Tag Archive for: Piper Gilles/ Paul Poirier

Top Ice Dance Moments from the 2023/2024 Season

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The 2023/2024 figure skating season came to a crowd-roaring conclusion at the 2024 ISU World Figure Skating Championships at home in Montreal, Quebec. From the junior to senior level, Canada’s ice dancers impressed this season, capturing a total of 14 international medals.

Here are some of the top ice dance moments from the season.

The king and queen of Canadian ice dance, Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier continue to impress year after year, and what a year it was for this dynamic duo! Gilles and Poirier posted their best-ever finish at the 2024 ISU World Figure Skating Championships, winning the free dance and capturing the silver medal. Their road to the silver medal included their first championship gold medal at the 2024 ISU Four Continents Championships, a bronze medal at Grand Prix Final, and their fourth title win at Skate Canada International.

Not only did Marjorie Lajoie and Zachary Lagha overcome adversity this season, but they also found their place in the upper ranks of Canadian ice dance. After winning two silver medals on the Grand Prix circuit and making their first appearance at Grand Prix Final, Lajoie suffered a concussion that sidelined the duo for months. Finally in the clear to train again just before the World Championships, these previous Junior World Champions (2019) wowed the home crowd to place 5th in Montreal. A huge leap from their previous 11th place finish in 2022.

On the topic of impressive comebacks, Paul Ayer and Alicia Fabbri also had career highlighting moments this year. After being sidelined the previous season due to Ayer’s shoulder injury, Fabbri and Ayer captured their first podium finish – a bronze medal – at Nationals in Ayer’s hometown of Calgary, Alberta. They finished their season strong by winning the first senior international medal of their career, a bronze at the 2024 Challenge Cup.

Skate Canada’s junior teams also shone brightly this season. Ontario’s Layla Vellion and Alexander Brandys claimed their first national title, rising from their fifth-place finish at Nationals the year before. While Chloe Nguyen and Brendan Giang, the newly formed team from British Columbia, took home a silver medal on the junior Grand Prix circuit at the Cup of Austria. Both teams also had standout performances at the 2024 ISU World Junior Figure Skating Championships, placing in the top-10.

The future of Canadian ice dance is looking strong as we approach the halfway mark to the 2026 Olympic Games in Milano-Cortina. Make sure to stay tuned to skatecanada.ca and sign up for the Fan List to be the first to know about the 2024/2025 Grand Prix assignments and who’s named to the National Team in the months ahead.

Gilles and Poirier Skate to Silver at 2024 ISU World Figure Skating Championships; Malinin of the USA sets new World Record

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MONTREAL, CANADA (March 23, 2024) – Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier harnessed the energy of the Canadian crowds at the Bell Centre in Montreal to skate to a silver medal in ice dance at the 2024 ISU World Figure Skating Championships on Saturday, while Ilia Malinin of the USA set a new World Record with his free skate to win the men’s competition.

In third place after the rhythm dance on Friday, Gilles of Toronto, Ont., and Poirier of Unionville, Ont., performed a clean free dance that earned them the highest score of the day – a new personal best score of 133.17. Combined with their rhythm dance score, they finished the competition with a new personal best total score of 219.68 to capture their first World Championships silver medal.

“We really felt the energy of our Canadians at home, and we didn’t let the moment pass us. We stepped up to the plate, and as the program went along, we just embraced that character and let it sail and I think you can really see the emotion between the two of us as the program goes on,” said Gilles who captured a bronze medal with Poirier at last year’s World Championships.

“This was such a special skate for us,” added an emotional Poirier. “The crowd carried us through it and gave us so much. And I think it was just such a gift that we could give back to them in our own way. It was just a moment that we’ll remember for a long time.”

Marjorie Lajoie of Boucherville, Que., and Zachary Lagha of Saint-Hubert, Que., continued their storybook worlds, securing another personal best score with their free dance of 125.71 to finish the competition fifth overall with a new personal best total score of 208.01.

“I was pretty stressed for today, but as soon as the music started, the stress went away, and I was really happy about that. I could enjoy every step of the free dance and really connect and enjoy our moment,” said Lajoie who finished 11th at the 2022 World Championships with Lagha.

The free skate offered some redemption for Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Nikolaj Soerensen of Montreal, Que., who came into Saturday’s competition sitting 10th after a small mistake in their rhythm dance. They skated an elegant free dance to move up to finish 9th overall with a total score of 199.91.

Madison Chock and Evan Bates of the USA repeated as World Champions, taking the win with a season’s best total score of 222.20, while Charlene Guignard and Marco Fabbri of Italy took the bronze medal with a total score 216.52.

