Hazel's Corner

Plushenko victorious despite knee trouble on "tough" return to ice

2011-12-26T22:06:00.000-05:00

Complete article can be found at http://en.ria.ru/sports/20111226/170504044.html

SARANSK, Russia, December 26 (RIA Novosti)

Evgeny Plushenko was victorious Monday in his first competition since his figure skating silver medal at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, but two shaky routines proved much work lies ahead if he is to complete a much-trumpeted comeback.

Plushenko chose the Russian national championships in Saransk as the springboard to revive a glittering career that he seeks to round off with a gold medal at his home Olympics in Sochi in 2014. He admitted he had found the going hard, and had yet to fully recover from knee surgery earlier this year.
"It was tough," Plushenko said. "First and foremost, psychologically. I haven't performed in a long time, and the injury has an effect."

"But I'm happy I'm back, I'm happy I won."

Plushenko skated a rough-around-the-edges free program Monday with a quad toeloop that he fluffed the previous night in the short program. He under-rotated some jumps and stepped out of others, but the ordinary competition meant the points were still enough for his ninth Russian national title.

The 2006 Turin Games gold medalist said landing the quad was "very important, because I needed to conquer the painful fear of a knock to the left leg."

Plushenko returns triumphant

2011-12-26T22:03:00.000-05:00

Complete article can be found at
http://www.goldenskate.com/2011/12/plushenko-returns-triumphant/

December 25, 2011 - by Anna Kondakova

Evgeni Plushenko’s second comeback to eligible figure skating turned out to be as triumphant as the first one at the 2012 Russian National Figure Skating Championships. The 2006 Olympic champion currently leads the field ahead of training mate Artur Gachinski and last year’s bronze medalist Zhan Bush.

Skating to music arranged by his long-time collaborator Edvin Marton, Plushenko did not appear to be a day older than he had been at this event two years ago. His strongest points remain the same: power, attack, and charisma to spare. Surprisingly, his weakest points were the jumps.

The 29-year-old failed to attach the second jump to his opening quad toe loop, and with no steps preceding it, the element received a negative Grade of Execution (GOE). He also was only able to improvise a triple-double combination later in the program. Still, the eight-time national champion currently leads the field with 88.24 (42.30/45.94) points on the strength of his program components score.

The panel did not quite agree on the numerical value: Plushenko earned a few 9.75s, but no 10s. In addition, someone on the panel gave him as low as 7.50 for transitions. Nevertheless, there was no doubt that his performance overall deserved the highest score of the night.

The skater himself remained grounded and critical of his performance.

Sotnikova finds her rhythm at Russian Nationals, leads after short

2011-12-26T21:59:00.000-05:00

Complete article can be found at
http://www.examiner.com/figure-skating-in-national/sotnikova-finds-her-rhythm-at-russian-nationals-leads-after-short
Jackie Wong , Figure Skating Examiner
December 26, 2011

Most skating observers will find their jaws dropping today when they see what happened in the ladies’ short program at the Russian Figure Skating Championships. It was not so much that defending champion Adelina Sotnikova has the lead, but more that the skater who has been the Russian star this season, Elizaveta Tuktamisheva, is in a shocking seventh place. The strong field of ladies took the ice and showed why they are the most talented bunch in the world.

Sotnikova, who has struggled this season with the short program, saved her best so far for her own national championships, hitting her opening triple lutz-triple loop combination to put herself in prime position for her third title. With the most difficult and best executed short program of the bunch, her first place standing was well-deserved. The judges rewarded her with a 68.65, giving her a four-point advantage going into the free skate.

Another skater who has struggled this season, 2010 champion Ksenia Makarova, showed that she is not ready to give up on her season just yet. She put down a clean short program as well, landing a triple toe-triple toe and a solo triple loop on her way to a 64.30 and second place in the short.

Beharry and Bobak, one hot junior pair

2011-12-26T21:56:00.000-05:00

Complete article can be found at
http://www.guelphmercury.com/sports/local/article/644573--beharry-and-bobak-one-hot-junior-pair

Rob Massey, Mercury staff
December 24, 2011

WATERLOO — Guelph skaters Ian Beharry and Katie Bobak might just be the hottest pair in international junior figure skating.

“The way it feels is amazing,” Bobak said this week prior to a workout at the RIM Park arena. “I couldn’t ask for anything better.”

Competing for the Kitchener-Waterloo Skating Club, the pair has finished on the podium three times in an as many international junior events — winning gold at Estonia and silver at Poland and Quebec City.

“It’s been a great year,” Beharry said. “We’ve had other local competitions that we’ve also medalled in.”

And it’s all come in their first season together. After last winter, both were looking for new partners.

“What your coach usually does is just contact people all around, either all around Canada or just locally, other coaches to see if they have anybody for you to try out with,” Beharry said. “Katie had just recently broke up with her partner and same as me, so we decided to have a tryout.”

“We had a tryout and it just kind of went really well,” Bobak said.

It went so well, neither had a tryout with any other skater.

In front of both of their coaches — Beharry, 20, was moving over from the Preston Figure Skating Club — the pair skated a bit to see if their styles matched. Then they did some side-by-side jumps to see how similar they were.

Main rivals absent, Bazarova and Larionov lead at Russian Nationals

2011-12-26T21:53:00.000-05:00

Complete article can be viewed at
http://www.examiner.com/figure-skating-in-national/jackie-wong

Jackie Wong , Figure Skating Examiner
December 25, 2011

European bronze medalists Vera Bazarova and Yuri Larionov find themselves with a sizeable eight-point advantage after a clean short program that propelled them to the top of the standings at the Russian Figure Skating Championships. With the two top Russian pairs opting out of the competition in favor of much-needed rest after a busy fall, Bazarova and Larionov are in prime position to take their first national title.

Hitting their opening side-by-side triple toes and a strong throw triple flip, Bazarova and Larionov made it known that it was their opportunity for the gold, scoring a 68.83 for their short program effort. With reigning champions Tatiana Volosozhar and Maxim Trankov and former championsYuko Kavaguti and Alexander Smirnov opting to skip the competition, the door is wide open for Bazarova and Laronov to take the title.

Japan's World team announced, Asada, Takahashi to lead the way in Nice

2011-12-26T21:50:00.000-05:00

Complete article can be viewed at
http://www.examiner.com/figure-skating-in-national/japan-s-world-team-announced-asada-takahashi-to-lead-the-way-nice

Jackie Wong , Figure Skating Examiner
December 25, 2011

Following the conclusion of the Japan Figure Skating Championships, the Japanese teams for the World Championships, Four Continents Championships, and the World Junior Championships were announced. Ladies' gold medalist Mao Asada and men's gold medalist Daisuke Takahashi lead the way and look to repeat their gold medal-winning ways from two seasons ago. Full team below.

World Championships team
MEN - Daisuke Takahashi, Takahiko Kozuka, Yuzuru Hanyu
LADIES - Mao Asada, Akiko Suzuki, Kanako Murakami
PAIRS - Narumi Takahashi/Mervin Tran
DANCE - Cathy Reed/Chris Reed

Strength over adversity, Asada reclaims Japanese title

2011-12-26T21:48:00.000-05:00

Complete article can be viewed at
http://www.examiner.com/figure-skating-in-national/strength-over-adversity-asada-reclaims-japanese-title

Jackie Wong , Figure Skating Examiner
December 25, 2011

Merely a few weeks removed from her mother’s death, two-time World champion Mao Asada made the decision to compete at the Japan Figure Skating Championships and found a way to prevail, winning her fifth career national title after finishing with the silver last year. The ladies’ free skatewas full of movement, with none of the top skaters able to deliver a clean performance.

Second coming into the free skate, Asada opted to take out her trademark triple axel once again in favor of a double axel and a more technically conservative approach. She hit three clean triples but doubled her two final triple jumps. The second half of her double axel-triple toe combination was called underrotated, further costing her base value points. She finished second in the free skate but still won the competition with a final score of 184.07.

Takahashi holds off Kozuka for fifth Japanese title

2011-12-26T16:57:00.000-05:00

To read the complete article go to:
http://www.examiner.com/figure-skating-in-national/takahashi-holds-of-kozuka-for-fifth-japanese-title
Jackie Wong , Figure Skating Examiner
December 24, 2011

It wasn’t pretty, but 2010 World champion Daisuke Takahashi survived three falls in his free skate and won his fifth Japanese title, holding off a surge by Takahiko Kozuka thanks to his massive lead from the short program. The men’s medalists were crowned today at the Japan Figure Skating Championships, just after an upset in the ladies’ short program, where Kanako Murakami took the surprise lead.

