Tag Archive for: Piper Gilles/ Paul Poirier

Olympic Spotlight : Piper Gilles / Paul Poirier

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Known for their exquisite artistry and crowd-pleasing choreography, Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier finished second at the 2018 Canadian Tire National Skating Championships to punch their ticket to the PyeongChang 2018 Olympic Winter Games.

Their silver medal at the national championship was the sixth time they have reached the Canadians podium since coming together in 2011. On the ISU Grand Prix circuit this season, Gilles and Poirier placed fourth at both the Rostelecom Cup and Skate America.

Their Olympic berth comes four years after a heartbreaking setback on the road to the 2014 Olympic Winter Games in Sochi.  In the spring of 2013, Poirier suffered a fracture dislocation in his right ankle and underwent surgery. Gilles and Poirier were able to compete at the 2014 Canadian championships, but missed an Olympic berth by just one spot.

In 2014-15, Gilles and Poirier would win two silver medals on the ISU Grand Prix circuit before managing a career-best sixth place showing at the World Championships.

Gilles and Poirier have finished inside the top eight at the world championships for four consecutive years.

Gilles and Poirier climb to fourth at Skate America

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LAKE PLACID – Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier of Toronto climbed from fifth after the short dance to fourth overall on Sunday to conclude Skate America, the seventh stop on the ISU Grand Prix figure skating circuit.

Maia Shibutani and Alex Shibutani of the U.S. took the ice dance gold with 194.25 points with Anna Cappellini and Luca Lanotte of Italy second at 181.63 and Victoria Sinitsina and Nikita Katsalapov of Russia third at 176.53.

Gilles and Poirier followed at 166.54.

‘’We didn’t let a disappointing short program get us down today,’’ said Gilles about the free dance. ‘’We feel a lot more comfortable in the free dance. We were especially pleased to keep the flow going and the energy up during the slow piece in the middle of the program.’’

Poirier said the couple made changes to the free skate following their fourth place at the Grand Prix stop in Russia.

‘’We opened up the transitions making them less cumbersome so we can move and skate more freely.

Japan was 1-2 in women’s competition. Satoko Miyahara took the gold, Kaori Sakamoto the silver and Bradie Tennell of the U.S. was third.

Gabrielle Daleman of Newmarket, Ont., third after the short program, struggled in her free skate and placed sixth overall.

‘’Technically it didn’t go my way today,’’ said Daleman. ‘’That’s the way this sport goes and that’s the name of the game. I know what I need to work on and it is just a lot of repetition.’’

Canada ended the competition with one bronze medal earned by Meagan Duhamel and Eric Radford in pairs on Saturday.

Full results: ISU GP 2017 Bridgestone Skate America

Gilles and Poirier place fourth at season-opening Grand Prix

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MOSCOW – Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier of Toronto placed fourth in ice dancing on Saturday to conclude the Rostelecom Cup – the first stop on the ISU Grand Prix figure skating circuit.

Maia Shibutani and Alex Shibutani of the U.S. won the gold medal with 189.24 points. Ekaterina Bobrova and Dmitri Soloviev of Russia were second at 184.74 and their compatriots Alexandra Stepanova and Ivan Bukin third at 179.35.

Gilles and Poirier followed at 172.29.

“We did what we needed to do here,” said Gilles. “It’s a good start for us.”

“This is the start of a marathon,” added Poirier, about this Olympic season. “We want to make sure we are peaking at the right time.”

Russians swept the podium in pairs led by Evgenia Tarasova and Vladimir Morozov with the gold. Julianne Séguin of Longueuil, Que., and Charlie Bilodeau of Trois-Pistoles, Que., remained fifth.

“We left a lot of points of the table,” said Séguin. “Still it’s a good start. We had a solid short program and our long just needs some tweaking and more performance mileage.”

The pair made mistakes on both side-by-side jumps.

“There was some nervousness,” said Bilodeau. “We had some issues in training this week and that can affect your confidence.”