The record books were rewritten in the men’s competition as Ilia Malinin of the USA set a new World Record of 227.79 for his free skate that featured six quad jumps, including the quad axel. His total score of 333.76 earned him his first World Championships title in commanding fashion. Yuma Kagiyama of Japan earned his third world silver medal with a score of 309.65, while Adam Siao Him Fa of France made a meteoric rise from 19th after the short program to take bronze with a total score of 284.39.

Wesley Chiu of Vancouver, B.C., posted the top Canadian men’s score of the evening. He ended the competition in 17th after he had some technical errors but still posted a strong performance to finish with a total score of 227.21.

“I’ve learned a lot (from this experience) with this being my first Worlds,” said Chiu who won his first Canadian Championship title this year. “Skating at home, in a sold-out arena isn’t something you can really replicate in training, and I think that gaining that experience has been really helpful for when hopefully, I am in the last flight, and have to lay it down in that high pressure scenario.”

Roman Sadovsky of Vaughn, Ont., was unable to replicate the form he showed in his short program, and dropped to finish in 19th place overall with a total score of 221.57.

With the competition side of the 2024 ISU World Figure Skating Championships now concluded, all of the medallists from the event will perform on Sunday with several special guests for the Exhibition Gala at the Bell Centre.

For full results please click here.

Gilles & Poirier in Podium Contention at ISU 2024 World Figure Skating Championships

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MONTREAL, CANADA (March 22, 2024) – The ice dance competition at the 2024 ISU World Figure Skating Championship saw all three Canadian teams finishing in the top 10 in the rhythm dance on Friday at the Bell Centre in Montreal. Two-time World’s bronze medallists Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier are currently sitting in podium contention in third.

Gilles of Toronto, Ont., and Poirier of Unionville, Ont., delivered a fantastic performance that had the crowd on their feet, to score an 86.51 for their rhythm dance.

“We really did our job today, and I think that everything we’ve been working on since Four Continents really showed today,” said Gilles who entered the competition with Poirier as the reigning ISU Four Continents Champions. “I’m just really proud of how we handled this moment, because it can be so scary skating at home with all the expectation, but we had a blast out there.”

Sitting not far behind in the standings in fifth are Marjorie Lajoie of Boucherville, Que., and Zachary Lagha of Saint-Hubert, Que., whose performance saw them finish the day with a new season’s best score of 82.30.

“This feels even better than usual because I missed more than a month of training and just had one month to get ready for this competition,” said Lajoie who was recovering from a concussion. “To do a season’s best, knowing that, shows that we were very strong mentally and I’m very proud of us.”

It was a tougher day for Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Nikolaj Soerensen of Montreal, Que., who came into the competition as the silver medallists from the ISU Four Continents Championships. A stumble by Fournier Beaudry during their twizzle sequence dropped their score to 75.79, leaving them in 10th place overall.

Madison Chock and Evan Bates of the USA, the reigning World Champions, earned a season’s best score of 90.08 to finish first. Last year’s silver medallists, Charlene Guignard and Marco Fabbri of Italy sit second with a score of 87.52.

The women’s free program closed out the competition and saw Kaori Sakamoto of Japan capture her third-consecutive World title. Sakamoto earned a score of 222.96 for a 10-point lead over Isabeau Levito of the USA who took silver with a score of 212.16. Chaeyeon Kim from the Republic of Korea took bronze with a total score of 203.59.

Madeline Schizas of Oakville, Ont., finished the competition in 18th place with a total score of 171.78 after a clean performance, but with some downgraded jumps and technical elements.

“I really enjoyed performing for the Canadian audience. I was overwhelmed by the support even though it didn’t go the way I wanted it to today, and for that I’m really thankful,” said Schizas.

Competition wraps up on Saturday with the free dance portion of the ice dance competition, and the men’s free skate.

For full results please click here.

Canadian Figure Skaters in Medal Contention at Four Continents

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Shanghai, China (February 2, 2024) – Canadian figure skaters sit in medal contention in both the ice dance and pair competitions following the first two days of competition at the ISU Four Continents Championships taking place in Shanghai, China, while Madeline Schizas and Sara-Maude Dupuis both finished in the top-10 in the women’s competition.

Schizas, from Oakville, Ontario, the 2023 Canadian senior women’s champion, was sitting in ninth following the short program, and then had a fantastic free skate to move up to finish sixth overall with a total score of 185.69 – her best finish at this competition to date.

