca / Chris Knierim Addison, Illinois / San Diego, California Colorado Springs, Colorado USA
Ice Dance Madison Chock / Evan Bates Redondo Beach, California / Ann Arbor, Michigan Novi, Michigan USA
Ice Dance Kaitlyn Weaver / Andrew Poje Kitchener, Ontario Bloomfield Hills, Michigan CAN

An ISU-sanctioned event, the Team Challenge Cup will feature 42 figure skaters competing in a continental team competition (Team Asia vs. Team Europe vs. Team North America). Each Team will consist of three ladies, three men, two pairs teams and two ice dance teams. ISU World Standings (as of Jan. 1, 2016) and the Captain’s Pick Fan Vote were used to determine Team Challenge Cup athletes.

Each team will have a Team Captain, a legend of the sport, who will not compete but help determine team strategy. Team North America will be captained by American Kristi Yamaguchi, the 1992 Olympic champion. Great Britain’s Christopher Dean, the 1984 Olympic ice dance champion with partner Jayne Torvill, will captain Team Europe and Japan’s Shizuka Arakawa, the 2006 Olympic champion, will captain Team Asia.

The Team Challenge Cup will feature two days of competition, opening Friday night with the singles competition as the ladies and men compete in head-to-head matchups for more than $100,000 in prize money. Saturday’s Team Competition (all disciplines) will feature an aggregate scoring format to determine the 2016 Team Challenge Cup winner with a prize purse of nearly $500,000, for a total prize purse of $617,000 (US Dollars).

For more information, please visit 2016 KOSÉ Team Challenge Cup.

Patrick Chan stands third after short program at ISU Worlds

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BOSTON – Canada’s Patrick Chan is in third place after the men’s short program on Wednesday at the ISU World Figure Skating Championships.

Yuzuru Hanyu of Japan neared his world record score totalling 110.56 points to give himself a 12-point cushion heading into the free skate.  Defending champion Javier Fernandez of Spain is second at 98.52 and Chan follows at 94.84.

Chan, a three-time world champion from Toronto, opened with a perfect quad-triple toe combination but did fall on his triple Axel.

‘’I’m not disappointed at all,’’ said Chan, who sat out last season and hadn’t competed at the previous two worlds. ‘’It was a great achievement to do that quad-triple opening. I felt great going into the Axel but I just rushed it a little bit. I know what I did wrong.’’

At the ISU Four Continents Championships last month, Chan roared from fifth after the short to the gold.

‘’Third is a great spot going into the long program,’’ he said. ‘’The Four Continents is a great example of not being on top after the short and focusing on the long.’’

Seventeen-year-old Nam Nguyen of Toronto was 27th and did not qualify for the free skate set for Friday.

Logjam at top of ice dance standings

In ice dancing, less than six points separate the top-six after the short dance.

Defending champions Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron of France lead at 76.29, Maia Shibutani and Alex Shibutani of the U.S. are second at 74.70 and their compatriots Madison Chock and Evan Bates are third at 72.46.

Grand Prix Final champions Kaitlyn Weaver and Andrew Poje of Waterloo, Ont., are fourth at 71.83 and Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier of Toronto fifth with a personal best 70.70.

“We skated really well it was one of our best short dances this season,” said Weaver. “Where the disconnect was between that and our score I am not sure. But that’s not under our control and we gave it everything we had.”

Poje says the result won’t alter their free dance on Friday.

“We have a game plan for these worlds and that’s going out there and doing two solid performances.”

Gilles and Poirier tinkered with their Beatles-themed music after their fifth place finish at the ISU Four Continents last month.

“That was a big risk,” said Poirier. “It only gave us three and half weeks to get this program together. The choices we made all paid off and we got straight level fours. It’s been a roller coaster season and we’ve shown a lot of resiliency.”

Gilles said the previous short dance wasn’t connecting with the judges.

“We weren’t getting the levels we wanted all season,” she said. “We kept getting different feedback so we went back to music that was more fluid. We really want to end this season on a happy note.”

Elisabeth Paradis of Loretteville, Que., and François Xavier-Ouellette of Mascouche, Que., were 23rd. The top-20 from the short dance advanced to the free skate.

Competition continues Thursday with the free dance and women’s short program.

Full results: ISU World Figure Skating Championships 2016

MEET CANADA’S WORLD TEAM: MEN

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Patrick Chan

Patrick Chan

Call him skating’s version of the GR8 Eight. Making his comeback after a one-year- hiatus, Patrick didn’t miss a step, claiming his eighth Canadian championship in Halifax two months ago. Patrick joins Brian Orser with eight national titles, one behind Montgomery Wilson, and heads to Boston in search of his fourth world title. He was simply dominant in the free program at the Four Continents championship in February, roaring back from fifth spot to take gold, and marked his return to the competitive scene with a win at Skate Canada International in October.

DID YOU KNOW: In the summer of 2015, Patrick launched his own ice wine named, not surprisingly, “On Ice.” Looking to the future, the eight-time Canadian champion – who is fluent in English, French and Cantonese – plans to pursue a B.A. in Economics, Business and International Language.

