Skate Canada – OTTAWA, ON: Skate Canada will send six skaters, for a total of four entries to the first stop on the 2017-2018 ISU Junior Grand Prix of Figure Skating in Brisbane, Australia. Canada will have one entry per discipline in men’s and ladies, and two entries in ice dance at the competition which will run from August 23-26, 2017. There will be no pair competition at the event.

Joseph Phan, 16, Laval, Que., will represent Canada in men’s. Last season on the ISU Junior Grand Prix circuit, he placed sixth at the event in the Czech Republic and fifth at the event in Slovenia. He also placed 11^th in the senior category at the Canadian championships, and won the bronze medal at the Bavarian Open in the junior level. Phan is coached by Yvan Desjadrins in Rosemère, Que.

Canadian junior champion Aurora Cotop, 15, Toronto, Ont., will represent Canada in ladies. This will be her first ISU Junior Grand Prix Assignment. Last season she won the junior category at the 2016 Autumn Classic International and placed fourth in junior at the Bavarian Open. Cotop is coached by Jonathan Mills and Myke Gillman in Thornhill, Ont.

Canadian junior champions Marjorie Lajoie, 16, Boucherville, Que., and Zachary Lagha, 18, Greenfield Park, Que., are the first of two Canadian ice dance entries. Last season, they finished fourth at both of their ISU Junior Grand Prix assignments (Japan and Germany), placed sixth at the ISU World Junior Figure Skating Championships, and won the silver medal in junior at the Bavarian Open. They train in Montreal, Que., with coaches Marie-France Dubreuil, Patrice Lauzon, Romain Haguenauer and Pascal Denis.

Canadian novice champions Natalie D’Alessandro, 13, Toronto, Ont., and Bruce Waddell, 15, Toronto, Ont., will represent Canada in ice dance, at their first ISU Junior Grand Prix assignment. Last season, they placed fourth at the Bavarian Open in the novice category. They are coached by Andrew Hallam and Siobhan Karam in Toronto, Ont.

André Bourgeois, Skate Canada NextGen Director, and Manon Perron of Boucherville, Que., will be the Canadian team leaders at the event and physiotherapist Mireille Landry of Toronto, Ont., will be the Canadian team medical staff on site. Susan Blatz of Burlington, Ont., and Sylvain Guibord of Brossard, Que., will be the Canadian officials at the event.

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

CANADIAN ENTRIES AT ISU JGP #1 – BRISBANE, AUSTRALIA

DISCIPLINE	NAME	AGE	HOMETOWN	CLUB	COACH
Men	Joseph Phan	16	Laval, Que.	CPA Laval	Yvan Desjardins
Ladies	Aurora Cotop	15	Toronto, Ont.	Thornhill FSC	Jonathan Mills/ Myke Gillman
Ice Dance	Marjorie Lajoie/ Zachary Lagha	16/18	Boucherville, Que./ Greenfield Park, Que.	CPA De Boucherville/ CPA St. Lambert	Marie-France Dubreuil/ Patrice Lauzon/ Romain Haguenauer/ Pascal Denis
Ice Dance	Natalie D’Alessandro/ Bruce Waddell	13/15	Toronto, Ont./ Toronto, Ont.	Toronto Cricket, Skating and Curling Club/ Toronto Cricket, Skating and Curling Club	Andrew Hallam/ Siobhan Karam

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