In men’s competition, Nathan Chen of the U.S. reeled off four quads en route to the gold medal with 293.79.  He upset Olympic champion Yuzuru Hanyu of Japan in second at 290.77 while Mikhail Kolyada of Russia was third at 271.06.

Nam Nguyen of Toronto produced the sixth best free skate but remained seventh overall at 238.45. Skating to An American in Paris, he opened with a perfect quad-toe but fell on his following quad-Salchow. The rest of the skate was clean including two triple Axels (one in combination).

“I’m disappointed,’’ said Nguyen. “I was hoping to put in a really good performance. I need to go back and work out the kinks and come back feeling 100 percent confident.”

The next stop on the circuit is Skate Canada International this Friday and Saturday (October 27-28) in Regina.

Full results: ISU GP Rostelecom Cup 2017

Canadians keep medals in sight at ISU Grand Prix

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MOSCOW – Canada’s three entries at the season opening ISU Grand Prix event – the Rostelecom Cup – will need strong free skates to get on the podium following Friday’s short program performances.

In ice dancing, Maia Shibutani and Alex Shibutani of the U.S. are first after the short dance with 77.30. Two Russian couples followed with Ekaterina Bobrova and Dmitri Soloviev second at 76.33 and Alexandra Stepanova and Ivan Bukin third at 71.32.

Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier of Toronto are in the medal hunt standing fourth with 69.67.

“This first half of the season we want to improve our performance levels,” said Poirier. “And I feel that is getting better despite some glitches today.”

“We definitely got some fire in our belly for the free skate,” added Gilles. “Lots can change.”

Russians are 1-2 in pairs. Evgenia Tarasova and Vladimir Morozov are first at 76.88, Ksenia Stolbova and Fedor Klimov second at 71.39. Valentina Marchei and Ondrej Hotarek of Italy stand third at 68.48.

Julianne Séguin of Longueuil, Que., and Charlie Bilodeau of Trois-Pistoles, Que., skated a clean program for fifth at 67.06, less than two points from third.

In men’s competition, Nathan Chen of the U.S. landed two quads and leads after the short program with 100.54. Olympic champion Yuzuru Hanyu of Japan is second at 94.85 and Dmitri Aliev of Russia third at 88.77.

Nam Nguyen of Toronto stands seventh but at 80.74 he is still in striking distance of the podium. He opened with a successful quad-triple combination and also landed his triple Axel. However he fell on his quad-toe attempt.

“I didn’t have a very good warm-up so I’m happy with how I recovered from that,” said Nguyen, 19, ranked third in Canada. “Obviously the performance could have been better but I’m excited about my free skate which has been going well in practice.”

The free skates are on Saturday.

Full results: ISU GP Rostelecom Cup 2017

Virtue and Moir on top of the world

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HELSINKI – Canada’s Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir are back on top in ice dancing. The two-time Olympic medallists won the gold medal Saturday to conclude the ISU World Figure Skating Championships and complete a perfect comeback season.

The contest was close with Virtue and Moir holding on to first despite a slip by Moir as they totalled 198.62 points. It is their third world title.

Defending champions Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron of France won the free dance to finish at 196.04 while Maia Shibutani and Alex Shibutani of the U.S. were third at 185.18.

‘’We accomplished a lot of great things in this program technically that allowed us to stay on top against a really, really good French team,’’ said Moir from Ilderton, Ont. ‘’We knew we were going to be in a fight for the world title.’’

The victory caps a great comeback season for the 2010 Olympic champions. They sat out their first two seasons after the Olympic silver in Sochi. In 2016-17, they went undefeated in seven competitions producing several record scores including a world mark in Friday’s short dance.

‘’We wanted to win worlds,’’ said Moir. ‘’We trained well, we felt we prepared ideally for this whole season.’’

Two-time world championship medallists Kaitlyn Weaver and Andrew Poje of Waterloo, Ont., emerged a half-point from the podium finishing fourth at 184.81 after standing sixth after the short dance.

