Camping out with some of Canada's best
Skate Canada's annual late summer gathering of its national team athletes signals the start of a new season is truly at hand. And yes, they had plenty of news to share.
There is no surer sign that another figure skating season is at hand than Skate Canada’s annual high-performance camp, in which the country’s top senior skaters gather as a group at Paramount Fine Foods Centre in Mississauga, Ontario. There are new programs to be critiqued by SC officials, some media obligations to fulfil … and probably some of those ‘so how did your summer go?’ conversations among skaters who may not have crossed paths since the previous season reached is conclusion.
It’s also a great chance for folks like me to catch up with as fun and co-operative group of athletes as you’d ever want to meet. There’s a whole pile of material in this Substacker’s vault to share over the next several weeks, but here’s a taste of some of the topics that were discussed earlier this week.
Off to a (so much) better start
The headline that sits above this item should be a pretty good tipoff about who we’ll start this column talking about. That, of course, would be Roman Sadovsky, who at this time a year ago was still working through an ankle injury that would keep him away from competitions until later in the fall (or so he thought). And if you’re familiar with his story, a whole bunch of travel shenanigans followed that kept Sadovsky from competing until the 2024 Canadian Championships waaaay back in January in Calgary.
So it’s not exactly small news to note that yes, Sadovsky already has a competition under his belt (he placed sixth at the Cranberry Cup, a Challenger Series event in Boston earlier this month) and there were no travel woes to speak about (at least we don’t think so).
“It was pretty crazy,” the 25-year-old Sadovsky said with a knowing grin. “I don’t think I’ve been to an event in August in like eight years or something (he was scheduled to do Cranberry Cup last summer before the injury bug bit him). It was nice having a really good long summer to train. I didn’t have a plan for a real full-out load in Boston; it was a little bit of a watered down program. It’s a good feeling, that I could be somewhat competition ready already in August.”
It also gave him a chance to give his new free program — crafted by Mark Pillay to “Interstellar,” by Hans Zimmer and Dmitrii Koshelev — an early test drive. “I just really like the music and like the theme, really going off the story of discovery and curiosity and just things bigger than ourselves,” he said.
Given that he only used it three times last year, Sadovsky decided to bring back his short program (“Unconscious,” by Charlie Winston) for another season. “I feel like I can still do it more justice. Had a good trip to Montreal to work with the team at I.AM (the Ice Academy of Montreal’s Marie-France Dubreuil and Sam Chouinard), spice it up a little bit, make some changes, sharpen up some of the movements. So I’m keeping that one.”
Sadovsky is among a team of Canadian skaters who’ll head to Germany next month for Nebelhorn Trophy, one of the bigger and longest running Challenger Series events on the schedule. It’ll be a warmup for Skate Canada International, his lone Grand Prix date which is set for Oct. 25-27 in Halifax. By then, we should have a better idea of the full technical arsenal that Sadovsky will unleash this season.
“We’re taking a ‘by performance’ approach this year,” said Sadovsky, who trains under the direction of Gregor Filipowski and Tracey Wainman at the York Region Skating Centre north of Toronto. “At Boston, did one quad and one (triple) Axel. Here at camp, two quads. We’ll see for Oberstdorf what’s going on, perhaps add an Axel. Also working on consistency of the quad toe. It becomes just a strategy game of when to put things in.”
After what went on last season, it probably isn’t surprising to hear Sadovsky use words like “readiness” to describe his main goals for this season.
“Just showing general readiness and preparedness in all my events,” he explains. “Really liked the original plan from two years ago, just using every event as a stepping stone and using up every event and having events. That’s the biggest one. Just using every event as a building block throughout the season and just being ready.
“Last year I wanted to head in with a plan of being ready early and use each competition as a stepping stone building up through the season. That didn’t quite happen, so reset, do it this year again.”
That theme also filters into his thoughts when he’s asked to reflect on the 2024 World Championships in Montreal, where he placed 11th in the short program with his best effort of the abbreviated season in that segment, but couldn’t sustain it and wound up 19th in the final standings.