FUN FACT: Prior to his comeback, Patrick took up skydiving after Joannie Rochette, an accomplished skydiver herself, talked him into it. “I was very scared,” says Patrick with a laugh. “I contemplated life, but it was worth it.”

Nam Nguyen

Nam Nguyen

OK, so his title defense at the 2016 Canadian Tire National Skating Championships didn’t go as planned, as Nam ended up fourth. But don’t be surprised if the youngster bounces back in Boston. It’s only been a year since Nam was in ninth spot after the short program at the world figure skating championships before laying down a near-flawless free to rocket up to fifth.

Canadian silver medallist Liam Firus pulled out of worlds with an injury, so the 2014 world junior champion gets his chance to make up for his disappointment in Halifax.

Long before stealing the show at the 2011 Canadian junior championships in Victoria, B.C., Nam was on a fast-track to stardom. During the figure skating gala at the 2010 Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver, men’s gold medallist Evan Lysacek introduced the then-11-year-old, who went on to dazzle the capacity crowd at Pacific Coliseum.

DID YOU KNOW: In Japan, Nam and reigning Olympic champion Yuzuru Hanyu – who both train under Brian Orser at Toronto’s Cricket Club – are known as the “Cricket Brothers.”

FUN FACT: Nam claims to be able to put 21 marshmallows in his mouth at once.

Canadian team prepared for 2016 ISU World Figure Skating Championships

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OTTAWA, ON: Skate Canada will send 10 entries for a total of 16 skaters to the 2016 ISU World Figure Skating Championships in Boston, MA, USA, from March 28 – April 3. Canada will have two entries per category in men’s and ladies and three entries per category in pair and ice dance.

Three-time World Champion and double Olympic silver medallist (men’s and team) Patrick Chan, 25, Toronto, Ont., is the first of two Canadian entries in men’s. Chan returns to the world championships for the first time since 2013, when he won gold. In his return to competition this season, the representative of the Granite Club won gold at Skate Canada International, placed fifth at Trophée Éric Bompard, fourth at the ISU Grand Prix Final, and won gold at the ISU Four Continents Championships. The eight time Canadian champion is coached by Kathy Johnson and trains at the Detroit Skating Club.

Nam Nguyen, 17, Toronto, Ont., will be the second Canadian entry in men’s. Last season, he placed fifth at this event, and in 2014, he placed 12th. This season, Nguyen placed fifth at Skate Canada International, seventh at the Rostelecom Cup and fourth at the 2016 Canadian Tire National Skating Championships. He is coached by Brian Orser and Ernest Pryhitka at the Toronto Cricket Skating & Curling Club.

Canadian Champion Alaine Chartrand, 19, Prescott, Ont., is one of two Canadian entries in the ladies category. Last year, Chartrand placed 11th at this event. This season, she placed 12th at Skate America, sixth at the Rostelecom Cup and 11th at the ISU Four Continents Championships. The representative of the Nepean Skating Club is coached by Michelle Leigh and Brian Orser.

Gabrielle Daleman, 18, Newmarket, Ont., will be the second Canadian entry in ladies. Daleman placed 21st at this event in 2015 and 13th in 2014. Earlier this season, she placed fifth at Skate Canada International, sixth at Trophée Éric Bompard at won silver at the 2016 Canadian Tire National Skating Championships. Daleman is coached by Lee Barkell and Brian Orser at the Toronto Cricket, Skating & Curling Club.

Defending World Champions and Olympic silver medallists (team) Meagan Duhamel, 30, Lively, Ont., and Eric Radford, 31, Balmertown, Ont., lead the Canadian entries in pairs. The representatives of CPA Saint-Léonard have previously competed at this event five times, winning medals the past three years. This season, they won gold at Skate Canada International and at the NHK Trophy, and won silver at the ISU Grand Prix Final. The five-time consecutive Canadian champions are coached by Richard Gauthier, Bruno Marcotte, and Sylvie Fullum.

Lubov Ilyushechkina, 24, Moscow, Russia, and Dylan Moscovitch, 31, Toronto, Ont., are the second Canadian pair entry at the event. Last year, they placed 13th at the World Championships. Earlier this season, the representatives of the Toronto Cricket, Skating and Curling Club placed seventh at the Cup of China, fifth at the NHK Trophy and fifth at the ISU Four Continents Championships. The two time Canadian medallists are coached by Lee Barkell, Bryce Davison and Tracy Wilson.

Kirsten Moore-Towers, 23, St. Catharines, Ont., and Michael Marinaro, 24, Sarnia, Ont., are the third Canadian entry in pair. This will be their first time competing at this event. Earlier this season, Moore-Towers and Marinaro won bronze at Skate Canada International, placed seventh at the Rostelecom Cup and placed fourth at the 2016 Canadian Tire National Skating Championships. The representatives of Kitchener-Waterloo SC and Point Edward SC are coached by Bruno Marcotte, Richard Gauthier, Sylvie Fullum, Julie Marcotte and Cynthia Lemaire at CPA Saint-Léonard.