With a lead of over ten points from a flawless short program, Takahashi had a huge edge going into the free skate. But it was a completely different story in the free skate, where he opened with a fall on his quad toe. He hit six clean triplesafter the opening fall but took two more spills, one on his second triple axel and the other on his final jump, a triple flip. His program component mark saved him from dropping from the top, and he took the gold with a final score of 254.60.

Upset in the making? Murakami bests Asada, Suzuki in Japanese Nationals short

2011-12-26T16:54:00.000-05:00

To read the complete article go to:
http://www.examiner.com/figure-skating-in-national/upset-the-making-murakami-bests-asada-suzuki-japanese-nationals-short
Jackie Wong , Figure Skating Examiner
December 24, 2011

Former World junior champion Kanako Murakami stunned favorites Mao Asada and Akiko Suzuki today at the Japan Figure Skating Championships to lead the short program. Murakami took the ice well before her other two main competitors but was able to maintain her lead, edging out Asada by less than a quarter of a point.

After a lackluster Grand Prix series this season, Murakami saved her best stuff so far this season for her home championships. She hit a clean short, highlighted by a clean triple toe-triple toe and a solo triple flip. The judges rewarded her with a 65.56 to give her the edge in the short program over the rest of the field.

Right behind is Asada, who was also clean in her Scheherazade short program but lacked the difficulty of Murakami’s skate.

Takahashi rockets to the top after the short at Japanese Nationals

2011-12-26T16:50:00.000-05:00

To read the complete article go to:
http://www.examiner.com/figure-skating-in-national/takahashi-rockets-to-the-top-after-the-short-at-japanese-nationals

Jackie Wong , Figure Skating Examiner
December 23, 2011

The Japan Figure Skating Championships got off to a rousing start today with the men’s short program as 2010 World champion Daisuke Takahashi found himself with a huge lead of over ten points after a flawless short program. Takahashi is looking for his fifth national title after a third-place finish last season.

Takahashi has not looked more prepared in his career than he did in the short program, where he opened with a quad toe-triple toe combination. It was the first time all season that he has successfully completed a quad in competition. The rest of his short program was equally strong and spectacular, as he hit the rest of his elements to earn a 96.05 and a more than comfortable cushion over the rest of the men going into the free skate.

Former Japanese junior champion Tatsuki Machida scored a slight upset with a third-place showing over pre-competition podium favorite Yuzuru Hanyu.

Patrick Chan: QMI Agency Canadian Male Athlete of the Year

2011-12-26T16:30:00.000-05:00

To read the complete article go to:
http://www.torontosun.com/2011/12/20/qmi-agencys-canadian-male-athlete-of-the-year-patrick-chan

DAVE POLLARD, QMI AGENCY

FIRST POSTED: TUESDAY, DECEMBER 20, 2011 09:31 PM EST

Prepping for another training session that would one day lead to a world championship, Chan looked on, almost in awe, as the skater landed jump after jump. It was done with such ease, so smooth, that it almost overwhelmed him.A youthful Patrick Chan, then a neophyte to figure skating but already dreaming in golden hues, sat tying his skates at a suburban Toronto arena, watching a solitary figure glide effortlessly across the ice.
Watching Ken Rose that winter day also spurred Chan on. It provided, in some small way, the inspiration that would drive him to become the best skater in the world.

"I was in the lounge watching him skate while getting ready and he was nailing these triples like nothing, like butter," Chan recalled in an interview with QMI Agency. "I was, like, 'One day I hope that I can do the same thing.' I just wanted to come into a rink one day and just nail these triples like it's nothing. I look back at that day and think, 'Wow, look at where I am now.' I never knew I'd be where I am now."

Oda out of Japanese Nationals

2011-12-26T16:24:00.000-05:00

To read the complete article go to:
http://www.examiner.com/figure-skating-in-national/oda-out-of-japanese-nationals

Jackie Wong , Figure Skating Examiner
December 19, 2011

The Japan Figure Skating Championships take place this week, and one of the top names of Japanese skating will not be there. One of the big three in the men's field who have been the stalwarts of Japanese men's skating since the Torino Olympics in 2006, Nobunari Oda, will not be at Japanese Nationals as he continues to recover from a left knee injury.

The truth behind Patrick Chan’s China crisis

2011-12-26T16:22:00.000-05:00

To read the complete article go to:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/the-truth-behind-patrick-chans-china-crisis/article2274646/singlepage/#articlecontent

BEVERLEY SMITH
From Saturday's Globe and Mail
Published Friday, Dec. 16, 2011 6:24PM EST
Last updated Friday, Dec. 16, 2011 7:08PM EST

Patrick Chan can execute a quadruple jump with expert precision, but he discovered recently, on the eve of a major skating competition, that it's not so much his skates but his words that he needs to watch.
It all started last week, when a newspaper story took him to task for commenting to a reporter three months earlier that he felt underappreciated in Canada, that figure skating was overshadowed by hockey in this country, that skating isn't what it was in Canada years ago and that life would have been different if he had skated for China, where the government pays its athletes' expenses.

A few days after his comments were published, Mr. Chan won the Grand Prix Final in Quebec City – beating the crème de la crème of the skating world. Two days later, the skater, who remains undefeated in 2011, and whom figure skating champion Kurt Browning calls the best skater he has ever seen, was awarded the prestigious Lou Marsh Trophy as Canada's top athlete. Fellow laureates include Wayne Gretzky, Bobby Orr, Ferguson Jenkins, Mike Weir and Sidney Crosby.

Since returning home from Quebec City, Mr. Chan hasn't stopped. He has been running on five hours of sleep a night, and has spent his days giving interviews, talking about his recent wins and those comments that got him into trouble. He is still managing the backlash – especially to the comment that if they hadn't emigrated from China, “my parents wouldn't have had to make as much sacrifices as they had and there would be a lot more respect for what we do as figure skaters.”

A cheerful chatterer at all times, Mr. Chan said his remarks were taken out of context, that he had just returned from a month in Asia and he had been caught up in his enthusiasm for his heritage. He admits he should have been more precise “and a bit more professional” in his comments.

“He does have a bit of a lack of filter,” said William Thompson, chief executive officer for Skate Canada. “We all know that. That is part of his charm, but sometimes his mouth gets a little bit ahead of his thoughts.

Mao was blessed with a mother who gave it her all

2011-12-26T16:09:00.003-05:00

To read the complete article go to: http://www.japantimes.co.jp/print/sp20111214it.html

By JACK GALLAGHER
The past few days have been very difficult. I'm fairly confident a lot of other folks share my sentiments.

Late Friday evening we learned that Mao Asada's mother Kyoko had passed away at the far too young age of 48.

Though some within the Japanese skating community were aware that Mao's mother had not been well for quite a while, it came as a shock to the great majority of people in this country.

It didn't take long for me to start feeling very emotional about this, because I have known Mao and her mother since Mao was a precocious child of 15.

The sadness I felt about Kyoko's life being cut short was multiplied by the concern I had for Mao's future. I think this is what many of her fans and the public are also concerned about.

How do you replace somebody that is irreplaceable?

There is never a good time for a tragedy, but the case could be made that the timing in this instance could not be worse. Just as Mao seemed to have rediscovered her form, she is confronted with this.

We can only hope that Mao is able to battle through this, just as she has overcome other challenges during her career. But the reality is that this is much different than anything else she has ever been confronted with.

It's one thing to not be able to execute a triple axel when you want, completely another when you lose somebody so close to you.

My relationship with Mao and her mother began in early 2006, when they came to a Foreign Sportswriters Association of Japan dinner in Tokyo where Mao was accepting the award as the top Japanese athlete of 2005.

Even though the event was organized on short notice, there was a record turnout for the FSAJ that night, one that has not been equalled since, although many prominent guests have followed.

At the end of the evening, I could see that Mao's mother was clearly impressed by the warmth and love that had been shown to her daughter by the primarily foreign audience in attendance.

Grief-stricken Asada to compete in national c'ship

2011-12-26T16:02:00.000-05:00

Figure skating: Grief-stricken Asada to compete in national c'ship

2011-12-26T15:55:00.000-05:00

To read the complete article go to:
http://mdn.mainichi.jp/mdnnews/sports/news/20111213p2g00m0sp113000c.html

TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Mao Asada, whose mother died last week after a lengthy battle with liver cirrhosis, will compete at the upcoming national championships in Osaka, her management agency IMG said Monday.

Asada is trying to cope with the death of her mother Kyoko Asada, who passed away at the age of 48 at a Nagoya hospital early Friday before her 21-year-old daughter could reach her bedside.