“I’m happy with my skate, I’m happy with my score, and it’s a big step up from Canadian Nationals. I’m hoping to add a few more points at World Championships if I get that nomination,” said Schizas who wasn’t satisfied with finishing second at Canadian Championships last month. So much so, she debuted a new costume in Shanghai: “I wanted a new one anyway, and I had a bad nationals, so I decided that I needed new vibes.”

Sara-Maude Dupuis of Montreal, Que., posted a massive new personal best score in her free skate (118.99) to finish in 9th with a new personal best total score as well of 172.45. Justine Miclette of Chambly, Que., finished in 14th (151.30).

Mone Chiba of Japan won gold (214.98), while Chaeyeon Kim of Korea took silver (204.68), and Rinka Watanabe of Japan took bronze (202.17).

Piper Gilles of  Toronto, Ont., and Paul Poirier of Unionville, Ont., look on track to win their first Four Continents Championships title in ice dance on Sunday as they have a healthy lead following the rhythm dance that took place today. Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Nikolaj Soerensen of Montreal, Que., sit just behind them in second, while Marie-Jade Lauriault and Romain Le Gac of Ste-Anne-des-plaines, Que., sit in seventh.

“We skate everyday with commitment and passion, even when we don’t feel good, and so I think we just really enjoy flipping the switch and really seeing that energy, and I think that’s what makes us special. You see a lot of the top athletes able to do that, and we did that today,” said Gilles following their performance.

Canada has the top spot currently in the pair competition as well with Deanna Stellato-Dudek of Chicago, USA and Maxime Deschamps of Vaudreuil-Dorion, Que., having a comfortable lead heading into the free skate taking place on Saturday.

“It was fun to go out there. I’m disappointed in my mistake, but really happy with the rest of the performance. We accomplished a lot of our upgrades and have been working really hard,” said Deschamps who has been struggling with his jumps at the last couple of competitions.

Lia Pereira of Milton, Ont., and Trennt Michaud of Trenton, Ont., are sitting in sixth after the short program, and Kelly Ann Laurin of St-Jerôme, Que., and Loucas Éthier of Deux-Montagnes, Que., are in eighth.

The men’s competition will wrap up on Saturday. Wesley Chiu of Vancouver, B.C., is the top-ranked Canadian in sixth following the short program which took place on Thursday. Roman Sadovsky of Vaughan, Ont., is sitting in 11th, and Conrad Orzel of Toronto, Ont., is sitting in 17th.

For full results please click here.

New, Defending, and Returning Champions Crowned on Final Day of 2024 Canadian National Skating Championships

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Calgary, AB (January 13, 2024) – The final day of competition at the 2024 Canadian National Skating Championships taking place at the WinSport Arena in Calgary, Alta., saw two new senior champions crowned, defending champions retain their title, and former champions reclaim their title.

Canada has a new senior women’s national champion after Kaiya Ruiter of Calgary, Alta., delighted her hometown family and friends with a new personal best free skate and the best free skate of the day to win gold with an overall score of 180.86. Ruiter dethroned Madeline Schizas of Oakville, Ont., who was looking for her third-straight national title, but who had a tough skate today and finished the free program ranked third. Schizas had to settle for the silver medal (172.90), while Hetty Shi of Mississauga, Ont., last year’s junior national champion, claimed the bronze medal (162.51).

“That was one of the most special performances I’ve ever had in my life, and to be able to share that with my family and friends and everyone I love, is just surreal,” said Ruiter who will be representing Canada at the Youth Olympic Games in Korea at the end of the month. “I just wanted to enjoy the moment. I love this program so much and I just wanted to share that with the audience.”

Former champions reclaimed their senior national titles in the ice dance competition. Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier of Toronto, Ont., who missed last year’s championships while Gilles recovered from surgery, won their third senior Canadian title with a new personal best free skate (136.17) and a new personal best overall score of 222.95.

“Paul and I really skated like champions today. We stepped out onto the ice and remembered who we were, and why we’re here, and used this as a stepping stone for worlds. We want to be on the top of that podium, so we have to start acting like those champions and I think we really did that today,” said Gilles.

Marie-Jade Lauriault and Romain Le Gac of Ste-Anne-des-Plaines, Que., claimed the silver medal, also with a new personal best free skate (122.50) and personal best overall score (200.50), as did the bronze medallists – Alicia Fabbri of Terrebonne, Que., and Paul Ayer of Brossard, Que., whose free skate score (117.86) and overall score (195.61) were both personal bests as well.

