SKATE CANADA ​- REGINA, SK: Top Canadian and international figure skaters are headed to Regina, Sask., for the 2017 Skate Canada International, taking place from October 26-29, 2017. The event which takes place at the Brandt Centre will feature 12 Canadian entries (three entries per discipline in men, ladies, pairs and ice dance) for a total of 18 skaters.

Skate Canada International is the second of six events on the 2017 International Skating Union (ISU) Grand Prix of Figure Skating circuit, in which skaters compete to qualify for the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final, taking place December 7-10, 2017, in Nagoya, Japan.

Olympic silver medallist and three-time world champion Patrick Chan, 26, Toronto, Ont., is the first of three Canadian men entries. This will be his ninth time competing at this event, having won on six occasions. Last season, Chan placed fifth at the ISU World Figure Skating Championships. The nine-time Canadian champion is coached by Marina Zoueva and Oleg Epstein in Canton, MI, USA.

Keegan Messing, 25, Girdwood, Alaska, USA, is the second Canadian men’s entry. He previously competed at this event in 2015, where he placed 11^th. Messing began this season winning the bronze medal at the 2017 Autumn Classic International. He is coached by Ralph Burghart in Anchorage, AK, USA.

Nicolas Nadeau, 20, Boisbriand, Que., rounds out Canada’s men’s entries. This will be his first senior ISU Grand Prix assignment. Nadeau placed sixth at his first event this season, the Ondrej Nepela Trophy. He trains in Rosemère, Que., and is coached by Yvan Desjardins.

World silver medallist Kaetlyn Osmond, 21, Marystown, Nfld./Edmonton, Alta., is the first of three Canadians in the ladies category. Osmond won gold at this event in 2012 and silver last year. This season, she won gold at the 2017 Autumn Classic International. The three-time Canadian champion is coached by Ravi Walia in Edmonton, Alta.

Canadian bronze medallist Alaine Chartrand, 21, Prescott, Ont., is the second Canadian entry in ladies. She placed fifth at this event last season, and started this season with a fifth-place finish at the 2017 Autumn Classic International. Chartrand is coached by Michelle Leigh and Christy Krall.

Larkyn Austman, 19, Coquitlam, B.C., will also represent Canada in ladies. This will be her first senior ISU Grand Prix assignment. Austman placed 12^th at her first event this season, the Ondrej Nepela Trophy. She is coached by Zdenek Pazdirek and Liz Putnam in Coquitlam, B.C.

Two-time world champions Meagan Duhamel, 31, Lively, Ont., and Eric Radford, 32, Balmertown, Ont., will be one of three Canadian entries in pairs. They are the defending champions at this event for the third year in a row. Duhamel and Radford won the silver medal at the 2017 Autumn Classic International to start this season. The six-time consecutive Canadian champions are coached by Bruno Marcotte in Montreal, Que.

Canadian silver medallists Lubov Ilyushechkina, 25, Toronto, Ont., and Dylan Moscovitch, 33, Toronto, Ont., will be the second Canadian pairs entry. The team won the bronze medal at this event last year, and placed fourth at their first event this season, the Finlandia Trophy. They are coached by Lee Barkell, Bryce Davison and Tracy Wilson in Toronto, Ont.

Sydney Kolodziej, 24, Montreal, Que., and Maxime Deschamps, 25, Vaudreuil-Dorion, Que., will represent Canada in pairs at their first ISU Grand Prix assignment together. They began this season placing seventh at the 2017 U.S. International Figure Skating Classic. Kolodziej and Deschamps are coached by Richard Gauthier and Bruno Marcotte in Montreal, Que.

Olympic champions and three-time world champions Tessa Virtue, 28, London, Ont., and Scott Moir, 30, Ilderton, Ont., will be the first of three Canadian entries in ice dance. They are the defending champions at this event and have won it in six of seven appearances. Virtue and Moir began this season winning the gold medal at the 2017 Autumn Classic International. The seven-time Canadian champions are coached by Marie-France Dubreuil, Patrice Lauzon and Romain Haguenauer in Montreal, Que.