Two-time world medallists Kaitlyn Weaver, 26, Toronto, Ont., and Andrew Poje, 29, Waterloo, Ont., are the first of three Canadian entries in ice dance. This will be their eighth time competing at this event; last year, they won the bronze medal. This season, the representatives of Sault FSC and Kitchener-Waterloo SC won gold at Skate Canada International, Rostelecom Cup and the ISU Grand Prix Final, and won bronze at the ISU Four Continents Championships. Weaver and Poje also won their second consecutive Canadian title. They are coached by Angelika Krylova, Pasquale Camerlengo and Shae-Lynn Bourne in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan.

Canadian silver medallists Piper Gilles, 24, Toronto, Ont., and Paul Poirier, 24, Unionville, Ont., will be the second Canadian entry in ice dance. This will be their fourth time competing at this event, at which they placed sixth in 2015. This season, they won bronze at Skate America, silver at Trophée Éric Bompard and placed fifth at the ISU Four Continents Championships. The representatives of Scarboro FSC also won their second consecutive Canadian silver medal. Gilles and Poirier are coached by Carol Lane and Juris Razgulajevs at Ice Dance Elite in Scarborough, Ont.

Canadian bronze medallists Élisabeth Paradis, 23, Loretteville, Que., and François-Xavier Ouellette, 24, Laval, Que., are the final Canadian entry in ice dance. This will be their first time competing at this event. Earlier this season, the representatives of CPA Loretteville and CPA Les Lames D’Argent De Laval Inc. placed eighth at Skate Canada International, sixth at the ISU Four Continents Championships and won their first Canadian medal (bronze) at the 2016 Canadian Tire National Skating Championships. They are coached by Marie-France Dubreuil, Patrice Lauzon and Romain Haguenauer.

Skate Canada High Performance Director Mike Slipchuk will be the team leader along with Cynthia Ullmark of Canmore, Alta. Dr. Bob Brock of Toronto, Ont., and physiotherapist Agnes Makowski, also of Toronto, Ont., will be the Canadian medical staff onsite. Andrea Derby of Windsor, Ont., Jean Senft of West Vancouver, B.C., and Benoit Lavoie of Baie St-Paul, Que., will be the Canadian officials at the event.

For results and full entries please visit www.isu.org.

CANADIAN ENTRIES AT 2016 ISU WORLD FIGURE SKATING CHAMPIONSHIPS

Discipline Name Age Hometown Club Coach
Mens Patrick Chan 25 Toronto, Ont. Granite Club Kathy Johnson
Mens Nam Nguyen 17 Toronto, Ont. Toronto Cricket Skating & Curling Club Brian Orser / Ernest Pryhitka
Ladies Alaine Chartrand 19 Prescott, Ont. Nepean Skating Club Michelle Leigh / Brian Orser
Ladies Gabrielle Daleman 18 Newmarket, Ont. Toronto Cricket, Skating and Curling Club Lee Barkell / Brian Orser
Pair Meagan Duhamel / Eric Radford 30/31 Lively, Ont. / Balmertown, Ont. CPA Saint-Léonard / CPA Saint-Léonard Richard Gauthier / Bruno Marcotte / Sylvie Fullum
Pair Lubov Ilyushechkina / Dylan Moscovitch 24/31 Moscow, Russia / Toronto, Ont. Toronto Cricket, Skating and Curling Club / Toronto Cricket, Skating and Curling Club Lee Barkell / Bryce Davison / Tracy Wilson
Pair Kirsten Moore-Towers / Michael Marinaro 23/24 St. Catharines, Ont. / Sarnia, Ont. Kitchener-Waterloo SC / Point Edward SC Inc. Bruno Marcotte / Richard Gauthier / Sylvie Fullum / Julie Marcotte / Cynthia Lemaire
Ice Dance Kaitlyn Weaver / Andrew Poje 26/29 Toronto, Ont. / Waterloo, Ont. Sault FSC / Kitchener-Waterloo SC Angelika Krylova / Pasquale Camerlengo / Shae-Lynn Bourne
Ice Dance Piper Gilles / Paul Poirier 24/24 Toronto, Ont. / Unionville, Ont. Scarboro FSC / Scarboro FSC Carol Lane / Juris Razgulajevs
Ice Dance Élisabeth Paradis / François-Xavier Ouellette 23/24 Loretteville, Que. / Laval, Que. CPA Loretteville / CPA Les Lames d’Argent de Laval Inc. Marie-France Dubreuil / Patrice Lauzon / Romain Haguenauer

Liam Firus, Julianne Séguin and Charlie Bilodeau withdraw from 2016 ISU World Figure Skating Championships

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OTTAWA, ON: Canadian skaters Liam Firus, Julianne Séguin and Charlie Bilodeau have withdrawn from the 2016 ISU World Figure Skating Championships. The event is scheduled to take place form March 28 – April 3, 2016 in Boston, MA, USA.