’We wanted to bring the happiness back into our skating and express who we are,’’ said Poje. ‘’We went through some ups and downs this season and had to rediscover ourselves.  We are very proud where we are and we know we can build so much more.’’

Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier of Toronto moved from ninth to eighth overall.

‘’We really allowed ourselves to settle into that performance,’’ said Poirier. ‘’We didn’t force anything or rush anything. We allowed ourselves to do the work and just get lost in the moment.’’

In men’s competition, Yuzuru Hanyu of Japan re-claimed the world crown roaring from fifth place to the gold medal position with a world record free skate for 321.59 points. His compatriot Shoma Uno was second at 319.31 and Boyang Jin of China third at 303.58.

Patrick Chan of Toronto skated to music by teammate and pairs skater Eric Radford and earned 295.16 for fifth place. He landed his three quad jumps but put a hand down on his quad Salchow and stumbled after completing his second quad toe.

‘’The approach I had for this competition was the right one,’’ said Chan, a three-time world champion. ‘’My goal was to rotate all three quads today which I had never done before. It’s great to know that I have the confidence now to do it.’’

Kevin Reynolds of Coquitlam, B.C., made an impressive move in the standings from 12th to ninth overall with the eighth best free skate. His first four jumps were all quads including the first two in combination.

‘’It was exhilaration,’’ said Reynolds. ‘’At the most important competition of the season I had a job to do and left here with possibly the two best performances of my career. It was a thrill; everything I worked for in training went exactly right.’’

Canada ends the competition with three medals. On Friday, Kaetlyn Osmond of Marystown, N.L. and Gabrielle Daleman of Newmarket, Ont., took silver and bronze in women’s competition. It was the first time Canada produced two medallists in the event at worlds.

Full results: http://www.isuresults.com/results/season1617/wc2017/index.htm

Historic silver and bronze for Osmond and Daleman / World record for Virtue and Moir

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HELSINKI –Kaetlyn Osmond of Marystown, N.L., and Gabrielle Daleman of Newmarket, Ont., took the silver and bronze medal in women’s competition on Friday at the ISU World Figure Skating Championships.

It is the first time in world championship history two Canadians reach the podium in the women’s event. It is also Canada’s first medal in women’s competition at worlds since Joannie Rochette won silver in 2009.

With those performances Canada is guaranteed three spots in the women’s event at the 2018 Olympic Winter Games and 2018 ISU World Championships.

“To have Kaetlyn on the podium with me and have three spots for the Olympics is just an unbelievable feeling,’’ said the 19-year-old Daleman, competing at her fourth straight worlds. She was ninth last year. ‘’And I’ve wanted to be like Joannie since I was a little girl. I’m just star struck.’’

Evgenia Medvedeva of Russia successfully defended her world crown with a world record 233.41 points. Osmond followed at 218.13 and Daleman was third at 213.52, both personal bests. No other skaters reached the 200-point plateau.

Daleman and Osmond were the last two skaters of the competition. They were also second and third after the short on Wednesday.

‘’That’s the way that I’ve wanted to compete my long program all season long,’’ said Osmond, 21. ‘’I did everything I possibly could at the best of my ability. I trusted myself and trusted my training and it paid off.’’

It was Osmond’s first worlds since 2014. She missed the 2014-15 season due to a broken leg.

‘’After that injury I never thought I would be skating again, let alone get on a worlds podium’’ she said. ‘’I had to relearn everything, there was a lot of doubt last season and finally this year those doubts have washed away.’’

Both Canadians executed seven jump sequences including three combination jumps.

‘’I honestly have no words to describe how I am feeling,’’ said Daleman. ‘’I just went out there feeling more comfortable, staying calm and doing my job. As soon as I got into my starting position I said to myself to take it and skate with my heart.’’