"My mother would rejoice that I'm determined to do what I must do as I aim to achieve my dreams for the future," Asada said in a statement. IMG said a funeral, which was only attended by relatives, was held the same day.

Asada had pulled out of the Grand Prix Final in Quebec City, Canada, early Thursday and rushed back to Japan after learning her mother was in critical condition.

She was inconsolable after receiving the news of her mother's passing in a text message from her father Toshiharu after arriving at Narita airport on Friday evening.

"When I got to Narita and checked my e-mail, I had a text from my father that said, 'Mom couldn't make it.' And I just cried and cried. I still cannot believe this has happened, but I feel that my mother is looking over me now even closer than before. I cannot thank her enough," she said.

Feschuk: Patrick Chan wins Lou Marsh award

2011-12-26T15:51:00.000-05:00

To read the complete story go to:
http://www.thestar.com/article/1101085--feschuk-patrick-chan-wins-lou-marsh-award

By Dave Feschuk
Sports Columnist

There’s a simple enough reason why Patrick Chan, the Toronto figure skater, was voted the winner of the Lou Marsh award as Canada’s athlete of the year.

While this country is brimming with world-class sporting talent — and while the Lou Marsh short list included among its ranks the world’s best women’s long-track speed skater, Christine Nesbitt, and the No. 1-ranked men’s shot putter, Dylan Armstrong — Chan ruled his sport with an authority that was unmatched by any of his compatriots. Not only did he capture the world championship in April in Moscow, he registered world-record scores in the process. Not only did he win the ISU Grand Prix final in Quebec City on Saturday, he also went unbeaten in competition for the calendar year. Undefeated is difficult to argue with, of course, which is a big part of why he was the overwhelming choice of Tuesday’s panel of sports writers, editors and broadcasters chaired by Olympic rowing great Silken Laumann.

Certainly the short list included an impressive list of worthy candidates. Along with Nesbitt and Armstrong, the selection committee acknowledged the merits of last year’s winner Joey Votto of the Cincinnati Reds, show-jumping champion Eric Lamaze and Milwaukee Brewers reliever John Axford. But nobody dominated a sport the way Chan dominated his.

And now that the figure-skating season is in a lull, Chan is pondering his next challenge — specifically, a trip to the Las Vegas strip. Chan’s birthday falls on a day synonymous with the kind of all-night debauchery that city of sin is famous for; he was a New Year’s Eve baby, after all. It just so happens that on this New Year’s Eve, he’ll turn 21 — or, as Chan put it, “the big 2-1.”

“I actually spend most of my birthdays skiing, because I just love it so much — that’s more than enough to make me happy ... put me on the slope,” Chan said. “This is the first time I’m actually going somewhere where something bad can happen.”

Dopey comments aside, Chan deserves Marsh award

2011-12-26T15:48:00.001-05:00

To read the complete article go to: http://www.torontosun.com/2011/12/12/dopey-comments-aside-chan-deserves-marsh-award

BY STEVE BUFFERY,TORONTO SUN
FIRST POSTED: MONDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2011 05:02 PM EST |
UPDATED: MONDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2011 05:27 PM EST

Before the trip, I kind of felt down about my lot in life — you know, the whole short, balding, pasty skin, bad teeth, beer-gut thing.TORONTO - About 25 years ago, I flew over to the British Isles for the first time and developed a new appreciation for my roots.

But after visiting old Blighty, I felt rejuvenated and accepted.

It’s like that famous book about soccer hooliganism by Bill Buford — Among the Thugs. My buddies swear it’s me on the cover. It’s not. But it very well could be me, or 90% of the geezers in England. (A slight exaggeration). I never felt more at home.

The point is this: I understood where Patrick Chan was coming from when he said — following a trip to China, his parent’s homeland some months back — that he never felt more Chinese.

Canadian duo’s program spins out of control

2011-12-26T15:45:00.000-05:00

To read the complete article go to:
http://www.thestar.com/sports/figureskating/article/1100314--canadian-duo-s-program-spins-out-of-control

By Rosie DiManno
Columnist

QUEBEC CITY—Rarely does the lowly death spiral turn into a killer element in pairs figure skating.

Almost never does it result in a big fat zero on the scoring page.

But that’s what happened to the Canadian entry of Meagan Duhamel and Eric Radford here Saturday night at the Grand Prix final.

“Never a zero before, no,” acknowledged Duhamel.

The why of it is rather too inside baseball to explain for a general audience but, basically, Duhamel’s head was above her pivoting knee on the movement for the one full rotation hold required to earn any kind of mark.

“Very fluky for us,” said Radford. “It was just a little miscalculation at the beginning. Unless you do a full rotation in that first position, nice and smooth, the whole thing is a zero. And there was just a little bobble in the beginning so we probably lost it right there.”

Still, it wasn’t really going to make much of a difference in the final outcome. Duhamel and Radford, together for two seasons and at their first GP final, were fifth after the short program and that’s where they finished when the whole event was over.

Ice dancers benefit from infamous French scandal

2011-12-26T15:41:00.000-05:00

To read the complete article go to:
http://www.thespec.com/sports/article/637443--ice-dancers-benefit-from-infamous-french-scandal

Fri Dec 09 2011
BY STEVE MILTON

QUEBEC CITY Nine weeks from now figure skating will celebrate — oh, so such an inappropriate verb — the 10th anniversary of its greatest infamy.

Technically, the “French judge” scandal of the 2002 Salt Lake Olympics occurred in the pairs competition, eventually resulting in a second set of gold medals awarded to Canadians Jamie Sale and David Pelletier.

But the genesis of the crime, allegedly and almost surely, was a trade-off for a pro-France vote by Russia in the dance competition a few days later.

So it is only fitting that the discipline most affected by skating’s radical scoring change that was fast-tracked because of Salt Lake, is that very ice dancing division.

For one thing, ice dancing is infinitely more watchable now than it was in the pre-Salt Lake days, when it was essentially a schlock theme party. Wild costuming, inexplicable histrionics, and melodrama as thin as Jersey Shore were the rule rather than the exception.

Dancing, always the weird kid on the block, has been forced to accept the same incentives and limits as the other three disciplines: the compulsories were finally ditched, every moment on the ice is analyzed and compared to a finite standard; and judging subjectivity, the romper room of chronic cheaters, was severely reduced.

The result was almost immediate: a dramatic shift in power and demographics that is in full blossom at the Grand Prix Final here.

Fall doesn't faze Moir

2011-12-19T14:02:00.001-05:00

To read the complete article visit
http://www.lfpress.com/sports/2011/12/10/19106666.html
By RYAN PYETTE, QMI AGENCY
Last Updated: December 10, 2011 6:03pm

QUEBEC CITY – Scott Moir figures he knows why Patrick Chan slammed into the end boards during his short program.

“Patrick felt bad for us,” quipped the Olympic ice dance champion, whose shocking tumble on his back was upstaged by Chan's booming hit at the International Skating Union's Grand Prix final of figure skating Friday night in Quebec City. “He did a beautiful quad (combo), then wanted everyone to forget what happened to me.”

Moir and Chan, the new crash-and-bash of Canadian figure skating, showed no ill effects of their on-ice incidents the next day.

On Saturday afternoon, the 24-year-old Ilderton native and partner Tessa Virtue took to the ice to work on their Funny Face free dance. They held a meeting after the short-dance fall, which put them five-plus points behind United States rivals Meryl Davis and Charlie White heading into Sunday's finale.

“It's nothing new, we always get together afterwards to re-hash our skates,” Moir said. “Especially after a skate like we had, you want to go back and find things you can improve.

“We didn't expect to be five points down heading into Sunday, but you just have to refocus and go out there and skate the way you can and see what happens.”

Italy’s Kostner conquers jitters on way to gold-medal breakthrough

2011-12-19T13:57:00.000-05:00

http://www.thestar.com/sports/article/1100231--italy-s-kostner-conquers-jitters-on-way-to-gold-medal-breakthrough

Published On Sat Dec 10 2011

By Rosie DiManno
Columnist
QUEBEC CITY—In her sexy, slinky catsuit, Carolina Kostner shimmered and glittered.

Unorthodox costume and perhaps more befitting a fetish-y pinup calendar than a figure skating competition.

Physiologically, the 24-year-old Italian is all wrong for the sport, too: Too tall, too long-limbed. Perhaps a tad too old for the game also, or at least heading rapidly in that direction.

But no doubt the lady is tenacious.

And now the lady is a champ.

A veteran of the skating circuit — and sad bust from the Turin Olympics, when put forward prematurely as home-country gold-medal material — Kostner at last has her elite international medal d’or.