In the men’s category Liam Firus, 23, North Vancouver, B.C., has withdrawn. “Making this decision was extremely difficult. However, I feel that withdrawing from the World Championships is vital for our team,” said Firus.

Nam Nguyen, 17, Toronto, Ont., will replace Firus on the Canadian Team. “My teammates Patrick Chan and Nam Nguyen are among the top men in the world. I have full faith in their abilities. This decision is about performance and giving our country the best opportunity to obtain three spots for the World Championships next year,” explained Firus. “I am extremely proud of the strides I’ve made this year; skating truly is a passion of mine. I look forward to coming back even stronger next season to help Canada obtain the three spots needed for the 2018 Olympic Winter Games.”

Skate Canada’s High Performance Director Mike Slipchuk added, “I have a lot of respect for Liam and his decision on Worlds.  We have confidence in Liam being a strong part of our team leading to 2018.”

In pairs Julianne Séguin, 19, Longueuil, Que., sustained a minor injury in training earlier this year causing the withdrawl of her and partner Charlie Bilodeau, 22, Trois-Pistoles, Que. “Due to injury last month, which is not fully healed, Charlie and I had to make a heartbreaking decision to not participate at Worlds. We missed a lot of practices and during competition we want to give our best for our satisfaction and for the people around us. We are unfortunately not ready for this event. We will take the time to heal and work to come back stronger for the future. We want to thank everyone for their support,” explained Séguin.

Séguin and Bilodeau will be replaced by Kirsten Moore-Towers, 23, St. Catharines, Ont., and Michael Marinaro, 24, Sarnia, Ont.

“Julianne and Charlie have had a great season this year and it is unfortunate they won’t be able to compete at Worlds. Full recovery for Julianne is the priority and they will return stronger for next season,” said Slipchuk.

Meet the Senior Men

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NAM NGUYEN

Long before stealing the show at the 2011 Canadian junior championships in Victoria, B.C. – where a podium shot gained international attention–

Nam Nguyen

2011 Canadian junior championships

Nam Nguyen was on a fast-track to stardom. During the figure skating gala at the 2010 Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver, men’s gold medallist Evan Lysacek introduced the then-11-year-old, who went on to dazzle the capacity crowd at Pacific Coliseum.

Nam Nguyen

2010 Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver

Nam stormed on to the international stage in 2014, winning the world junior crown in Sofia, Bulgaria, before claiming his first senior national title at the Canadian Tire National Skating Championships in Kingston, Ont. last January.

In Japan, Nam and reigning Olympic champion Yuzuru Hanyu – who both train under Brian Orser at Toronto’s Cricket Club – are known as the “Cricket Brothers.”

FUN FACT: Nam claims to be able to put 21 marshmallows in his mouth at once.

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PATRICK CHAN

Guess who’s back? The three-time world champion (2011, 2012, 2013) returned to the competitive scene after a one year hiatus, winning gold at Skate Canada Challenge in October. In the summer of 2015, Patrick launched his own ice wine named, not surprisingly, “On Ice.” Looking to the future, the seven-time Canadian champion – who is fluent in English, French and Cantonese – plans to pursue a B.A. in Economics, Business and International Language.

FUN FACT: Chan is a car aficionado, and can often be found under the hood during the off-season.

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LIAM FIRUS

Liam, an exquisite skater with powerful, fluid strides, represented Canada at the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympic Games. Always a crowd favourite, Liam transitioned to figure skating after playing competitive hockey at a young age. Liam says he subscribes to GQ Magazine, and the dapper two-time Canadian senior men’s bronze medallist is always keeping up with fashion trends. Skating is in his family – Liam’s brother, Shane, is a national-level ice dancer.

FUN FACT: Liam says he is “obsessed with the stock market”, and looks forward to working in the investment world once his skating career is over.

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ROMAN SADOVSKY

Widely regarded as one of Canada’s brightest young skating prospects, Roman originally took up skating in the hopes of playing hockey, before coaches suggested he give figure skating a go. Not a bad decision. Sadovsky, who trains under two-time Canadian women’s champion Tracey Wainman, captured his second ISU Junior Grand Prix gold medal earlier this year in Bratislava, Slovakia. The youngster also earned his way on to the national team this season, thanks to a fourth-place showing at the 2015 Canadian Tire National Skating Championships and looks poised to make his mark when he makes the jump to the senior level.

FUN FACT: Roman is terrified of bugs.

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KEEGAN MESSING

A first-year member of the national team, Keegan, who holds dual U.S and Canadian citizenship, competed for the U.S. previously. An energetic, crowd-pleasing showman and avid outdoorsman, Keegan can usually be found sporting his trademark boonie hat when away from the rink.

FUN FACT: Among his many talents, Keegan walks on stilts in local carnivals during the off-season.