In ice dancing, Virtue and Moir broke their own world record with 82.43 points to lead after the short dance. Defending world champions Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron of France are second at 76.89 and Madison Hubbell and Zachary Donohue of the U.S. are third at 76.53.

Virtue and Moir are enjoying remarkable success in their first season since winning the silver medal at the 2014 Olympic Games in Sochi. They have won all five events they’ve entered including the ISU Grand Prix Final in December producing many record performances along the way.

“That was a great skate,’’ said Moir, from Ilderton, Ont. ‘’We worked hard, we prepared, but we felt the pressure today. We knew we had to bring our best, and that’s why we came back.”

“Technically we really try to raise the level of our skating and we needed to because the level of competition is so stiff and so strong,’’ added Virtue, from London, Ont. ‘’It’s nice to be at a world championships and get your best score. We knew we couldn’t have possibly prepared more for this moment.’’

Kaitlyn Weaver and Andrew Poje of Waterloo, Ont., are in sixth place with 74.84 points while Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier of Toronto are in ninth with 72.83.

‘’We’ve been really up and down with some of the elements in our short dance this year,’’ said Poje. ‘’We felt today we took a step in the right direction, we were comfortable and we had a performance we were proud of.’’

‘’We are really excited to delve into the free dance tomorrow and share it with this incredible crowd,’’ added Weaver. ‘’There are some small changes into the transitions and it has some new unique elements.’’

Gilles and Poirier have also struggled with their short program this season.

‘’We’ve been trying a bit too hard, trying to prove ourselves,’’ said Poirier. ‘’So we fall short because of mistakes. Today wasn’t the skate of our lives but we came out and entertained the people and delivered a clean skate.’’

Competition ends Saturday with the free dance and men’s free skate.

Full results: http://www.isuresults.com/results/season1617/wc2017/index.htm

Canadian records for Gilles/Poirier and Daleman at Skate Canada Challenge

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PIERREFONDS, Que. – Gabrielle Daleman of Newmarket, Ont., as well as ice dancers Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier of Toronto broke Canadian records in golden performances Sunday at the Skate Canada Challenge.

In ice dancing, Gilles and Poirier tabulated a national mark 196.58 points. Carolane Soucisse of Chateauguay, Que., and Shane Firus of Barrie, Ont., were second at 167.78 and Haley Sales of Burnaby, B.C., and Nicolas Wamsteeker of Langley, B.C., third at 147.72.

“We made a lot of improvements,” said Gilles. “We wanted to build our confidence going into nationals and it was mission accomplished. The Canadian record in just icing on the cake.”

The couple feel they have chance to make a big step this year.

“We have so much confidence,” said Poirier. “We are just really proud of the material we’ve been able to put together and we’ve prepared ourselves well for success this season. We’ve learned so much from the previous seasons that it’s just allowed us to present our best selves. The programs will just grow even more.”

In women’s competition, Daleman tabulated 208.85 for a national record with Sarah Tamura of Vancouver second at 166.45 and Alicia Pineault of Varennes, Que., third at 147.72.

“There’s still so much that be can be improved going into nationals and that’s a great feeling,” said Daleman. “I focused on this being the final stage before the Canadian championships to determine what’s good and what needs to be improved on.”

The competition attracted over 500 skaters from across Canada with competition also being held in the novice and pre-novice categories. Skate Canada Challenge is the sole qualifying event for novice, junior, and senior skaters to earn entries to the 2017 Canadian Tire National Skating Championships January 16-22 in Ottawa.

Full results: 2017 Skate Canada Challenge

Canadians continue on ISU Grand Prix circuit in France

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OTTAWA, ON: Skate Canada will have two entries, for a total of three skaters, competing at the 2016 Trophée de France. The event takes place from November 11-13, 2016, at the AccorHotels Arena in Paris, France. Canada will have one entry in ladies and one entry in ice dance.