On Saturday afternoon, the university art history student nailed down the women’s title at the Grand Prix of Figure Skating here, with an elegant and poised program performed to Mozart that kept Kostner comfortably clear of her challengers: Japan’s Akiko Suzuki, who earned silver, and bronze finisher Alena Leonova of Russia.

Kostner has been banging around the circuit for what seems like ages, twice bronze at the world championships and once silver, though plummeting to 12th the year after that. So, the utterly charming multilingual — Italian, French, German, English — has been all over the place over the arc of her career, if very much the biggest thing in her home country (six times a national champion) and quite nicely decorated on her home continent (thrice European champion).

Chan still learning to be champion

2011-12-19T13:54:00.000-05:00

To read the complete article visit
http://www.cbc.ca/sports/blogs/scottrussell/2011/12/chan-still-learning-to-be-champion.html

By Scott Russell Posted: Thursday, December 8, 2011 | 07:32 PM

World men's figure skating champion Patrick Chan caused a stir at the ISU Grand Prix Final this week for comments he made about feeling unappreciated in Canada.

It's strange in sport that sometimes words speak louder than actions.

It's supposed to be the other way around.

So it is that the unfortunate comments made by world champion Patrick Chan to Reuters in a September interview have resonated in Quebec City where the greatest figure skaters on the planet have gathered for the ISU Grand Prix Final.

On day one of competition Chan's ruminations surfaced to overshadow anything that was taking place on the ice. All of the great jumps, twirls and spins done at incredibly high speeds were absorbed while spectators whispered of Chan's seemingly disloyal discourse on the lack of appreciation he feels from the folks at home.

In a perverse sort of way the dredging up of this very old news brought a fresh focus to the fascination that Canadians have with their figure skating champions. Now, at the very least, many more fans of sport in this hockey-crazed country know that the figure skating championships are taking place at all.

Joe O’Connor: Patrick Chan’s comments avoid brutal truth about sports in China

2011-12-19T13:52:00.000-05:00

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http://sports.nationalpost.com/2011/12/08/joe-oconnor-canadian-skate-champs-comments-avoid-brutal-truth-about-sports-in-china/

Joe O'Connor Dec 8, 2011 – 7:14 PM ET | Last Updated: Dec 9, 2011 8:56 AM ET

Patrick Chan is under fire for suggesting to an interviewer that he might have been better off skating for China.

Patrick Chan is a good kid. Ask anyone that knows him, and knows him well in the insular world of figure skating, and they will tell you — to a person — that the reigning world champion possesses that most admirable of Canadian of qualities. They will tell you that Patrick Chan is “nice.”

But what Patrick Chan told a Reuters reporter back in September — comments that have bubbled to light on the eve of the Grand Prix Final in Quebec this weekend — is that he sometimes feels that Canadians are not nice enough back.

“Sometimes I feel we are not appreciated for how much work we put in,” Mr. Chan said after stepping off a flight from China, the country of his parents’ birth. “If my parents hadn’t emigrated from Canada and, say I had skated for China, things would have been different.”

He would go on to say that, in a perfectly rosy-hued world, he would skate for Canada — and China — a country where, in Mr. Chan’s mind, there is apparently no such thing as human rights abuses and skaters all live sugar plum fairy lives and never have to fret about competing for attention with mean old Canadian hockey players.

Patrick Chan explains Canada comments

2011-12-19T13:46:00.000-05:00

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http://www.cbc.ca/sports/figureskating/opinion/2011/12/exclusive-patrick-chan-explains-his-comments-about-canada.html

By PJ Kwong Posted: Thursday, December 8, 2011 | 12:36 PM
World men's figure skating champion Patrick Chan created a stir by saying in an interview that he feels unappreciated in Canada. (Paul Chiasson/Canadian Press)

Patrick Chan made headlines Thursday with his controversial interviewwith Reuters, in which the world champion said he sometimes feels unappreciated in Canada, where he feels figure skaters aren't adequately supported.

The story makes for an interesting read, but there's one flaw: the views presented don't match up with the Patrick Chan I know.

The Reuters interview was conducted three months ago, so I find it interesting that this story would find its way into the headlines on the eve of the Grand Prix Final in Quebec City, where Chan is one of the favourites.

Do I think Chan said what he said? Absolutely. Do I think there is more to the story? Even more so.

That's why I called Chan on Thursday for an exclusive interview by phone from Quebec City. Here are my questions and his answers:

Chan comments cause reaction at grand prix final

2011-12-19T13:44:00.000-05:00

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http://www.thespec.com/sports/article/636396--chan-comments-cause-reaction-at-grand-prix-final

Steve Milton
December 8, 2011

QUEBEC CITY- Skate Canada officials aren’t upset with a report that world champion Patrick Chan feels unappreciated in this country.

In a story from Reuters Wednesday, the Canadian-born Chan said, “If you look at all the sports in China, the government is extremely involved and they are extremely proud of their athletes. People understand better what we do as skaters.

“Sometimes I feel we are not appreciated for how much work we put in. If my parents hadn’t emigrated from China and, say, I had skated for China, things would have been very different. My parents wouldn’t have had to make as much sacrifices as they have and there would be a lot more respect for what we do as figure skaters.”

The comments were from an interview back in September and Mike Slipchuk, Skate Canada’s director of high performance, said Thursday morning that “they were taken out of context. We know he’s proud of the support he receives in Canada.”

Patrick Chan said nothing wrong – in fact he’s dead right

2011-12-19T13:40:00.000-05:00

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http://thestar.blogs.com/olympics/2011/12/patrick-chan-said-nothing-wrong-in-fact-hes-dead-right.html

December 08, 2011

Patrick Chan said nothing wrong – in fact he’s dead right

Listening to a couple of commentators talk about Patrick Chan on the radio this morning, it sounded like he was going to have to surrender his Canadian passport before the Grand Prix Final in Quebec City this week.

They were talking as if the world champion figure skater had reportedly said he would rather skate for his parents’ birth country of China.

The only thing is he never said that. Not once in the Reuters report that is being cited as the source did Chan say any such thing.

Figure skater Bryce Davison’s career in transition

2011-12-01T19:56:00.000-05:00

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http://www.leaderpost.com/sports/Figure+skater+Bryce+Davison+career+transition/5797599/story.html

BY CRAIG SLATER, LEADER-POST DECEMBER 1, 2011 4:07 PM

REGINA — Every journey has a starting point.

For Bryce Davison, the Skate Canada Challenge was one of those stepping stones in his young career before he developed into a two-time Olympian.

This week, Davison is getting a new perspective on the competition taking place at the Co-Operators Centre. At 25, he has retired from competition, but is applying his knowledge of the sport from a coach’s perspective to a handful of skaters. He knows what it’s like to be a teenager competing in a national event.

“Events like these can be the start for many young skaters,” Davison said. “It might not be the start of a career, but perhaps them realizing they can do the things they dream of.”

The Skate Canada Challenge is the only opportunity skaters in novice, junior and senior divisions have to qualify for the Canadian Figure Skating Championships slated for Jan. 16-20 in Moncton, N.B.

Davison needed to succeed at Challenges in order to make the next step in his career. With former partner Jessica Dube, Davison is a three-time Canadian champion and a two-time Olympic competitor (2006, 2010) and a world bronze medallist.

Davison began skating when he was six years old. He said back then he didn’t see himself as a future Olympian, let alone a national champion. He said he “never really thought twice about it.”

But when he reached his teenage years — the majority of the skaters at the Skate Canada Challenge fit that age range — he seriously considered stepping up his game.

Lysacek won't enter U.S. Championships

2011-11-22T12:03:00.000-05:00

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http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/globetrotting/chi-lysacek-wont-enter-us-championships-20111122,0,5599104.column

Dispute with federation keeps skater's comeback on hold

Evan Lysacek with his 2010 Olympic gold. (Chicago Tribune photo)

Globetrotting by Philip Hersh

8:26 a.m. CST, November 22, 2011

Evan Lysacek has decided not to enter January's U.S. Figure Skating Championships.

Responding late Monday night to a text message in which I noted the entry deadline was Wednesday and asked if he were going to enter, Lysacek said, "Unfortunately, no I'm not."

The reigning Olympic men's figure skating champion had told me in late October he would skate at nationals if the contractual dispute between him and U.S. Figure Skating could be resolved.