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Canada’s Top Figure Skaters Descend on Halifax for the 2016 Canadian Tire National Skating Championships

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HALIFAX, NS – From January 18 to 24, the 2016 Canadian Tire National Skating Championships will bring together Canada’s top 250 figure skaters for a week of on-ice competition in Halifax. The all-Canadian championships take place at the Scotiabank Centre and will feature competition in the men’s, women’s, pair and ice dance disciplines at the senior, junior and novice levels.

“From our reigning champions to the novice skaters attending the event for the first time, the Canadian Tire National Skating Championship is the pinnacle of Canadian skating season,” explains Dan Thompson, Skate Canada CEO. “Skate Canada, together with our title partner, Canadian Tire are thrilled to be in Halifax to celebrate the 102nd instalment of this historic event.”

“At Canadian Tire, we believe in the power of sport to change lives, bring communities together and inspire greatness,” says Allan MacDonald, Chief Operating Officer, Canadian Tire. “Nova Scotia is my home province and I’m so proud to welcome and cheer on Canada’s top skaters, as well as their coaches, families and friends as they advance the sport of figure skating in Canada.”

The week long competition will begin with the novice ice dance on Monday, January 18 and the senior events will begin on Friday, January 22. Athletes will vie for spots on the Skate Canada National Team and the Canadian teams that will compete at the 2016 ISU World Figure Skating Championships, 2016 ISU Four Continents Figure Skating Championships, and 2016 ISU World Junior Figure Skating Championships.

Leading the senior events are 2015 World Pair Champions Meagan Duhamel, 30, from Lively, ON, and Eric Radford, 30, from Balmertown, ON. The four-time Canadian champions will look to win their fifth consecutive title, taking on Canada’s best.

In ice dance, two-time world medallists Kaitlyn Weaver, 26, from Waterloo, ON, and Andrew Poje, 28, from Waterloo, ON, plan to capture their second Canadian title. They will be challenged by a rising field of ice dance talent.

Current Canadian champion Nam Nguyen, 17, from Toronto, ON, will go head-to-head with three-time world champion Patrick Chan, 25, from Toronto, ON, as he returns to the Canadian Tire National Skating Championships after a year off.

In women’s Gabrielle Daleman, 17, from Newmarket, ON, will defend her 2015 Canadian title against two-time Canadian champion Kaetlyn Osmond, 20, from Marystown, NL, and Sherwood Park, AB, who will return to competition after missing last season due to injury.

For full entries and the event start orders please click here.

Skate Canada is adding some extra sheen to the event with the addition of three-time World Champion, Elvis Stojko. He will be returning to the competitive sphere, but this time as the 2016 Canadian Tire National Skating Championships Athlete Ambassador. Representing his fellow athletes, Stojko will lend his engaging personality and time to public appearances, media interviews and in-venue fan activities.

Kids will add to the glow of the week through the Skate Canada School Program. As part of Skate Canada’s vision to help youth develop a love for skating, over 1,000 kids from grades three to five will have the opportunity to participate in a free session to watch and learn about the sport during the senior practices on Thursday, January 21.

The spotlight will also shine on 2008 world champion Jeffrey Buttle who will be officially inducted into the Skate Canada Hall of Fame on Sunday, January 24. There will be a special ceremony to honour his tremendous career in skating during the Gala. In addition, Buttle will skate a solo in the Gala and choreograph the closing group number.

TICKETS

Tickets can be purchased online at www.ticketatlantic.com, by phone at 902-451-1221 or toll free 1-877-451-1221 or in person at the Ticket Atlantic box office located on the Scotiabank Centre Promenade.

Senior competition prices range from $30-$55 per session, plus surcharges. Promotional four-packs are available for $100-$175, for senior events only.

Tickets for the junior and novice competition are $15-$20 per day. Seating for the junior and novice competition days is general admission. Children 12 and under are free for the junior and novice events only.

In addition, all-event ticket packages are still available for purchase. All-event ticket packages range from $125-$175, plus applicable surcharges.

ABOUT SKATE CANADA

Skate Canada is the nation’s governing body for skating and dedicated to creating a nation of skaters both recreationally and competitively. At over 125 years old, it is the world’s oldest skating organization and Canada’s preeminent leader in skate training and education, providing high performance coaching and skating development education. Over 130,000 Canadians participate in Skate Canada educational programs each year.

Canada’s most successful governing sport body, Skate Canada athletes have won 25 Olympic medals and 32 world championships. Today’s Canadian world and Olympic medalists all began at one of our 1,200 local Skate Canada clubs or skating schools. Through our programs, more than 5,200 certified professional coaches encourage Canadians of all ages to skate together as a family, pursue competitive ice sports and enjoy an active lifestyle.

Skate Canada has a National Service Centre in Ottawa, marketing headquarters in Toronto and High Performance facilities in Toronto and Calgary.