“The short program was just an amazing experience. Sometimes I’ll watch it back and the crowd was just amazing,” he says now in looking back. “Definitely a life-long memory … now every event has to try to keep up with that, and I doubt it (will). I don’t think any event is going to have the energy that a Worlds at home will have.”
“Long program was not as strong but when I reflect back on it, I just wish I had a little bit more training, a couple more weeks and that probably would have been enough mileage. We were fighting against time at that point. It’s kind of weird to say this, but it was kind of a stepping stone into this season.”
As we’ve discussed plenty in this space going back to Montreal, Canada is down to one spot for the 2025 World Championships in Boston. And unless somebody can get a top-10 finish there, that allocation will remain the same for the 2026 Milan-Cortina Olympics. So yeah, there’s a lot on the line this season for Canada’s men (and Canada’s women, who are in the same boat).
Sadovsky, you might recall, has a bit of experience to lean on in that area. The now-retired Keegan Messing did pull off that top-10 finish at 2021 Worlds in Stockholm, but somebody other than him had to go to Nebelhorn in the final to confirm the second spot for the 2022 Beijing Olympics. That someone ended up being Sadovsky, who went to that pressure cooker in Oberstdorf and landed the seventh of seven available berths.
“I have experience in those high-pressure scenarios and that Oberstdorf was definitely one of those experiences,” he said. “Definitely crazier than I thought it would be. It’s good that I have that experience and wouldn’t be going in blindsided (if he is the skater chosen to represent Canada at 2025 Worlds).
“At the end of the day, if my skating is good enough to be in that position, then it is. If it’s not, it’s not. I’ve just got to play my cards and do the best that I can.”
With any luck, those cards continue to be luckier than the ones Sadovsky had to deal with in the first half of last season. That can’t happen twice, right?
“I think it was just a freak (season). I think I’ve used up all of my bad luck,” he said in looking back. “It’s only uphill from here. That’s it. It can’t get worse.”
Here we go again …
What is it about summer and Canadian men’s skaters dealing with ankle injuries? Last year, it was Sadovsky. This time, it’s reigning national champion Wesley Chiu just getting over the effects of a right ankle injury (a sprain of his landing foot), which occurred on the takeoff of a jump back in June. He’s just getting back to regular training now.
“I did have an injury throughout the summer, I’ll be honest, so I wasn’t able to train full out,” said Chiu, 19. “It was in early June, and I had just started training full programs again. It’s better that it happens now than during the season, right? It wasn’t too bad, but it was just lingering for a while. One of those things that you can’t push it too much or you’ll drag out the recovery process. We just had to be really smart with how we managed that … just having a plan so that we’re ready when the season begins.”
It’s also been a summer of new things for Chiu, most notably his decision to work with renowned Canadian choreographer Shae-Lynn Bourne on a new free program (she’s based in the Los Angeles area). He made the move at the suggestion of his longtime choreographer Joey Russell, who did craft Chiu’s new short program to music from “1812 Overture,” by Pyotr Tchaikovsky (“it’s kind of a classic,” Chiu said).
“(Russell) wanted me to branch out, because I’ve been working with him for so long. And I really like what Shae has done for other skaters,” Chiu said of Bourne, whose long list of clients includes 2022 Olympic champion Nathan Chen. “I wanted to get a different perspective, see how other choreographers work. It was a really fun week down in L.A.”
The new free program will be skated to “Nuvole Bianche” and “Experience,” a pair of pieces by Italian pianist and composer Ludovico Einaudi.
“It’s piano, minimalist, and there’s a lot of emotion in that program, which is different for me. I’m used to playing a character but in this program, I’m more skating to feelings,” said Chiu. “(The new programs are) two great vehicles for me. Shows my stronger side of movement.”
He’ll debut them next month at Nebelhorn Trophy, a Challenger Series event that runs Sept. 19-21 in Oberstdorf, Germany. Chiu also has a pair of Grand Prix assignments this fall: Skate America, Oct. 18-20 in Allen, Texas, and Cup of China, Nov. 22-24 in Chongqing.
Sometimes sister knows best
Inspiration for program music can come from literally just about anywhere. In the case of Canadian champion Kaiya Ruiter, she found what she needed for a new short program right at home. Literally.