New TV format to be unveiled at Canadian championships

2011-11-18T13:58:00.001-05:00

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http://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/more-sports/new-tv-format-to-be-unveiled-at-canadian-championships/article2241285/

BEVERLEY SMITH

Globe and Mail Update

Published Friday, Nov. 18, 2011 12:17PM EST

Last updated Friday, Nov. 18, 2011 12:19PM EST

Television audiences will get a boost from a new scheduling format for the Canadian Figure Skating Championships to be held from Jan. 16 to 22 in Moncton, N.B.

Skate Canada will condense all the action of three senior disciplines into one show on Saturday night that will allow the CTV network to show the final groups only from the women’s, ice dancing and pairs events.

The men’s event goes on Sunday afternoon on Jan. 22 in a separate time slot.

Cynthia Phaneuf switches coaches

2011-11-17T19:36:00.000-05:00

For the full article go to
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/more-sports/cynthia-phaneuf-switches-coaches/article2239356/

Enlarge this image

BEVERLEY SMITH

Globe and Mail Update

Published Thursday, Nov. 17, 2011 8:54AM EST

After a disappointing Grand Prix season, two-time Canadian figure skating champion Cynthia Phaneuf is switching coaches.

The 23-year-old skater from Contrecoeur, Que., is moving to Toronto to train with coach Brian Orser at the Toronto Cricket Skating and Curling club where her choreographer David Wilson is also based. Wilson has shaped Phaneuf’s career from the beginning and he is her mentor.

Phaneuf will start on Monday at the club
.

Injured Joubert to miss figure skating Paris GP

2011-11-17T01:40:00.003-05:00

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http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/sports/2011-11/16/c_131249241.htm

English.news.cn 2011-11-16 09:05:15

PARIS, Nov. 15 (Xinhua) -- The French ice sports federation (FFSG) said on Tuesday that former world champion Brian Joubert of France will miss the Paris ISU Grand Prix figure skating event because of injury.

Brandon Mroz lands historic quad lutz

2011-11-17T01:39:00.001-05:00

To read the complete article go to http://espn.go.com/olympics/figureskating/story/_/id/7223251/brandon-mroz-makes-skating-history-quadruple-lutz-nhk-trophy

Updated: November 12, 2011, 4:36 PM ET
ESPN.com news services

SAPPORO, Japan -- Brandon Mroz knew he could land this jump. There wasn't video of it two months ago in Colorado and it didn't come at a major competition, but it was a legitimate jump all the same.

This time, the 20-year-old American nailed the quadruple lutz at the NHK Trophy on Saturday, the first to do so at an international competition.

"I'm excited to get it done in an international competition," Mroz said. "Getting another jump done is awesome for generations of skaters to come."

Regina skater closes is on medal for Japan

2011-11-17T01:36:00.000-05:00

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Regina skater closes is on medal for Japan

BEVERLEY SMITH

The Associated Press

Published Friday, Nov. 11, 2011 2:29PM EST

Last updated Friday, Nov. 11, 2011 2:30PM EST

A skater from Regina has found himself in second place in the pairs event at the NHK Trophy in Japan, the fourth of six Grand Prix of figure skating events.

Mervin Tran, a son of refugees from Viet Nam and Cambodia, started playing hockey as a youngster in Regina, but now he’s in line to win a figure skating medal – for Japan.

Tran started out as a singles skater in Saskatchewan, but moved to Montreal in July of 2007 to skate pairs with Japanese skater, Narumi Takahashi, who had been looking for a pair partner through Canadian coach Richard Gauthier.

Although Japan has had powerful singles skaters, both men and women, it has never had strong pair teams. Takahashi and Tran became only the second Japanese pair skaters to win an International Skating Union championship, when they won a silver medal at the 2010 world junior championships. Last year, they became the first Japanese pair team to win the Junior Grand Prix Final in Beijing.

Russian dynamo claims gold at Skate Canada

2011-11-17T01:32:00.001-05:00

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http://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/more-sports/russian-dynamo-claims-gold-at-skate-canada/article2218907/

BEVERLEY SMITH

Mississauga, Ont. — Globe and Mail Update

Published Saturday, Oct. 29, 2011 6:26PM EDT

Last updated Saturday, Oct. 29, 2011 9:31PM EDT

She’s tiny, a Russian upstart, a prodigy, a marvel and very very young.

Elizaveta Tuktamisheva of Russia took a wild big step into the international spotlight on Saturday when she won the gold medal at the Skate Canada in only her first appearance at a senior international event.

Battling a nine-hour time difference from home and admitting to a bit of jet lag, Tuktamisheva’s youth overcame all, apparently, admitting to a tiny bit of nerves, but you wouldn’t know it. She recognizes there is pressure at home to excel before the Sochi Olympics, looming in 2014, and there is pressure on her for her already stellar career as a junior international skater. But Tuktamisheva says she just doesn’t think about it, hides any knee-knocking and charges on. She steps up to a microphone like an old pro. She speaks English rather well.

Patrick Chan wins Skate Canada title

2011-11-17T01:25:00.000-05:00

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Patrick Chan wins Skate Canada title

BEVERLEY SMITH

Mississauga, Ont.— Globe and Mail Update

Published Saturday, Oct. 29, 2011 9:31PM EDT

Last updated Saturday, Oct. 29, 2011 11:27PM EDT

World champion Patrick Chan knows that success lies with rhythm, finding patterns in his steps and patterns in his breathing.

On Saturday night, at Skate Canada he struggled to find his rhythm in a long program that is so complex that a foot wrong here or there could send the whole thing crashing like tipped dominoes.

Moir, Virtue crush Skate Canada field

2011-11-17T01:22:00.000-05:00

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Moir, Virtue crush Skate Canada field

BEVERLEY SMITH

Mississauga, Ont.— From Monday's Globe and Mail

Published Sunday, Oct. 30, 2011 9:50PM EDT

Last updated Sunday, Oct. 30, 2011 11:17PM EDT

Canada doubled its medal count on Sunday afternoon at Skate Canada International in ice dancing, the ethereal figure skating discipline that is now one of the country’s trump cards.

The key? Perhaps figuring out the rather new uplifting rule in ice dancing. Last season, the International Skating Union ruled that audiences should not be tortured any more with mournful, cheerless, funereal, slow music. No more bursting-into-tears or dying-on-the-ice routines for the ISU judges. Better to leave the ice with sunny faces than furrowed brows.

DiManno: Pioneer dancers fresh and sassy as ever

2011-11-17T01:18:00.000-05:00

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http://www.thestar.com/sports/figureskating/article/1078363--dimanno-pioneer-dancers-fresh-and-sassy-as-ever

DiManno: Pioneer dancers fresh and sassy as ever

October 30, 2011

Rosie DiManno

Ice dance gold medallists Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir of Canada perform their free dance at the Skate Canada International figure skating competition Sunday in Mississauga. They danced to Funny Face.

Paul Chiasson/THE CANADIAN PRESS

They could have danced all night.

And still have danced some more . . .

Hold it: wrong music, wrong movie. Not My Fair Lady — though she is — butFunny Face: totally right and utterly befitting as yet another gorgeous ice dance showcase for Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir, now channelling Audrey Hepburn and Fred Astaire.

The team’s new free dance number was introduced on the Grand Prix circuit Sunday to thundering approval from the audience at Mississauga’s Hershey Centre, a standing ovation, and typically stratospheric scores.

Another title added to the growing pile for Canada’s Olympic gold medallists and 2010 world champions. But not Skate Canada victors from a year ago — which they watched from the stands, sidelined by Virtue’s shin surgery.

Constant reinvention is what keeps this team fresh and sassy, in a skating discipline where rule restraints stifle innovation. Yet they manage, year after year, to pull out the never-before-seen and breathtaking as pioneering dancers on blades: sensuous, playful, interpretive, athletic, the whole seamless package.

Russian teen Tuktamisheva turning heads at Skate Canada

2011-11-17T01:08:00.000-05:00

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http://www.thestar.com/sports/figureskating/article/1078028--russian-teen-tuktamisheva-turning-heads-at-skate-canada

Published On Fri Oct 28 2011

Elizaveta Tuktamisheva of Russia performs her short program in the women's competition during the Skate Canada International figure skating competition Friday in Mississauga.

PAUL CHIASSON/THE CANADIAN PRESS

By Rosie DiMannoColumnist

Here comes another Russian supernova, baby star.

Elizaveta Tuktamisheva is 14 — too young for eligibility at the European or world championships this year but old enough for Skate Canada, her first-ever assignment as a senior on the Grand Prix circuit.

At 12, the pre-adolescent was already being hailed as a prodigy, at least in the Russian media. For once, this wasn’t exaggeration.