The only skaters to defend their senior national title at these Championships were Deanna Stellato-Dudek of Chicago, USA and Maxime Deschamps of Vaudreuil-Dorion, Que., who won gold in the pair competition, and their second-straight national title with an overall score of 205.79. Lia Pereira of Milton, Ont., and Trennt Michaud of Brantford, Ont., took the silver medal (193.14), while Kelly Ann Laurin of St-Jérôme, Que., and Loucas Éthier of St-Alphonse, Que., captured bronze with a huge new personal best free skate (125.19) and overall score (187.40).

“We’re happy that we were able to come back from that bad performance yesterday and show the work that we’ve been doing on our throws. I was not going to back down from those after what happened yesterday,” said Stellato-Dudek who had an uncharacteristic fall on a throw in yesterday’s short program. “We are our own biggest competitors. All we have to do is our own job and I know what the outcome is going to be,” she added.

There was a new national champion in the men’s competition following the retirement of last year’s champion Keegan Messing – last year’s bronze medallist Wesley Chiu of Vancouver, B.C. put in another solid program to finally claim gold with a total of 232.15, almost 7 points ahead of runner up Aleksa Rakic of Burnaby, B.C. Anthony Paradis of Boisbriand, Que., almost missed the podium after his lace broke mid-program, but came back with renewed energy to win the bronze with a total score of 209.98, only a fraction of a point ahead of Conrad Orzel.

“Having Canadian Champion on my back, I can skate with more pride now, but it also comes with responsibility. Overall, I think it’s really motivating to go back and train hard,” said Chiu.

The 2024 Canadian National Skating Championships will wrap up Sunday with the exhibition gala.

Follow the action via Skate Canada’s livestream here. For full results please click here.

Bronze for Pair Skaters Stellato-Dudek and Deschamps at ISU Grand Prix Final

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Beijing, China (December 8, 2023) – Canadian skaters captured their first medal of the ISU Grand Prix Final on Friday with Deanna Stellato-Dudek of Chicago, USA and Maxime Deschamps of Vaudreuil-Dorion, Que., winning a bronze medal in the senior pair competition.

The pair was sitting in second following their short program on Thursday, and despite no major mistakes, some small execution errors dropped them into third in the free skate to finish the competition with bronze and an overall score of 204.30.

“We were the top team by, like, 10 points so we know this is way below expectations,” said Stellato-Dudek about their performance and the fact that they were the top-team coming into this competition. “But we are still scoring really competitively with mistakes on almost all the big elements, so if we can just clean it up, we’re know going to get higher than what we got at Skate Canada.”

Deschamps added: “After coming back from the Cup of China, we have been working on a lot of stuff and we were able to perform it today. We are so proud overall of the week and also what we wanted to make better this week.”

Minerva Fabienne Hase and Nikita Volodin of Germany also had some small mistakes in their program, and have been battling illness, but hung on to win the gold medal with a total score 106.43, while the Italian team of Sara Conti and Niccolo Macii had the best free skate of the day to move up to take the silver medal with a total score of 205.88

Lia Pereira of Milton, Ont., and Trennt Michaud of Brantford, Ont., who were competing in their first Grand Prix Final, finished sixth with a total score of 185.16.

“We’re proud of what we did today,” said Pereira. “Coming from a not-so-good short – we haven’t had to do that yet, we’ve been fortunate to skate good shorts in most of our competitions so far, so that was a setback mentally and I think we did a really good job recovering from that today, and wanting to continue to push ourselves and have new experiences.”

While the senior pair competition wrapped up, competition began for senior ice dance, and saw strong performances from all six teams. Piper Gilles of Toronto, Ont., and Paul Poirier of Unionville, Ont., the reigning Grand Prix Final Champions are the top Canadian team, sitting in third with a score of 85.17 for their rhythm dance.

“I think we’re pleased. We’ve made quite a few changes in the program since the Cup of China to try to boost the energy, and we’re really proud of that skate. We just enjoyed the moment,” said Gilles.

Laurence Fournier-Beaudry and Nikolaj Soerensen of Montreal, Que., had a small touch in their side-by-side twizzles that put them in fifth with a score of 74.82, while Marjorie Lajoie of Boucherville, Que., and Zachary Lagha of Saint-Hubert, Que., the youngest team in the competition, are sitting just behind in sixth with a score of 74.74.

Madison Chock and Evan Bates of the USA are sitting in first with a score of 89.15, while Charlene Guignard and Marco Fabbri of Italy sit second with a score of 85.82.

The ISU Grand Prix Final concludes Saturday with the free dance for the senior ice dance teams, and the free program for the junior pair skaters.