Gabrielle Daleman, 18, Newmarket, Ont., will be the Canadian entry in ladies. Last season, she placed sixth at this event. This season, Daleman won bronze at the Nebelhorn Trophy and placed fourth at her first ISU Grand Prix event of the season, Skate America. The 2016 Canadian silver medallist is coached by Lee Barkell and Brian Orser in Toronto, Ont.

Canadian silver medallists Piper Gilles, 24, Toronto, Ont., and Paul Poirier, 25, Unionville, Ont., will be the Canadian entry in ice dance. They have previously competed at this event three times, winning the silver medal in both 2014 and 2015, and placing sixth in 2012. This season, Gilles and Poirier won the bronze medal at the Nebelhorn Trophy and also won bronze at their first ISU Grand Prix assignment, Skate Canada International. They are coached by Carol Lane and Juris Razgulajevs in Scarborough, Ont.

André Bourgeois, Skate Canada NextGen Director, will be the Canadian team leader at the event and physiotherapist Shirley Kushner of Westmount, Que., will be the Canadian medical staff onsite. Jodi Abbott of Edmonton, Alta., will be the sole Canadian official at the event.

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

CANADIAN ENTRIES AT 2016 TROPHÉE DE FRANCE

Discipline Name Age Hometown Club Coach
Ladies Gabrielle Daleman 18 Newmarket, Ont. Toronto Cricket, Skating and Curling Club Lee Barkell / Brian Orser
Ice Dance Piper Gilles / Paul Poirier 24/25 Toronto, Ont. / Unionville, Ont. Scarboro FSC / Scarboro FSC Carol Lane / Juris Razgulajevs

Canadians spin more gold at Skate Canada International

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MISSISSAUGA, Ont. – Patrick Chan of Toronto and ice dancers Tessa Virtue of London, Ont., and Scott Moir of Ilderton, Ont., won gold medals on Saturday evening to conclude Skate Canada International.

In men’s competition, Chan posted the second best free skate but hung on to top spot with 266.95 points. He edged Olympic champion Yuzuru Hanyu of Japan who won the free skate to climb from fourth to second at 263.06.

Kevin Reynolds of Coquitlam, B.C., landed three of his four quad jumps and took the bronze medal at 245.06. It is his first Grand Prix medal in his career.

Chan entered his highly anticipated free skate which was scheduled to include three quad jumps. He landed one, fell on the quad Salchow, which he was attempting for the first time in competition, and tripled the last one. Still he got strong scores from the judges for his artistic performance.

‘’It was a bit rough,’’ admitted Chan, a three-time world champion. ‘’I had a great opening but anytime you put in a new quad it feels different. The additional pressure of having it tired me out and you could see I faded as the program went along.

‘’Still it’s a great start to the season and I feel it’s a well deserved win.’’

Reynolds was at his first Grand Prix since 2012.

‘’It’s great to be on the podium in my first Grand Prix in many years,’’ he said. ‘’And to do it in such a high pressure environment with skaters like Patrick and Yuzuru makes feel really confident going forward.’’

Liam Firus of North Vancouver was ninth.

In ice dancing, Virtue and Moir ranked second in the free dance and held on to first with 189.06. Madison Chock and Evan Bates of the U.S., took silver at 188.24 while Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier of Toronto were third at 182.57.

‘’It was mixed emotions out there for us,’’ said Moir. ‘’It wasn’t kind of the moment we really wanted but the fans really helped us through that one. At the end we were proud of it.’’

Virtue said they rejigged the program after the Autumn Classic event in Montreal earlier this month. The couple are back in action this season for the first time since the 2014 Olympic Games.

“We’ve made some great strides with this free dance,’’ she said. ‘’Both technically and emotionally we went back to the drawing board and really got back to the intention of each movement and we made a lot of improvements.’’

Alexandra Paul of Midhurst, Ont., and Mitchell Islam of Barrie, Ont., were eighth.

Canada ends the competition with seven medals. Earlier Saturday, Meagan Duhamel of Lively, Ont., and Eric Radford of Balmertown, Ont., won the pairs event with Lubov Ilyushechkina and Dylan Moscovitch of Toronto third. Kaetlyn Osmond of Marystown, N.L. won silver in women’s competition.