The kid is sitting atop the standings following the women’s short program competition, with a look-at-me performance out of the season chute: a whopping 11.50 score on her opening triple Lutz-triple toe combination and smooth as silk in most of the mandatory elements if still a tad raw on the non-jumping components, the layback and circular step sequence.

Teensy in proportion, even by figure skating standards, and with a heart-shaped face, the miniature Tuktamisheva made a huge splash at the Hershey Centre in Mississauga, racking up a score of 59.57 skating to a tango, clad in lacy black that was probably way too grown-up for her age.

She appeared not remotely nervous by entering senior ranks — after just one year in juniors — though claiming to feel anxious.

“Not relaxed,” Tuktamisheva insisted afterwards, comment limited by only minimal ability to speak English, a language she’s studying as a Grade 10 student. “After six elements, relaxed. Not very comfortable.”

Eric Radford: From Balmertown to figure skating’s big-time

2011-11-17T01:03:00.008-05:00

To read the full article go to
http://www.thestar.com/sports/figureskating/article/1077990--from-balmertown-to-figure-skating-s-big-time

Published On Fri Oct 28 2011

By Rosie DiMannoColumnist

Balmertown is a speck on the map, six hours north of Thunder Bay by car, population 1,000.

“Probably smaller than this building,” observes Eric Radford, referring to the sprawling Hershey Centre in Mississauga.

Rugged place, his hometown, and not the easiest environment in which to grow up for a boy dreaming of becoming a figure skater.

Radford was just 13 when he bailed, first to Kenora, then Winnipeg, Montreal, Toronto and back to Montreal, where he now trains at the Saint Leonard complex with pairs partner Meagan Duhamel.

Inner fortitude was required to withstand the teasing for a kid who was the only boy in Balmertown’s teeny figure skating club.

“It was pretty bad,” Radford admitted Friday after he and Duhamel zipped through theirConcerto de Aranjuez short program at Skate Canada, earning a personal best score of 62.37 and second place heading into Saturday’s long.

“I got bullied a lot. But the more success I had, the more respect I got.”

Macho men do figure skate

2011-11-17T00:59:00.001-05:00

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http://www.thespec.com/sports/article/616695--macho-men-do-figure-skate

October 28, 2011

MISSISSAUGA Bryce Davison has a message for Hamilton fathers. He’d never say it quite this bluntly, so we’ll translate for him.

Get into the 21st century.

The two-time Olympian, forced into premature retirement by a severe leg injury last year, is now a teaching professional at Hamilton Skating Club. And when he assumed his new duties this summer he got first-hand experience with a problem he had known only from a distance.

Young Hamilton males don’t figure skate.

“Hamilton Skating Club has one of the largest memberships in Canada, consistently over 1,000 the last four or five years. And out of that, in the prejuvenile and higher levels, there is just one boy. He’s a singles skater. There are no boys in pairs, none in dance. We do have a prejuvenile and a juvenile dance team, but they just started out.”

Davison, who was 15 years old when he left triple-A hockey in Ancaster to concentrate solely on figure skating, has made it his goal to change that.

World champions tumble at Skate Canada

2011-11-16T15:54:00.000-05:00

Complete article can be found at http://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/more-sports/world-champions-tumble-at-skate-canada/article2218534/

World champions tumble at Skate Canada

BEVERLEY SMITH

Mississauga, Ont. — Globe and Mail Update

Published Friday, Oct. 28, 2011 10:51PM EDT

Last updated Friday, Oct. 28, 2011 11:12PM EDT

Javier Fernandez put Spain on the figure skating map on Friday night at Skate Canada by defeating two world champions.

Figure skating in Spain, the land of the bullfight? Hardly. Somehow, Fernandez has emerged from a country that probably doesn’t have as many rinks as there are in the block surrounding the Hershey Centre (eight rinks if you count the Mississauga Iceland across the street)

At his national championship, the men’s event attracts only about five or six senior men. Yet out of Spain has come Fernandez, who defeated Patrick Chan, holder of three world point records and the stylish former world champion Daisuke Takahashi of Japan too.

2011-10-14T13:28:00.000-04:00

Complete article can be viewed at
Canadian pair skate to gold at ISU Junior Grand Prix

Canadian pair skate to gold at ISU Junior Grand Prix
New partners Bobak and Beharry joined forces in February 2011
The Canadian Press
Posted: Oct 14, 2011 11:24 AM ET Last Updated: Oct 14, 2011 11:21 AM ET

Katherine Bobak and Ian Beharry of Guelph, Ont., won the pairs event at the sixth and final stop on the ISU Junior Grand Prix figure skating circuit in Tallinn, Estonia, on Friday.

The Canadians, who only came together in February, collected a personal best overall score of 147.72.

Edmonton’s skating community mourns loss of Dennis McFarlane

2011-10-14T00:08:00.002-04:00

For full article and picture go to
http://www.edmontonjournal.com/sports/Edmonton+skating+community+mourns+loss+Dennis+McFarlane/5546651/story.html

BY NICK LEES, EDMONTONJOURNAL.COM OCTOBER 13, 2011

EDMONTON - Kurt Browning, four-time world figure skating champion, says skaters who belonged to what Dennis McFarlane described as “Edmonton’s Golden Age of Skating” were all mourning his passing this week.

“I think many of us in the skating world feel the same loss after losing a friend who had a lifelong passion for skating and who helped so many of us,” says Browning.

McFarlane died of a rare blood disorder Sunday at the General Hospital. He was 76 and looked back on a career that saw him reach the highest possible ranks as an International Skating Union world judge and referee in singles, pairs and dance.

He judged at three Olympics, nine world championships and 50 major international competitions.

Browning, who landed the first quadruple jump at the 1988 world championships in Budapest, first met McFarlane in the early 1980s when, as a junior, he began skating at the Royal Glenora Club.

The skater, now married to National Ballet of Canada principal dancer Sonia Rodriguez — they have two sons and live in Toronto — was coached by Michael Jiranek at the Glenora. But he says McFarlane was one of a family of coaches and judges at the club who were always happy to give advice when asked.

Octoberfest competition starts today at Allandale Recreation Centre

2011-10-13T14:50:00.004-04:00

For the complete article see:
http://www.thebarrieexaminer.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=3331378

Event draws globally
By Marg. Bruineman – Barrie Examiner

More than 600 figure skaters are about to descend upon Barrie for four days of competitions.

The annual Octoberfest competition, presented by the Barrie Skating Club and Mariposa School of Skating, runs Thursday until Sunday at Barrie's Allandale Recreation Centre.

"This is an event for competitive skaters to present this year's program to a panel of national and international judges," said organizer Lesley Buttle. "It's immediate feedback to the skaters."

Skaters from across Canada and even other countries use the event as a warm-up for the competitive season. The new scoring system requires judges to present a sort of report card to the skaters, explaining how the marks were determined.

The event also serves as a fundraiser for the local clubs.

"The money that we raise goes back to offsetting the cost of ice expenses," Buttle said. "In the last couple of years, we've raised in excess of $40,000. That's a lot of chocolate bars."

Stojko, Browning, Rochette bringing Rock the Ice 3 to Peterborough only

2011-10-13T14:44:00.001-04:00

For complete article see:
http://www.thepeterboroughexaminer.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=3331272

By MIKE DAVIES / Examiner Sports Director
Updated 12 hours ago
Kurt Browning laughed as he explained how much more enjoyable it is to skate with Elvis Stojko than against him.

The former rivals and fellow Olympic hero Joannie Rochette will headline a one-night only Rock the Ice 3 figure skating show exclusive to the Peterborough Memorial Centre Feb. 15.

Wing & Lowe welcome twins!

2011-10-10T12:05:00.001-04:00

For full article and pictures see:
http://www.skatetoday.com/2011/10/08/wing-lowe-welcome-twins/
Posted By Skate Today On October 8, 2011 @ 3:19 pm
by Brett Barden

Former Canadian ice-dancers, Megan Wing & Aaron Lowe, welcome twins!!!

On Thursday, October 6, 2011 around 4:00pm, Megan gave birth to two healthy twins, one boy and one girl. Keauna Auburn Wing Lowe weighs in at 4 lbs 9 oz and Tayson Pierce Wing Lowe weighs in at 5 lbs 14 oz.

“The babies are healthy, so far so good,” stated Lowe.

Grand Prix Season Preview: Canadian women rebuilding

2011-10-01T00:39:00.000-04:00

Full article at: http://www.cbc.ca/sports/blogs/pjkwong/2011/09/figure-skating-preview-canadian-women-rebuilding.html

September 30, 2011 1:55 PM
By PJ Kwong

For figure skating fans, the time between the end of worlds and the start of the next season's ISU Grand Prix series can seem like a long time with no action. (In case you forgot, Miki Ando won the 2011 women's world championship after the event was moved from her native Japan to Moscow in the wake of a devastating earthquake and tsunami.)