For full results please click here

Canadian Pair and Ice Dance Teams Golden again at Cup of China

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Chongqing, China (November 11, 2023) – It was a golden weekend for Canadian ice dance skaters Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier and pair skaters Deanna Stellato-Dudek and Maxime Deschamps who both won gold again at the ISU Grand Prix Cup of China that wrapped up Saturday in Chongqing, China. Both teams also won gold at Skate Canada International in early November.

Marjorie Lajoie and Zachary Lagha also captured silver in the ice dance competition. All three teams have now qualified for the ISU Grand Prix Final which will take place in Beijing, China in early December.

Gilles of Toronto, Ont., and Poirier of Unionville, Ont., were sitting in second behind Lajoie of Boucherville, Que., and Lagha of Saint-Hubert, Que., after the rhythm dance on Friday, but rebounded on Saturday with a strong free dance to score 126.79 points for a total of 207.83 points to win the gold.

“It was an interesting week here,” said Gilles. “The rhythm dance didn’t go as planned which was costly, but I think what we were really going for was stronger energy and a stronger performance – I think I got a little carried away with that and mistakes happened, but I think we’re really proud of what we did overall. There is still more we can do technically to prepare for Beijing but we’re really happy.”

Lajoie and Lagha set new personal best scores for both their rhythm and free skates to total 206.02 points – winning their second silver medal on the ISU Grand Prix circuit this season. Caroline Green and Michael Parsons of the USA took the bronze with a total score of 189.33.

“It was a great week for us,” said Lajoie. “The rhythm dance was pretty amazing, we were very, very happy. The free dance was a bit more challenging but we’re happy with how we handled it. Overall, it was a very good week for us.”

Stellato-Dudek of Chicago, USA and Deschamps of Vaudreuil-Dorion, Que., battled through fatigue to win their third straight gold medal of the season in the pair competition with a total score of 201.48. Rebecca Ghilardi and Filippo Ambrosini of Italy captured silver (191.00), while Cheng Peng and Lei Wang of China took bronze (178.06).

“It’s been a long three weeks, and everything was a fight today. This week was to test our mental and physical strength since I knew it was going to be difficult, and it was,” laughed Stellato-Dudek following the competition.

Madeline Schizas of Oakville, Ont., finished fifth in the women’s competition with a total score of 179.58. Hana Yoshida and Rinka Watanabe of Japan had a battle for gold with Yoshida taking the win after she set a new personal best score in the free skate to take the win by just 0.75 points. Her final total score was 203.97 to Watanabe’s 203.22. Loena Hendrickx of Belgium was in the lead after the short program but fell to third after her free program to end the day with a total score of 201.49.

Next up for Canadian skaters on the ISU Grand Prix circuit is the Grand Prix Espoo taking place in Espoo, Finland from November 17-19, 2023.

For full results please click here: http://www.isuresults.com/results/season2324/gpchn2023/

Gold for Canadian Pair and Ice Dance Team at Skate Canada International

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Vancouver, Canada (October 28, 2023) – Deanna Stellato-Dudek of Chicago, USA and Maxime Deschamps of Vaudreuil-Dorion, Que., showed that they are well on the path towards their goal of standing on the podium at the World Championships in Montreal next spring with a commanding free skate that earned them the gold medal in the pair competition at 2023 Skate Canada International.

Piper Gilles of Toronto, Ont., and Paul Poirier of Unionville, Ont., also retained their Skate Canada International title for the fourth year in a row with a beautiful performance in the free dance to win gold in ice dance.

Stellato-Dudek and Deschamps scored a personal best of 142.34 in their free skate to the theme from “Interview with a Vampire” to win gold by 27 points (214.64 total score) over the Hungarian team of Maria Pavlova and Alexei Sviatchenko who took silver (187.78). The Italian team of Lucrezia Beccari and Matteo Guarise captured bronze (181.42).

“I’m very happy with today’s performance which is a rarity for me,” laughed Stellato-Dudek following their performance. “It’s still early in the season, but we’ve been waiting for a performance like this for years. We were sick of it last year and never skating even close to a clean long program, so we worked really hard to be able to put this out today.”

Kelly Ann Laurin of St-Jérôme, Que., and Loucas Éthier of Deux-Montagnes, Que., improved on their short program performance where they were sitting in seventh, to finish the competition in fifth overall with a total score of 168.12. Brooke McIntosh of Toronto, Ont., and Benjamin Mimar of Terrebonne, Que., finished sixth overall with a total score of 166.00.

Gilles and Poirier performed a moving free dance to music from “Wuthering Heights” to win their first gold of the season with a total score of 219.01. Lilah Fear and Lewis Gibson of Great Britain and Allison Reed and Saulius Ambrulevicius of Lithuania retained their positions from the rhythm dance to capture silver (209.55) and bronze (192.01) respectively.

