Skate Canada – OTTAWA, ON; Skate Canada will send three entries, for a total of four skaters to Ljubljana, Slovenia for the fifth event of the 2016-2017 ISU Junior Grand Prix circuit. Canada will send one entry per discipline in ladies, men’s and ice dance to the competition taking place from September 21-25, 2016.

Joseph Phan, 15, Laval, Que., the 2016 Canadian Junior Champion will be participating in only his second junior grand prix event in Ljubljana. Phan finished sixth at his first competition in Ostrava, Czech Republic, earlier this month. Last season, he won the silver medal in the junior category at the 2015 Autumn Classic International. He is coached by Yvan Desjadrins at the Club de Patinage Artistique Laval.

Sarah Tamura, 15, Burnaby, B.C., will be Canada’s lone female entry at the junior grand prix event in Ljubljana. Tamura will aim to build off a successful 2016 season where she captured the Canadian junior title. That performance helped earn her a berth at the ISU World Junior Figure Skating Championships in Debrecen, Hungary where she placed 13^th. Tamura also placed 13^th at the 2015 Junior Grand Prix in Latvia. She is coached by Joanne McLeod at the Champs International Skating Centre in Burnaby, B.C.

Ashlynne Stairs, 16, Calgary, Alta. and Lee Royer, 18, St. Albert, Alta., will be representing Canada in the ice dance discipline. The duo finished seventh at the first stop on the 2016 ISU Junior Grand Prix circuit, in France. Stairs and Royer are coached by Megan Wing and Aaron Lowe at the Champs International Skating Centre in Burnaby, B.C.

Manon Perron of Boucherville, Que. will act as the Canadian team lead at the event in Slovenia, and she will be accompanied by physiotherapist Siobhan Karam of Ottawa, Ont. Also attending the event are Canadian officials Debbie Islam of Barrie, Ont., and Sabrina Wong of Toronto, Ont.

The ISU will be live streaming the competition via the ISU Junior Grand Prix YouTube channel. For results and full entries please visit www.isu.org.

For photos of Canadian entries, please contact media@skatecanada.ca.

CANADIAN ENTRIES AT ISU JGP #5 – Ljubljana, Solvenia

DISCIPLINE	NAME	AGE	HOMETOWN	CLUB	COACH
Men’s	Joseph Phan	15	Laval, Que.	CPA Laval	Yvan Desjardins
Ladies	Sarah Tamura	15	Burnaby, B.C.	Champs International SC	Joanne McLeod
Ice Dance	Ashlynne Stairs/ Lee Royer	16/18	Calgary, Alta./ Ft. St. Albert, Alta.	Champs International SC/ Champs International SC	Megan Wing/ Aaron Lowe

 

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Skate Canada is the nation’s governing body for competitive figure skating and is dedicated to creating a nation of skaters, both recreationally and competitively. Over 125 years old, Skate Canada is the world’s oldest skating organization and Canada’s preeminent leader in skating instruction and education. Over 130,000 Canadians participate in Skate Canada educational programs each year, including our flagship CanSkate program that teaches beginners of every age the basic skills of skating and fundamental movements.

As one of Canada’s most successful governing sport bodies, Skate Canada athletes have won 25 Olympic medals and 32 world championships. Today’s Canadian world and Olympic medalists all began at one of our 1,200 local Skate Canada clubs or skating schools. Through our programs, more than 5,500 certified professional coaches encourage Canadians of all ages to skate together as a family, pursue competitive ice sports and enjoy an active lifestyle.

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

For Information:

Emma Bowie
Communications Manager
+1 (613) 747-1007 ext. 2547
ebowie@skatecanada.ca