Two-time world medallists Kaitlyn Weaver, 28, Toronto, Ont., and Andrew Poje, 30, Waterloo, Ont., are the second Canadian entry in ice dance. They have previously competed at this event six times, medalling on five occasions and winning in 2014 and 2015. They also began this season at the 2017 Autumn Classic International, where they won silver. The 2017 Canadian silver medallists are coached by Nikolai Morozov and train in Hackensack, NJ, USA.

Carolane Soucisse, 22, Châteauguay, Que., and Shane Firus, 23, North Vancouver, B.C., will be the third Canadian ice dance entry. This will be their first ISU Grand Prix assignment. This season, Soucisse and Firus placed fifth at the 2017 U.S. International Figure Skating Classic and fourth at the 2017 Finlandia Trophy. They are coached by Marie-France Dubreuil and Patrice Lauzon in Montreal, Que.

Carolyn Allwright of Waterloo, Ont., and Manon Perron of Boucherville, Que., will be the Canadian team leaders at the event. Dr. Erika Persson of Edmonton, Alta., and physiotherapist Agnes Makowski of Toronto, Ont., will be the Canadian medical staff onsite. Debbie Islam of Barrie, Ont., Karen Howard of Regina, Sask., Beth Crane of Burnaby, B.C., and Nicole LeBlanc-Richard of Dieppe, N.B., will be the Canadian officials at the event.

The event will be broadcast by CTV/TSN/RDS and the schedule is available on the Skate Canada website. 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.

Tickets remain and can be purchased online at www.ticketmaster.ca, by phone at 1-855-985-5000 or in person at the Brandt Centre box office.

CANADIAN ENTRIES AT 2017 SKATE CANADA INTERNATIONAL

DISCIPLINE	NAME	AGE	HOMETOWN	CLUB	COACH
Men	Patrick Chan	26	Toronto, Ont.	Granite Club	Marina Zoueva/ Oleg Epstein
Men	Keegan Messing	25	Girdwood, Alaska, USA	Sherwood Park FSC	Ralph Burghart
Men	Nicolas Nadeau	20	Boisbriand, Que.	CPA Boisbriand	Yvan Desjardins
Ladies	Kaetlyn Osmond	21	Marystown, Nfld. & Edmonton, Alta.	Ice Palace FSC	Ravi Walia
Ladies	Alaine Chartrand	21	Prescott, Ont.	Prescott FSC	Michelle Leigh/ Christy Krall
Ladies	Larkyn Austman	19	Coquitlam, B.C.	Coquitlam SC	Zdenek Pazdirek/ Liz Putnam
Pairs	Meagan Duhamel/ Eric Radford	31/32	Lively, Ont./ Balmertown, Ont.	CPA Saint-Léonard/ CPA Saint-Léonard	Bruno Marcotte
Pairs	Lubov Ilyushechkina/ Dylan Moscovitch	25/33	Toronto, Ont./ Toronto, Ont.	Toronto Cricket, Skating and Curling Club/ Toronto Cricket, Skating and Curling Club	Lee Barkell/ Bryce Davison/ Tracy Wilson
Pairs	Sydney Kolodziej/ Maxime Deschamps	24/25	Montreal, Que./ Vaudreuil-Dorion, Que.	CPA St. Léonard/ CPAR Vaudreuil	Richard Gauthier/ Bruno Marcotte
Ice Dance	Tessa Virtue/ Scott Moir	28/30	London, Ont./ Ilderton, Ont.	Montreal International Skating School/ Montreal International Skating School	Marie-France Dubreuil/ Patrice Lauzon/ Romain Haguenauer
Ice Dance	Kaitlyn Weaver/ Andrew Poje	28/30	Toronto, Ont./ Waterloo, Ont.	Sault FSC/ Kitchener-Waterloo SC	Nikolai Morozov
Ice Dance	Carolane Soucisse/ Shane Firus	22/23	Châteauguay, Que./ North Vancouver, B.C.	CPA Repentigny/ CPA Repentigny	Marie-France Dubreuil/ Patrice Lauzon

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. At 130 years old, Skate Canada is the world’s oldest skating organization and Canada’s preeminent leader in skating instruction and education. Over 170,000 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 sport governing bodies, Skate Canada athletes have won 25 Olympic medals and 36 world championship titles. Today’s Canadian world and Olympic medallists 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 and high performance facilities in Toronto and Montreal.

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