“This has been such a successful competition for us,” said Poirier. “We’ve been able to debut both of our new programs which has been really exciting just to put them out there in the world. We’re proud of how we skated and contained our nerves, and we’re both really looking forward to improving on both of these skates as we go through the season.”

Alicia Fabbri of Terrebonne, Que. and Paul Ayer of Brossard, Que. finished seventh with a score of 173.34, while Molly Lanaghan of Doncaster, GB and Dmitre Razgulajevs of Ajax, Ont. placed ninth.

Madeline Schizas of Oakville, Ont., bounced back from her disappointing short program on Friday with a flawless free skate in the women’s competition that gave her the second highest score of the day, which saw her move her up from eighth to fourth overall with a total score of 189.91.

“I’m feeling really good. I was very disappointed after my short yesterday, but I was able to pull it together in the free to put up a really big score which is what I was really looking for. I know I can skate a good short, but sometimes the free gets away from me so I was really happy,” said Schizas whose free skate score of 132.47 is a new personal best and season’s best.

Kaori Sakamoto, the reigning world champion, continued her dominance in the free skate to win the gold with a total score of 226.13. Chaeyeon Kim of Korea took the silver with an overall score of 201.15, and Rino Matsuike of Japan took bronze with an overall score of 198.62. Senior Grand Prix rookies Kaiya Ruiter of Calgary, Alta., and Sara-Maude Dupuis of Montreal, Que., finished the competition 10th (155.44) and 11th (151.95) respectively.

The men’s competition saw Wesley Chiu of Vancouver, B.C., take the title of the top Canadian as he finished in seventh position with a total score of 221.54. Toronto’s Conrad Orzel finished 10th with a total score of 213.12, and Aleksa Rakic of Burnaby, B.C., finished 12th with a total score of 189.38.

It was a close fight for the gold, with Sota Yamamoto of Japan squeaking through to take the gold with an overall score of 258.42 – just ahead of his teammate Kao Miura who took silver with an overall score of 257.89. Matteo Rizzo of Italy captured bronze with a total score of 246.01 after an inspired performance that saw him move up to the podium from eighth after the short program.

Next up for Canadian skaters is the Grand Prix de France taking place in Angers, France from November 3-5, 2023. For full results, please click here.

Piper Gilles & Paul Poirier to Lead Team Canada at 2023 ISU World Team Trophy

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OTTAWA, ON (April 6, 2023) – Eight skaters across all four disciplines will represent Canada at the 2023 ISU World Team Trophy in Tokyo, Japan from April 13 to 16, 2023. The event, which will mark the last competition of the 2022-2023 figure skating season, is reserved for the top six nations who compete in a team format with points awarded based on skaters’ placement. 

Team Canada will be led by 2023 world bronze medalists and 2022 Grand Prix Final winners Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier, who will be looking for a fourth consecutive podium finish this season. They will be joined by pair national champions and Grand Prix de France gold medalists Deanna Stellato-Dudek and Maxime Deschamps, who are coming off a 4th place finish at the ISU World Figure Skating Championships.  

In the singles events, two-time Olympian and 2023 national champion Keegan Messing will be competing in the last competition of his illustrious career. Stephen Gogolev, 2019 Junior Grand Prix Final champion and 4th at the 2023 Canadian Tire National Skating Championships, will also be representing Canada in the men’s event. The women’s field will feature two-time national champion and Olympian Madeline Schizas, as well as 2023 Skate Canada Challenge bronze medalist Sara-Maude Dupuis.  

The competition starts on Thursday, April 13, with rhythm dance and the men’s and women’s short programs. Friday will feature the pair short program, the free dance, and the women’s free program. Competition ends on Saturday, April 15, with the pair and men’s free programs. The Gala Exhibition will take place on Sunday. 

Team Canada 

Name | Age | Hometown | Coach | Training Location 

Men 

Stephen Gogolev | 18 | Toronto, Ont. | Rafael Arutyunyan & Lee Barkell | Irvine, USA
Keegan Messing | 31 | Girdwood, USA | Ralph Burghart | Anchorage, USA 

Women 

Sara-Maude Dupuis | 17 | Montreal, Que. | Stéphane Yvars & Françoise Parisé | Boucherville, Que.
Madeline Schizas | 19 | Oakville, Ont. | Nancy Lemaire & Derek Schmidt | Milton, Ont.    