Full results: 2016 Skate Canada International

Skaters from around the world headed to Mississauga, Ontario, for 2016 Skate Canada International

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OTTAWA, ON: Canada’s top figure skaters are headed to Mississauga, Ont., this week to compete against some of world’s best at the 2016 Skate Canada International. The event takes place October 28-30, 2016, at the Hershey Centre. Canada will have 11 entries (three entries per discipline in men, pairs and ice dance, and two entries in ladies) for a total of 17 skaters.

Skate Canada International is the second of six competitions on the International Skating Union (ISU) Grand Prix of Figure Skating circuit, which qualifies skaters for the ISU Grand Prix Final, taking place December 8-11 in Marseille, France.

Three-time World Champion and double Olympic silver medallist (men’s and team) Patrick Chan, 25, Toronto, Ont., is the first of three Canadian entries in men’s. This will be his eighth time competing at this event, having previously won the gold medal five times and the silver medal once. Chan won silver at his first event this season, the Finlandia Trophy. The eight-time Canadian champion is coached by Marina Zoueva, Oleg Epstein and Johnny Johns and trains in Canton, MI, USA.

Canadian silver medallist Liam Firus, 24, North Vancouver, B.C., is the second Canadian entry in men’s. He placed 11th at this event in 2014 and 10th in 2012. This season, Firus placed fifth at his first event, the Nebelhorn Trophy. Firus is coached by Bruno Marcotte in Sainte-Julie, Que.

Olympic silver medallist (team) Kevin Reynolds, 26, Coquitlam, B.C., rounds out the Canadian entries in the men’s discipline. Reynolds previously competed at this event in 2010 and placed fourth. This season, Reynolds won the silver medal at his first event, the Ondrej Nepela Trophy. He is coached by Joanne McLeod in Burnaby, B.C.

Canadian champion Alaine Chartrand, 20, Prescott, Ont., is the first of two Canadian entries in the ladies’ category. Chartrand previously competed at this event in 2014 and placed seventh. She began this season winning the silver medal at the 2016 Autumn Classic International. Chartrand is coached by Michelle Leigh and Brian Orser.

Olympic silver medallist (team) Kaetlyn Osmond, 20, Marystown, Nfld./Edmonton, Alta., will be the second Canadian entry in the ladies’ discipline. Osmond won this event in 2012 and placed 11th at this event last season. This season, she won the gold medal at her first event, the Finlandia Trophy. The 2016 Canadian bronze medallist is coached by Ravi Walia and trains in Edmonton, Alta.

Two-time World Champions and Olympic silver medallists (team) Meagan Duhamel, 30, Lively, Ont., and Eric Radford, 31, Balmertown, Ont., lead the Canadian pair entries. This will be their seventh time competing at this event, having won gold in 2014 and 2015 and medalled five years consecutively. Duhamel and Radford won their first event this season, the Finlandia Trophy. The five-time consecutive Canadian champions are coached by Richard Gauthier, Bruno Marcotte, and Sylvie Fullum in Saint-Léonard, Que.

Lubov Ilyushechkina, 24, Moscow, Russia, and Dylan Moscovitch, 32, Toronto, Ont., are the second Canadian pair entry, and will be competing at this event for the first time. The 2016 Canadian bronze medallists won the silver medal at their first event this season, the Nebelhorn Trophy. Ilyushechkina and Moscovitch are coached by Lee Barkell, Bryce Davison and Tracy Wilson in Toronto, Ont.

Brittany Jones, 20, Toronto, Ont., and Joshua Reagan, 26, Toronto, Ont., will be the third Canadian entry in pair. Jones and Reagan placed seventh at this event in 2014. This season, they won the gold medal at the 2016 U.S. International Figure Skating Classic. Jones and Reagan are coached by Bryce Davison in Hamilton, Ont.