But the truth is, the work never stops for the skaters.

Canada's top women are in what some would call a "rebuilding" phase. Selections for the upcoming Grand Prix series are based in part on individual skaters' results and rankings, which means that Canada will only be allowed to field entries in three of the six events. Compare that to Japan, the United States and Russia, which are allowed entries in all six events. There's no doubt that heading into this season the Canadian women are at the base of a steep hill to climb, but that doesn't mean they won't be able to do it.

About Greg Ladret, Dawn Ladret, Doug Ladret & Scott Rachuk

2011-09-21T00:00:00.000-04:00

Full article available at http://www.canada.com/Valley+connection+Battle+Blades+Disney/5428616/story.html

Valley connection to Battle of the Blades and Disney

COMOX VALLEY ECHO
SEPTEMBER 20, 2011

Comox Valley Skating Club coach Greg Ladret has just returned from Orlando, Florida where he was a featured speaker at the 30-year reunion of Disney On Ice, a show for which he was a principal skater for 10 years. On the way home Greg stopped over in Scottsdale, Arizona to visit his brother Doug who was just about to head for Toronto for his third season as coach/choreographer/coordinator with the number one CBC TV show Battle of the Blades.

Most coaches with careers in excess of 20 years will have built up a network of coaching colleagues in many areas of sport. For the Comox Valley Skating Club husband and wife coaching team of Greg Ladret and Dawn Ladret, it is a real family thing.

Dawn began skating in Elliot Lake, Ontario. She continued skating as her family moved first to Port Hardy, and then to the Comox Valley where she got her first taste of coaching. Dawn spent her early years in coaching honing her skills in Whitehorse, Yorkton, and Gold River before returning to the Comox Valley. In her first 20 years coaching here Dawn took many Comox Valley skaters to Provincial and National Championships. Three years ago, after a threeyear break to spend more time with her children and pursue other interests, Dawn returned to coaching.

Greg was born in Comox, and at the age of three weeks, began a road trip that would take him several times around the world, and after many years, eventually bring him back here. Greg and brother Doug both began their skating in Powell River, and continued on to be national competitors, medallists and for Doug Champion and Olympian.

Dawn's brother Scott Rachuk, a former national medalist and well respected coach, owns the Competitive Skating School of Strathroy in Ontario, and acts as a consultant for other clubs in Ontario, as well as serving on committees for Skate Canada.

Greg's brother Doug, former Canadian pairs champion with Christine Hough (better known as Doug & Tuffy) coaches in Arizona when not traveling with his competitive skaters to events around the world, or working on Battle or the Blades in Toronto. Doug serves on committees for the United States Figure Skating Association (USFSA), including the selection committee for US international competitors.

Mr. & Mrs. Bourne-Turok

2011-09-20T01:24:00.002-04:00

Canadian pair wins silver at figure skating junior grand prix

2011-09-17T00:56:00.001-04:00

Entire article at http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/sports/other/canadian-pair-wins-silver-at-figure-skating-junior-grand-prix-130003538.html

By: The Canadian Press
Posted: 09/16/2011 10:52 PM || Last Modified: 09/16/2011 11:08 PM
GDANSK, Poland - Katherine Bobak and Ian Beharry of Guelph, Ont., earned silver Friday in their international debut in pairs at the third stop in the ISU junior grand prix figure skating circuit.

Americans Britney Simpson and Matthew Blackmer took gold with 141.42 points. The Canadians jumped from fifth after the short program to second with 132.54, while Tatiana Tudvaseva and Sergei Lisiev of Russia were third at 129.35.

Bobak and Beharry, coached by former national team members Kristy and Kris Wirtz, joined forces in February.

Kim still unsure whether to skate at ISU worlds

2011-09-15T14:14:00.001-04:00

Full article at http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/sports/2011/09/136_94797.html

09-15-2011 16:09

Kim still unsure whether to skate at ISU worlds

Kim Yu-na speaks to Korean media after an announcement that Los Angeles will host the 2015 Special Olympics at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, Wednesday. / Yonhap

By Yoon Chul

Figure skating star Kim Yu-na has yet to make a decision on whether to appear at this season’s ISU Figure Skating World Championships.

“I haven’t made a decision,” Kim said Wednesday in Los Angeles. The Korean figure skating queen made the statement as she visited the Staples Center, as it was announced that the “City of Angels” will be the host city for the 2015 Special Olympics. Kim is a global ambassador for the Special Olympics.

When asked about her current condition Kim said, “I am in good form. I don’t feel any pain right now. I have skated two or three hours every day.” But she also mentioned she is not sure of participating in the worlds in France in March.

“If my mind is ready for the worlds, and my body is in good shape, I will decide then.”

yc@koreatimes.c

On the cutting edge of national stardom

2011-09-09T00:41:00.001-04:00

Full article at Full article at http://www.guelphmercury.com/sports/local/article/591303--on-the-cutting-edge-of-national-stardom

On the cutting edge of national stardom

Pairs skaters. Brittany Jones of Toronto and Kurtis Gaskell of Guelph and practise their short routine on Thursday at Skate Canada's High Performance Camp at the Hershey Centre. Rob Massey/Mercury staff Source: Mercury staff

Rob Massey, Mercury staff

September 8, 2011

MISSISSAUGA — Kurtis Gaskell of Guelph and partner Brittany Jones of Toronto are aiming to qualify for the Canadian figure skating team.

“Definitely to make national team,” Jones said was the pair’s goal for the season. “That was our goal last year and, unfortunately, we didn’t make it. For sure the national team this year and we’ll just go from there and see what happens.”

Virtue and Moir ready to regain world ice dance title

2011-09-08T18:39:00.001-04:00

Full Story at http://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/more-sports/virtue-and-moir-ready-to-regain-world-ice-dance-title/article2158627/

BEVERLEY SMITH

MISSISSAUGA, Ont.—The Associated Press

Published Thursday, Sep. 08, 2011 4:54PM EDT

Last updated Thursday, Sep. 08, 2011 4:55PM EDT

The rink is frigid, the handful of official onlookers buried in their official papers. But in this frosty milieu, Canada’s young but storied ice dancers, Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir, are showing that they are ready to break loose again, and regain the world championship title they lost last year.

Virtue and Moir, the dominant Olympic champions of Vancouver, showed off their new programs in front of Skate Canada monitors and judges Thursday, who peered through the frost and wrote notes with gloved hands at a national training camp. The camp unofficially signals the start of the figure skating season as skaters prepare for Grand Prix events, national championships and eventually the world championships in Nice, France in March, 2012.

Patrick Chan makes it to Guinness Book of Records

2011-09-08T01:37:00.001-04:00

Enlarge this image

BEVERLEY SMITH

Globe and Mail Update

Published Wednesday, Sep. 07, 2011 9:25PM EDT

Last updated Wednesday, Sep. 07, 2011 10:06PM EDT

After setting three world records at the world figure skating championships last April, Patrick Chan has found himself in the company of a fish with 63 eyes, a Frenchman who spat a periwinkle 10.4 metres, and a Brit who flipped and caught 70 beer mats in a minute.

He’s now listed in the Guinness World Records. Three times.

Korean figure skating team signs first foreign coach

2011-09-07T18:40:00.000-04:00

Full story at:
http://www.koreaherald.com/sports/Detail.jsp?newsMLId=20110907000730

2011-09-07 18:44

South Korea has signed the first foreign coach for its national figure skating team in hopes of bolstering its medal prospects for the upcoming Winter Olympics, the sport’s national governing body said Wednesday.

Korea Skating Union said Sergei Astashev from Russia will be guiding the national team skaters. The KSU said personal coaches for some skaters will try to work out their scheduling with the new coach.

Sergei Astashev

Plushenko Is Fighting With Old Injuries

2011-09-07T16:24:00.000-04:00

Author: Vladislav Luchianov
Published: September 07, 2011 at 10:18 am

After the disqualification, two operations on his knee and the meniscus Evgeni Plushenko is back to the big sport.

Skate Canada International Canadian Line-up Finalized

2011-09-07T15:55:00.004-04:00

Full Article at http://www.skatecanada.ca/AboutUs/NewsDetails/tabid/2157/sni[2797]/1064/language/en-US/Default.aspx

6/6/2011

OTTAWA, ON: Skate Canada announced today the remaining Canadian entries for the 2011 Skate Canada International in Mississauga, Ontario from October 27-30, 2011 at the Hershey Centre.