ABOUT CANADIAN TIRE CORPORATION

Canadian Tire Corporation, Limited, (TSX:CTC.A) (TSX:CTC) or “CTC,” is a family of businesses that includes a retail segment, a financial services division and CT REIT. Our retail business is led by Canadian Tire, which was founded in 1922 and provides Canadians with products for life in Canada across its Living, Playing, Fixing, Automotive and Seasonal categories. PartSource and Gas+ are key parts of the Canadian Tire network. The retail segment also includes Mark’s, a leading source for casual and industrial wear, and FGL Sports (Sport Chek, Hockey Experts, Sports Experts, National Sports, Intersport, Pro Hockey Life and Atmosphere), which offers the best active wear brands. The nearly 1,700 retail and gasoline outlets are supported and strengthened by our Financial Services division and the tens of thousands of people employed across the Company. For more information, visit Corp.CanadianTire.ca.

Canada’s Nam Nguyen roars to top-five finish at worlds

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SHANGHAI – Nam Nguyen of Toronto surged to a fifth place finish in men’s competition on Saturday at the ISU World Figure Skating Championships.

Javier Fernandez of Spain earned the gold, Yuzuru Hanyu of Japan was second and Denis Ten of Kazakhstan third.

Nguyen, 16, was ninth after the short program.

“In the long program I needed to be more aggressive,” said Nguyen.  “I achieved that today and I’m really happy with myself.”

Jeremy Ten of Vancouver was 22nd.

In women’s competition, Elizaveta Tuktamysheva of Russia won the gold medal, Satoko Miyahara of Japan was second and Elena Radionova of Russia third.

Alaine  Chartrand of Prescott, Ont., was 11th and Gabrielle Daleman of Newmarket, Ont., 21st.

“Pretty much every performance I do I feel I could do better,” said Chartrand, who turned 19 this week.  “But today was not the performance I wanted.  It didn’t flow as well as in the short and that caused some mistakes.”

Canada ends the competition with two medals.  Meagan Duhamel of Lively, Ont., and Eric Radford of Balmertown, Ont., took gold in pairs while Kaitlyn Weaver and Andrew Poje of Waterloo, Ont., won bronze in ice dancing.

Full results: http://www.isuresults.com/results/wc2015/index.htm

Teenagers Daleman and Nguyen leads in women’s and men’s after the short programs

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KINGSTON, ONTARIO – Nam Nguyen began to felt the pressure this year, the chatter that he could win this national title.

Last week, while training, he had a bit of a meltdown. Coach Brian Orser took him aside, and told him he he’d been there in 1981, when Brian Pockar had been three-time Canadian champion and Orser was a young upstart who had such a good year, people were talking about him, too.

Both Orser (back then) and Nguyen (now) swept the pressure aside. On Friday, Nguyen won the short program with a nice little cushion with a lofty score of 81.78, his best score in a short.

Jeremy Ten, who said earlier that this is his final year – a farewell and a challenge to himself, is in second place with 77.80 points. “It’s pretty cool,” Ten said. “I just left my heart out on the ice.” Roman Sadovsky, only 15 and in his second year of senior, is third with 73.46, a personal best by about three points. Sadovsky had hoped to finish in the top five, to make the national team. “What’s not to be happy about?” he grinned.  He didn’t do a triple Axel: it’s still an inconsistent element for him.

The story of the short program was as much about rough goes as triumphs.

Kevin Reynolds, hobbled by boot problems for the past couple of seasons, got a new pair that enabled him to train for the past four or five weeks. But it wasn’t enough. He fell on all of his jumps elements – both quads and a triple Axel – and dropped to 12th place.

“I gave it everything I had,” Reynolds said sadly. “It was too much for me to handle today…I just wasn’t underneath my feet.”

Elladj Baldé fell on a quad and popped the first jump of his combo, but he sprained a knee a few weeks ago and then caught a virus that swept the Detroit Skating Club last week. Baldé felt horrible for three days, and slowly worked his way back to doing his program only last Saturday. He got 64.79 points.

In the women’s event, Gabby Daleman had one big aim, coming to these Canadian Tire National Skating Championships: to win her first title.

For a moment, Daleman suffered a hiccup on that path, when she fell on a triple Lutz in the women’s short program on Friday, but she steamed ahead to win it with 62.91 points, narrowly ahead of Veronik Mallet, 20, of Sept-Iles, Que., who skated cleanly, putting an exclamation point on her season.

Alaine Chartrand, 18, of nearby Prescott, Ont., and one of the favourites to take the title, stumbled out of a triple loop. Chartrand had the most difficult combination of all, a triple Lutz – triple toe loop, but it appeared under-rotated. She is third with 60.25 points, her highest score in Canada. She got a 61 when she won the short program at Cup of Russia earlier this season, an effort that put her on the international map.

Daleman has had a season of setbacks but decided to follow the advice of choreographer Lori Nichol who told her: “the power of the will is more important than the skill.”

The 16-year-old skater from Newmarket, Ont., came down with her sixth episode of strep throat of the season last week and immediately found a way to frame it in a positive way.

“Skating without breathing is like extra cardio,” she said. “If I can do my program when I can’t breathe, imagine what I can do when I can.”

Daleman also hasn’t recovered from a stress reaction in her right foot that she suffered in Sochi. It’s better, but still hasn’t healed, and on top of that, she has developed plantar fasciitis in that right foot. And the ailment is also affecting her left foot somewhat.