Olympic and World champions Tessa Virtue, 27, London, Ont., and Scott Moir, 29, Ilderton, Ont., are the first of three Canadian entries in ice dance. They have previously competed at this event six times, winning the gold medal on five occasions and the silver medal once. Virtue and Moir returned to international competition at the 2016 Autumn Classic International where they won the gold medal. They are coached by Marie-France Dubreuil and Patrice Lauzon in Montreal, Que.

Canadian silver medallists Piper Gilles, 24, Toronto, Ont., and Paul Poirier, 24, Unionville, Ont., will be the second Canadian entry in ice dance. They have previously competed at this event twice, winning the silver medal in 2014 and placing fourth in 2012. Gilles and Poirier won the bronze medal at their first event this season, the Nebelhorn Trophy. They are coached by Carol Lane and Juris Razgulajevs in Scarborough, Ont.

Alexandra Paul, 25, Midhurst, Ont., and Mitchell Islam, 26, Barrie, Ont., are the third Canadian entry in ice dance. This will be their fourth time competing at this event, having placed sixth in 2015, fifth in 2013 and fourth in 2010. This season, Paul and Islam won the bronze medal at the 2016 U.S. International Figure Skating Classic. They train in Montreal, Que., with coaches Marie-France Dubreuil, Patrice Lauzon and Romain Haguenauer.

Carolyn Allwright of Kitchener, Ont., and Manon Perron of Boucherville, Que., will be the Canadian team leaders at the event. Dr. Julia Alleyne of Toronto, Ont., and physiotherapist Agnes Makowski of Toronto, Ont., will be the Canadian medical staff onsite. Karen Howard of Regina, Sask., Sylvain Guibord of Brossard, Que., Lynne Dey of Edmonton, Alta., and Andrea Derby of Windsor, Ont., will be the Canadian officials at the event.

Practices will be streamed live on the Skate Canada Dailymotion page.

For results and full entries please visit www.skatecanada.ca or www.isu.org.

CANADIAN ENTRIES AT 2016 SKATE CANADA INTERNATIONAL

Discipline Name Age Hometown Club Coach
Men Patrick Chan 25 Toronto, Ont. Granite Club Marina Zoueva / Oleg Epstein / Johnny Johns
Men Liam Firus 24 North Vancouver, B.C. Vancouver SC Bruno Marcotte
Men Kevin Reynolds 26 Coquitlam, B.C. Vancouver SC Joanne McLeod
Ladies Alaine Chartrand 20 Prescott, Ont. Nepean Skating Club Michelle Leigh/ Brian Orser
Ladies Kaetlyn Osmond 20 Marystown, Nfld. & Edmonton, Alta. Ice Palace FSC Ravi Walia
Pairs Meagan Duhamel / Eric Radford 30/31 Lively, Ont. / Balmertown, Ont. CPA Saint-Léonard / CPA Saint-Léonard Richard Gauthier / Bruno Marcotte / Sylvie Fullum
Pairs Lubov Ilyushechkina / Dylan Moscovitch 24/32 Moscow, Russia / Toronto, Ont. Toronto Cricket, Skating and Curling Club / Toronto Cricket, Skating and Curling Club Lee Barkell / Bryce Davison / Tracy Wilson
Pairs Brittany Jones / Joshua Reagan 20/26 Toronto, Ont. / Toronto, Ont. Hamilton SC / Hamilton SC Bryce Davison
Ice Dance Tessa Virtue / Scott Moir 27/29 London, Ont. / Ilderton, Ont. Ilderton SC / Ilderton SC Marie-France Dubreuil / Patrice Lauzon
Ice Dance Piper Gilles / Paul Poirier 24/24 Toronto, Ont. / Unionville, Ont. Scarboro FSC / Scarboro FSC Carol Lane / Juris Razgulajevs
Ice Dance Alexandra Paul / Mitchell Islam 25/26 Midhurst, Ont. / Barrie, Ont. Barrie SC / Barrie SC Marie-France Dubreuil / Patrice Lauzon / Romain Haguenauer

Week in Skating Photos: New Beginnings

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Canada kicked off the first skating event of the 2016/2017 season with the Autumn Classic International #ACI16

Meanwhile Piper and Paul sees Uniqlo’s thread that connects us all, at the first Canadian store.