Pair 

Deanna Stellato-Dudek | 39 | Chicago, USA & Maxime Deschamps | 31 | Vaudreuil-Dorion, Que. | Josée Picard | Vaudreuil-Dorion, Que. 

Ice Dance 

Piper Gilles | 30 | Toronto, Ont. & Paul Poirier | 30 | Unionville, Ont. | Carol Lane & Juris Razgulajevs | Scarborough, Ont.  

For more information about the event, click here.  

Canadian Ice Dancers in Medal Hunt at ISU World Figure Skating Championships

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SAITAMA, Japan (March 24, 2023) – Canadians Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier are in third place in the rhythm dance as they chase a world medal for the second time in their career, at the ISU World Figure Skating Championships.

Madison Chock and Evan Bates of the U.S. lead with 91.94 points followed by European champions Charlene Guignard and Marco Fabbri of Italy at 88.21. Gilles, from Toronto, Ont., and Poirier, from Unionville, Ont., scored 87.34 in their first competition in three months. They have three international victories this season including the Grand Prix Final.

‘’We were a little nervous in some places,’’ said Gilles. ‘’We came into this event not to focus on the scores but make sure we put two solid performances down and not give anything away.’’

Also in the medal hunt are Canadian champions Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Nikolaj Soerensen of Montreal, Que., who are fifth at 85.59. They have two international medals this season including gold at the NHK Trophy Grand Prix held in Japan last November.

‘’We would like to step on the podium for the first time at Worlds and I think we have a really good chance with the results we’ve had this year,’’ said Soerensen. ‘’But once we finish the program and have done the kind of performance we did today, that we were both happy with, then the job and the goal is accomplished and the rest is out of our control.’’

Kaori Sakamoto of Japan successfully defended her women’s world title with Haein Lee of South Korea second and Loena Hendrickx of Belgium third. Two-time Canadian champion Madeline Schizas of Oakville, Ont., climbed from 16th after the short program to 13th with the 11th best free skate.

‘’No matter where I placed I can be proud with how I skated,’’ she said. ‘’I had a tough year putting out skates I wasn’t super thrilled with so we decided to go back to a program I was comfortable with.’’

Competition ends Saturday with the men’s free skate and the free dance. The event is available for Canadian viewers on the CBC Sports website. For full results, click here.

The Skating World Converges in Mississauga for Skate Canada International

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OTTAWA, ON (October 24, 2022) – After a successful weekend at Skate America that saw Canadians win three medals, the ISU Grand Prix series stops in Mississauga, Ontario this week for the 48th edition of Skate Canada International. From October 28-30, some of the best skaters from around the globe will compete for a spot on the podium at the Paramount Fine Foods Centre, including Shoma Uno, Young You, Lilah Fear, Lewis Gibson, Riku Miura, Ryuichi Kihara, plus fifteen of Canada’s top talents. 

The men’s team, which will count three entries, will be headlined by veteran and two-time Olympian Keegan Messing. Messing is the current Canadian champion and has gotten off to a stunning start this season, winning gold at the Nebelhorn Trophy. He will be joined by Conrad Orzel, who recently placed 11th at the Finlandia Trophy, as well as Stephen Gogolev, who finished 9th at the U.S. International Figure Skating Classic.  

Olympians Madeline Schizas and Gabrielle Daleman will represent Canada in the women’s field. Schizas, the 2022 Canadian Tire National Skating Championships women’s gold medallist, kicked off the competition season with a 5th place at the Nebelhorn Trophy. Teammate Gabrielle Daleman will be competing at her first international event after an excellent domestic season that saw her win gold at the 2022 Skate Canada Challenge and bronze at the 2022 Canadian Tire National Skating Championships. 

In the pair discipline, Canada will be sending two young but solid teams, with Brooke McIntosh and Benjamin Mimar setting their sights on the top step of the podium. The pair, who finished third at the ISU World Junior Figure Skating Championships last season, had a breakthrough start to their first senior season, winning bronze at the 2022 Finlandia Trophy earlier this month. Kelly Ann Laurin and Loucas Éthier will also be competing in the event after winning bronze over the weekend at Skate America. 

Canada will boast three Olympic teams in ice dance. 2021 Skate Canada International gold medallists Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier will be looking to defend their title after a successful 2021-2022 season that saw the pair claim the Canadian title. Marjorie Lajoie and Zachary Lagha will also be strong contenders for the title, with the team winning two gold medals this year at the Ondre Nepela Memorial and Budapest Trophy. Finally, Marie-Jade Lauriault and Romain Le Gac , who claimed bronze at Skate America, will be replacing Miku Makita and Tyler Gunara due to injury. 