“My right foot feels like a frozen water bottle,” she said.

The senior women and men conclude on Saturday at the Rogers K-Rock Centre in Kingston.

Nam Nguyen edged out of medals at Grand Prix

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SHANGHAI – Toronto’s Nam Nguyen took fourth spot in men’s competition on Saturday in a memorable night at the Cup of China, the third stop on the ISU Grand Prix circuit in figure skating.

Maxim Kovtun of Russia won the gold medal with 243.34 points, Olympic and world champion Yuzuru Hanyu of Japan, who fell five times in his free skate, took the silver at 237.55 and Richard Dornbush of the U.S., was third at 226.73.

Nguyen totalled 221.85 to climb from sixth after Friday’s short program to fourth. Nguyen opened with a brilliant quad Salchow followed by a perfect triple Axel.  He singled his follow up triple Axel in combination but came back to land it perfectly a few seconds later. He completed his skate to a series of clean triple jumps including two in combination.

‘’I was happy I was able to come back and pull it off,’’ said the 16-year-old Nam about his triple Axel combo.  ‘’For me there was no question about whether I would attempt it again in the program. It’s a jump I have a lot of confidence with.’’

The men’s competition was marred by a nasty collision between Hanyu and China’s Han Yan  in the warm-up just prior to the last flight of skaters.  Hanyu suffered scrapes to his head and face and still competed with a bandage around his head.   Han also performed his free skate and finished sixth.

For Nguyen it was another impressive performance in his first season at the senior level.  Last winter’s world junior champion already has two medal performances including a bronze at Skate America last month.

In women’s competition, Russia was 1-2 with Elizaveta Tuktamysheva winning gold and Julia Lipnitskaia the silver. Gabrielle Daleman of Newmarket, Ont., was fifth in her senior Grand Prix debut.

‘’I wasn’t nervous, I felt confident,’’ said Daleman, 16, a 2014 Olympic team member.  ‘’I knew going in it was going to be a tough competition but I felt ready.  The big thing I learned this weekend is not to second guess myself and trust even more in my training.’’

In ice dancing Alexandra Paul of Midhurst, Ont., and Mitchell Islam of Barrie, Ont., were fifth and in pairs Natasha Purich of Sherwood Park, Alta., and Andrew Wolfe of Calgary were sixth.

‘’It’s pretty amazing for us just be here,’’ said Purich who joined forces with Wolfe only six months ago.  ‘’We’re just happy to see our career together starting to take off.  Today we made some little mistakes and left some points on the table but we are confident we will continue to improve.’’

The next stop in the circuit is next weekend in Moscow.

Full results: http://www.isuresults.com/results/gpchn2014/index.htm

Canada’s Nam Nguyen wins bronze medal at Skate America

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Nam-Bronze-ChicagoCHICAGO – World junior champion Nam Nguyen of Toronto landed a quadruple Salchow and two triple Axels to post a personal best score and win the bronze medal in men’s competition on Saturday night at Skate America.

The competition is the opening stop on the ISU Grand Prix figure skating circuit.

Tatsuki Machida of Japan took the gold medal with 269.09 points, Jason Brown of the U.S. was second at 234.17 and Nguyen followed at 232.24 in his senior Grand Prix debut.

Nguyen, 16, roared into his program to music from La Strada packing in the quad and two triple Axels –including one in combination, in the first minute. He added five more triples including a beautiful Lutz to cap the program.

The medal was a bit of a surprise for Nguyen who was seventh after the short program on Friday.

‘’I didn’t have a great week of training so it’s nice to finish like this with a satisfying performance,’’ said Nguyen who is coached by Brian Orser. ‘’The start of my program is important but I know I still have the rest of the program to focus on.’’

Nguyen landed the quad Salchow for the first time last week in a silver medal performance at Skate Canada’s Autumn International in Barrie, Ont.

‘’I felt today’s jump had a lot more power in it and I’m looking forward to doing it again at my next competition.’’

The Americans were 1-2 in ice dancing. Madison Chock and Evan Bates won the gold medal with 171.03 points and Maia Shibutani and Alex Shibutani were second at 160.33. Russians Alexandra Stepanova and Ivan Bukin were third at 143.87.

Élisabeth Paradis of Loretteville, Que., and François-Xavier Ouellette of Laval, Que., climbed from eighth after the short dance to fourth at 137.30 in their senior Grand Prix debut. Nicole Orford of Burnaby, B.C., and Thomas Williams of Okotoks, Alta., were eighth.

In pairs after the short program, Vanessa Grenier of Sherbrooke, Que., and Maxime Deschamps of Vaudreuil-Dorion, Que., are sixth.

Canada has no entries in women’s competition.

The pairs and women’s free skates are on Sunday.