Elladj Baldé, 20, Pierrefonds, Que., is the third entry for Canada in the men’s discipline. This will be his first senior grand prix appearance. He previously competed on the junior circuit in 2008.

Adriana DeSanctis, 23, Barrie, Ont., will compete at her first senior grand prix assignment in Mississauga in the ladies category. DeSanctis made the Skate Canada National Team after placing fifth at the national championships in January 2011.

Jessica Dubé, 23, St-Cyrille-de-Wendover, Que., and Sébastien Wolfe, 21, Terrebonne, Que., are the third entry in pair for Canada. This will be their first senior grand prix competition together. They both previously competed internationally with different partners.

National Team members Tarrah Harvey, 21, Vancouver, B.C., and Keith Gagnon, 23, South Surrey, B.C., are the third entry for Canada in ice dance. This is their debut on the senior circuit after competition on the junior circuit in 2008 and 2007.

See ISU Junior Grand Prix of Figure Skating on YouTube

2011-09-02T13:18:00.000-04:00

http://www.sportcentric.com/vsite/vcontent/content/transnews/0,10869,4844-128590-19728-18885-314625-3787-4771-layout160-129898-news-item,00.html

02 Sep 2011 08:02

The ISU Junior Grand Prix of Figure Skating Volvo Cup 2011 is now available via the ISU YouTube Channel. Click here to watch the Event.

Margaret Purdy and Michael Marinaro win bronze in opening junior Grand Prix

2011-09-02T13:12:00.010-04:00

By Postmedia News September 2, 2011 12:02 PM

Riga, Latvia - Canadians started the junior figure skating season off on a high note Friday, with the pairs team of Margaret Purcy and Michael Marinaro winning a bronze at the season-opening ISU junior Grand Prix event.

Samuelson, Gilles happy to join forces

2011-08-22T23:57:00.000-04:00

http://sn102w.snt102.mail.live.com/P.mvc#!/mail/InboxLight.aspx?fid=1&fav=1&n=1295642324!fid=1&fav=1&n=1660947563

New team plans to compete at sectionals; search is on for coach

Emily Samuelson believes she's found a good fit with new partner Todd Gilles. (Getty Images)

By Lynn Rutherford, special to icenetwork.com

(08/22/2011) - After nearly a summer's worth of tryouts with potential princes, Emily Samuelson has found her new partner: Todd Gilles.

The two ice dancers, who have yet to decide on a permanent training site, are practicing in Lake Placid with an eye to competing at one of this November's sectional championships in hopes of qualifying for the 2012 U.S. Figure Skating Championships in San Jose, Calif.

Blades battle returns with a new spin

2011-08-22T23:54:00.000-04:00

http://www.toronto.com/article/695977--blades-battle-returns-with-a-new-spin

LUCAS OLENIUK/TORONTO STAR David Pelletier and Tessa Bonhomme took to the ice for the first time as a pair as they prepared for the upcoming season of CBC's Battle of the Blades.

By Bruce DeMara Entertainment Reporter
Aug 22, 2011

The Battle of the Blades is back for Season 3, with a new twist.

For the first time, a female hockey player, Tessa Bonhomme, a member of Canada’s gold medal-winning women’s hockey team in 2010, will compete against former NHLers such as Curtis Leschyshyn, Wade Belak and Cale Hulse.

The series, which has been a ratings winner for CBC, has traditionally paired male hockey players with female figure skaters in a pairs contest.

The news season debuts Sept. 18 with a look at the skaters’ boot camp, with the first live show on Sept. 25.

Kim may skip skating events for 12 months

2011-08-16T12:40:00.001-04:00

http://joongangdaily.joins.com/article/view.asp?aid=2940288

August 17, 2011


	Korea’s Kim Yu-na performs during the ice show “Samsung Galaxy-Hauzen All That Skate Summer 2011” at the Olympic Gymnasium in Seoul, Monday. [YONHAP]

Korean figure skating icon Kim Yu-na said she has not decided whether to compete at the ISU World Figure Skating Championships next year.

After finishing her ice show, Samsung Galaxy-Hauzen All That Skate Summer 2011, at the Olympic Gymnasium in southern Seoul on Monday, Kim told reporters that she has not made up her mind on whether to participate at the Worlds, which start in March in Nice, France.

“Nothing is confirmed,” Kim said.

Figure skater Takahashi banks on French flair to win

2011-08-13T15:29:00.000-04:00

http://sports.yahoo.com/top/news?slug=afp-fskate_oly_2014_fra_jpn_takahashi_20110813

AFP5 hours, 6 minutes ago

Japanese figure skating star Daisuke Takahashi is looking to the expertise of top French choreographer Muriel Boucher-Zazoui to help him land gold at the 2014 Winter Olympics.

Takahashi, the first Japanese man to win an Olympic medal with his bronze in Vancouver and the first to win a world title in 2010, has travelled to Boucher-Zazoui's training group in Lyon for an intensive two-week programme.

Ice dance specialist Boucher-Zazoui has worked with some of the world's top skaters including former Olympic and world ice dancing champions Marina Anissina and Gwendal Peizerat of France.

After struggling to fifth at this year's world championships the 25-year-old Takahashi hopes that her flair will help him compete with the up-and-coming generation of skaters in the coming years.

Back from injury, Ten sets sights on perfection

2011-08-12T01:35:00.000-04:00

http://www.vancourier.com/news/Back+from+injury+sets+sights+perfection/5243240/story.html

Figure skater's road to recovery paved with unexpected $8,000 sponsorship from Petro Canada

BY KIMIYA SHOKOOHI, CONTRIBUTING WRITERAUGUST 11, 2011

Vancouver figure skater Jeremy Ten at a recent practice.

Photograph by: courtesy, Wendell Phillips

When Vancouver figure skater Jeremy Ten returned to the rink following a string of injuries, he was met by more than just ice—he was surprised with $8,000.

In late July, Petro Canada released $8,000 grants to 50 pairings of athletes and coaches across Canada to fuel their efforts in reaching the Olympic and Paralympic Games.

World's top three ice dance teams hard at work

2011-08-09T12:50:00.000-04:00

http://web.icenetwork.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20110808&content_id=22925906&vkey=ice_news

There's no time to waste in Canton

World's top three ice dance teams hard at work

In non-ice dance news from Canton: U.S. pair champion Caitlin Yankowskas is in Michigan trying out with Italian skater Matteo Guarise, a former world roller skating champion, but no decision has been made on whether the two will team up this season. (Klaus-Reinhold Kany)

By Klaus-Reinhold Kany and Lynn Rutherford, special to icenetwork.com

(08/08/2011) -

Things are humming at the Arctic Edge Ice Arena in Canton, Mich., with skaters and coaches working out the details of new programs from dawn till dusk.

Some of their students took much-needed short breaks, but after winning all three ice dance medals at the 2011 World Figure Skating Championships in Moscow in late May, coaches Marina Zoueva and Igor Shpilband have hardly had a day off. The month's delay holding worlds simply didn't allow it.

The magic of figure skating on (US) TV

2011-08-09T12:43:00.000-04:00

http://www.universalsports.com/news-blogs/article/newsid=547123.html

Updated: Aug 5, 11:03a ET
By Alexa Ainsworth,
Universal Sports

UniversalSports.com interviewed author Kelli Lawrence, whose book Skating on Air takes us from the early days of figure skating on television with Sonja Henie to the present day coverage on TV and the internet.

Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier Dance to a New Rhythm

2011-07-28T13:24:00.000-04:00

http://www.ifsmagazine.com/articles/586-piper-gilles-and-paul-poirier

Published: 07/27/11

By Klaus-Reinhold Kany

Quote: Poirier is excited about the new partnership. “We will skate for Canada. This arrangement was the best one for us,” he said. “Because Piper has not competed for a year she has already finished the first year of the two year waiting period, as per the ISU rules.”

Paul Poirier and Piper Gilles

Mariposa set to shine at annual gala

2011-07-27T14:57:00.000-04:00

Jul 26, 2011

Pre Novice Canadian Pair Champions, Hayleigh Bell and Alistair Sylvester get ready for the 22nd Annual Mariposa Figure Skating Gala to be held on August 4.

http://www.simcoe.com/sports/article/1048176--mariposa-set-to-shine-at-annual-gala

Chan practising in Richmond Hill

2011-06-29T00:48:00.003-04:00

May 17, 2011
Gold medalist works with choreographer to perfect his skills

http://www.yorkregion.com/sports/article/1008865--chan-practising-in-richmond-hill