Competition starts on Friday, October 28 with every discipline performing their short program/rhythm dance. All medals will be awarded on Saturday, October 29, as all disciplines will perform their free program/free dance. The event concludes on Sunday with the exhibition gala. The event will be live streamed in Canada via skatecanada.ca.  

Team Canada 

Name | Age | Hometown | Coach | Training Location 

Women 
Gabrielle Daleman | 24 | Newmarket, Ont. | Lee Barkell | Toronto, Ont.
Madeline Schizas | 19 | Oakville, Ont. | Nancy Lemaire & Derek Schmidt | Milton, Ont.   

Men 
Stephen Gogolev | 17 | Toronto, Ont. | Rafael Arutyunyan & Lee Barkell | Irvine, USA
Keegan Messing | 30 | Girdwood, USA | Ralph Burghart | Anchorage, USA
Conrad Orzel | 22 | Toronto, Ont. | Ravi Walia | Edmonton, Alta. 

Pair 
Kelly Ann Laurin | 16 | St-Jérôme, Que. & Loucas Éthier | 22 | Deux-Montagnes, Que. | Stéphanie Valois | Rosemère, Que.  
Brooke McIntosh | 17 | Toronto, Ont. & Benjamin Mimar | 21 | Terrebonne, Que. | Andrew Evans & Alexander Sheldrick | Toronto, Ont. 

Ice Dance 
Piper Gilles | 30 | Toronto, Ont. & Paul Poirier | 30 | Unionville, Ont. | Carol Lane & Juris Razgulajevs | Scarborough, Ont.
Marjorie Lajoie | 21 | Boucherville, Que. & Zachary Lagha | 23 | Saint-Hubert, Que. | Romain Haguenauer | Montreal, Que.
Marie-Jade Lauriault | 25 | Ste-Anne-Des-Plaines, Que. & Romain Le Gac | 27 | Laval, Que. | Marie-France Dubreuil & Patrice Lauzon| Ste-Anne-Des-Plaines, Que.    

Team Leaders – Carolyn Allwright & Cynthia Ullmark
Medical Team – Tatiana Jevremovic & Agnes Makowski
Officials – Andrea Derby, Veronique Gosselin, Janice Hunter & Lorna Schroder 

For more information about the event and full schedules, click here. To purchase single-session tickets, visit ticketmaster.ca. 

Gilles and Poirier Take Fifth Spot at ISU World Figure Skating Championships®

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MONTPELLIER, France – Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier of Toronto placed fifth in ice dancing Saturday to conclude the ISU World Figure Skating Championships.

Olympic champions Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron of France took the gold with 229.82 points. Madison Hubbell and Zachary Donohue of the U.S. were second at 222.39 and their compatriots Madison Chock and Evan Bates third at 216.83.

The top-five remained unchanged after Friday’s rhythm dance as Gilles and Poirier totalled 202.70.

‘’It was especially satisfying to end the season with a skate on our terms,’’ said Poirier. ‘’The Olympic free dance didn’t go the way we wanted for us. It was important do the last performance of the season the way we know we can do it.’’

Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Nikolaj Sorensen of Montreal were ninth and Marjorie Lajoie of Boucherville, Que., and Zachary Lagha of St-Hubert, Que., 11th.

Sorensen injured his back in training earlier in the week and it came back to haunt him near the end of the free dance.

‘’We started out well,’’ said Sorensen. ‘’All the things we’d been working on since the Olympics worked out great. But two thirds of the way in I couldn’t really find my legs, so I had trouble at the end. It’s unfortunate but it happens.’’

Lajoie and Lagha were 14th at the worlds last year and 13th at the Olympics.

‘’The most difficult thing was to keep the motivation after a disappointing rhythm dance,’’ said Lagha. ‘’We’ve always been a strong team mentally and I think we showed that tonight.’’

Olympic bronze medallist Shoma Uno led Japan to a 1-2 finish in men’s competition. Yuma Kajiyama, the silver medallist in Beijing, was second and Vincent Zhou of the U.S. was third.

Roman Sadovsky of Vaughan, Ont., produced the ninth best free skate to surge from 18th after the short program to 12th overall. Canadian champion Keegan Messing was 14th.

‘’Compared to my performance at the Olympics this was night and day,’’ said Sadovsky. ‘’I’m really proud of how I handled the pressure here. I know there’ll be better moments to come.’’

Canada ends the competition with one bronze medal won by Vanessa James and Eric Radford in pairs on Thursday.

Full results: http://www.isuresults.com/results/season2122/wc2022/