Full results: http://www.isuresults.com/results/gpusa2014/index.htm

Nam Nguyen takes on the ISU Senior Grand Prix circuit for the first time

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Not only has Nguyen benefited from training alongside an Olympic champion Yuzuru Hanyu and a European champion Javier Fernandez, with high style and quad jumps peppering the practice sessions in Toronto, but the 16-year-old found himself invited to a skating show in Japan in early summer with some of the best skaters in the world.

There was Nguyen, 2014 world junior champion, world championship competitor, on the same ice with Stephane Lambiel, Daisuke Takahashi, Nobunari Oda and his training mate Yuzuru Hanyu, the reigning Olympic champion. “It’s humbling, but it’s good for him,” said coach Brian Orser.

“It was amazing,” Nguyen said. “The rink was really small and that didn’t really stop any of them doing quad toes. It was crazy. And Yuzu was just on fire. ” With Nguyen watching, Hanyu did a quad Salchow, a quad toe loop, a quad loop. And he landed a quad Lutz right in front of Nguyen. “It was pretty cool,” Nguyen said.

It was the perfect launch to Nguyen’s first season on the senior Grand Prix circuit. He’ll be competing at Skate America and Cup of China, although not Skate Canada in Kelowna, B.C. Wherever he skates, he’ll be stepping up what he did last year.

Although Nguyen got off to a slow and frustrating start last season, no doubt because of his incredible growth spurt, he ended the season increasing his technical content with each competition: triple Axel, triple Axel-double toe loop, triple Axel-triple toe loop. This year, he’s not slowing down, and has been tackling a quad Salchow. He fell at his first attempt at the Thornhill Summer Skate.

The good news? Coach Brian Orser has told Nguyen that he’s getting this quad more quickly than the triple Axel, which took him two years to master. “This one is less than a year,” Nguyen said. The quad is his third jump, and it will be an interesting mental exercise to do it. It’s preceded by two triple Axels. The trick, Orser said, is to keep Nguyen calm during the two Axels – when he knows that quad is coming.

“He’s been training it well,” Orser said. “It’s a little under-rotated, but it looks like one, and you can see that it’s going to be one.”

Nguyen is also wrestling with two new programs and he’s breaking loose with a new musical concept for skating with his short program to “The Sinnerman.” At first, choreographer Jeff Buttle wanted him to skate to classical music, but Nguyen didn’t like the idea that it was music from the same choreographer as last year’s long program (Bach). “I asked him for something a little more upbeat and more fun that I can skate to,” Nguyen said.

Buttle emerged with “The Sinnerman” and for the first few days, Nguyen was against this one, too, thinking he couldn’t skate to it. His parents told him to have faith in Buttle. But when Nguyen heard the first music cut, he fell in love with it. “I was wrong,” Nguyen said. “It was amazing when I heard it. It’s pretty cool and I have had a great time skating to it.”

The Sinnerman is an African American traditional spiritual song, and Buttle used the soundtrack from the 1999 movie “The Thomas Crown Affair” (starring Pierce Brosnan) about the theft of a valuable piece of art from the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

The routine is different for Nguyen because he’s never skated to vocals before. “Jeff took full advantage of that,” Nguyen said. “It was kind of weird doing it the first time, especially going into my first triple Axel. I’m not used to that, but it’s pretty cool and I’m sure I can quickly adjust to it.”

Choreographer David Wilson picked out “La Strada” for Nguyen’s long program. “I liked it because Daisuke Takahashi skated to it at the 2010 Olympics and also Jeff Buttle during the 2002 season,” Nguyen said. “I’ve watched their programs a lot and I wanted to not copy them, but get an idea of how they performed to the music so I can apply my own version to it. I like it a lot.”

What is his own version? Wilson and music maestro Hugo Chouinard were clever enough to pick some music cuts from the popular “La Strada” that other skaters haven’t used. To Nguyen, it’s like a new discovery. “So we have the more main stream music pieces, and we also have the more unknown pieces,” Nguyen said. “I think that will make my program interesting and very special.”

“La Strada is a nice segway into big boy skating,” Orser said. “We can’t do the cute. It doesn’t fly in senior. You need to have speed and power.” Nguyen has been working on increasing his speed going into his jumps, too.

When he performed the free at Thornhill, his score of 146.46 almost matched his personal best score set at the world championships last March. He’s off to a good start. “Usually my first competitions of the season are terrible,” Nguyen admitted. “And this year is the first time I’ve competed pretty late, and I think I did an excellent job, putting out my two new programs. They are not perfect yet, and I need to work much harder and improve every little detail in my program.”

He’s already had a taste of senior international championships last year, having finished 10th at the Four Continents and a very respectable 12th at the world championships in Japan, despite having grown at least a foot.

And he’s still growing – in every way. Since the world championships, he’s grown another two inches and now stands five feet, 8 ½ inches tall. “This time, I already know what it feels like and I wanted to face it head on and just continue my practice sessions normal, everyday,” Nguyen said. “And that worked. There are some days I have a lot of struggles, but I’m okay right now.”

At Thornhill Summer Skate, he sported a pair of size eight shoes. At home he has a pair that are size nine. Nguyen is prepared to grow into himself.