Lacing up our skates for another week

With great friends to share the ice with.

#canskate #skatemom #threeamigos

A photo posted by Dana (@sneekydd) on

Look both ways then stop, turn or spin.

#CanSkate starts tonight @ #Rec Complex

A photo posted by Selkirk Skating Club (@selkirk_skating_club) on

Ice skating is beaver tested and approved.

The next step is to join the parachute bubble with our CanSkaters.

Thank you to all the #ACI16 volunteers, we could not have done it without you.

#skatecanada #kissandcry #volunteering #alwaysbusy

A photo posted by Sandra Ercoli (@s.ercoli2909) on

Like Tessa and Scott, you don’t have to cool to rule our world.

Welcome back. #tessaandscott #danielleearlphotography

A photo posted by Danielle Earl (@danielleearlphotography) on

We hope to see you again at future events.

More greatness at #aci16 @meaganduhamel @ericradford85 @jayde0425 @skate_canada

A photo posted by Maria Gilker (@mgilker0202) on

Have you seen last week’s Week in Skating Photos: “Thanks Coach” blog? Tag #SkateCanada and #CanSkate to be featured in our next blog.

Follow Skate Canada on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for more pics all week long!

Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier win Bronze at Nebelhorn Trophy

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OBERSTDORF, GERMANY: Ice dancers Piper Gilles, 24, Toronto, Ont., and Paul Poirier, 24, Unionville, Ont., started off the 2016-2017 season with a bronze medal win at the Nebelhorn Trophy in Oberstdorf, Germany. The team skated two strong programs, scoring 70.32 points in the short dance and 106.52 points in the free dance for a total of 176.84 points.

“We can look back on this competition and really say mission accomplished. Our goal for this season is to close the gap between us and the teams that are getting on the world podium. To be within two points of two past world medalists is a really big step up for us. We are already matching, if not beating our scores from the end of last season and it’s only September,” said Poirier.

Italians Anna Cappellini and Luca Lanotte took the gold with 180.50 points and Americans Madison Chock and Evan Bates scored 179.18 for the silver medal.

In men’s, Liam Firus, 24, North Vancouver, B.C., finished in fifth place. He scored 74.57 points in the short and 135.52 points in the free for a total of 210.09.

Alexander Petrov of Russia won the gold with 232.21 points, the silver went to Jorik Hendrickx of Belgium with 223.04 points and American Grant Hochstein took bronze with 217.25 points.

In the women’s discipline, Gabrielle Daleman, 18, Newmarket, Ont., sits in third with 60.15 points after the short program.

“I’m very happy with how it went. It was not only my fist competition of the season but my first international of the season and my goal was to get the Lutz toe, which I did. I was really happy with that,” said Daleman.

Elizaveta Tuktamysheva of Russia is in first after the short with 65.20 points and Mai Mihara of Japan is in second with 63.11 points.

In pair, Lubov Ilyushechkina, 24, Moscow, Russia, and Dylan Moscovitch, 31, Toronto, Ont., competed their short program on Thursday and are in second place going into the free with 65.98 points.

“Very happy for our first time out for the season. It’s a new program, a challenging one, it’s been a lot of work just to get it to this point. We are very pleased on how we came out the first time around,” said Moscovitch.

The German team of Aliona Savchenko and Bruno Massot are in first with 74.24 points and Mari Vartmann and Ruben Blommaert, also of Germany, are in third with 57.74 points.

The pair and women’s competitions will conclude tomorrow with the free programs.

Full results: http://www.deu-event.de/results/Nebelhorn_2016/index.html.