The 18-year-old from Calgary will skate that program to “Everybody Wants to Rule the World,” by Cinematic Pop. It’s a modern-style cover of the 1986 hit song by Tears For Fears (the English duo of Curt Smith and Roland Orzabal), and it was suggested by Ruiter’s older sister Keaghan, who’s apparently quite the music savant.
“She is so good at finding music. She’ll just go through YouTube and find amazing music to skate to, then she’ll go out and do these beautiful programs and come up with them on the spot,” said Ruiter of her sister, who’s also a skater (it’s a bit of a family thing). “It’s really amazing. This was one of her pieces and she shared it with me, and I was so in love with it.”
The Cinematic Pop cover actually started out as a show program, and grew from there (the choreography was done by Montreal-based Julie Marcotte).
“I used it for my exhibition at (2024) nationals, because I didn’t have one,” Ruiter explained. “My sister found it and said ‘do you want to just use this?’ So I ended up using it and really loved it, then kept using it for more shows. It had really good reception with crowds, so I thought ‘maybe we could try this for a program.’ We ended up using this (as a short program) and I love it.”
Ruiter feels it pairs nicely with her long program, which choreographer David Wilson crafted to music from the 2017 movie “Wonder Woman” (something Ruiter discussed with this Substacker in an interview a few months back). She gave them a test run at a recent summer event in Kitchener, and should have them fined-tuned for her Grand Prix season debut at Skate Canada International in Halifax in late October.
The big reveal
One of the biggest pieces of news during HP camp is the one that always interests folks like you and me: the ‘big reveal’ of programs for the new season (which until now is a largely guarded secret). In addition to the skaters we’ve discussed above, here’s some of the intel we were able to gather this week:
Deanna Stellato-Dudek/Maxime Deschamps: (short program) “Crazy in Love (2014 remix)” by Beyoncé from “Fifty Shades of Grey;” (free program) “Siren’s Song” by Andrea Knux; “Mobula Rays” by David Flemming, Hans Zimmer, Jacob Shea; “Lux” by Ryan Taubert; “The Blue Planet” by David Flemming, Hans Zimmer, Jacob Shea
Lia Pereira/Trennt Michaud: (short program) “Sing, Sing, Sing,” by Benny Goodman and his Orchestra; (free program) Medley of tango music.
Piper Gilles/Paul Poirier: (rhythm dance) “I Get Around,” “California Girls” and “Wipeout” by the Beach Boys; (free dance) “A Whiter Shade of Pale” by Annie Lennox
Marjorie Lajoie/Zachary Lagha: (rhythm dance) Medley of songs from Austin Powers movie franchise (including “Soul Bossa Nova,” by Quincy Jones and his Orchestra, and “Shining Star,” by Earth, Wind and Fire); (free dance) “The Sound of Silence,” by Disturbed.
Laurence Fournier Beaudry/Nikolaj Soerensen: (rhythm dance) “Ladies Night” by Kool & The Gang; “Street Player” by Chicago; (free dance) “Metamorphosis” by Philip Glass
Marie-Jade Lauriault/Romain Le Gac: (rhythm dance) “Rich Man’s Frug,” by Cy Coleman, Dorothy Fields and Christina Applegate (2005 Broadway Revival Cast); “Rich Man’s Frug,” by Fosse Ensemble, Original Broadway Cast of Fosse; (free dance) “Man with a Harmonica,” by Ennio Morricone; “Lone Rider” and “For the Love of Gold” (Spaghetti Western soundtrack), by Stephan Sechi, Hollywood Film Music Orchestra; “Devil Got You Beat,” by Blues Saraceno.
Skating in the wake of legends
I’ve always been of the opinion that there’s a certain segment of the Canadian skating fan base that doesn’t truly appreciate what we have in Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier, the uber creative ice dancer duo which enters the 2024-25 season with a World Championship in mind (something we discussed at length a few weeks back), and who have been the standard bearers for ice dance in Canada for a quadrennial and a half now. And when your humble scribe gets around to pondering the reasons for that, it always comes back to this one thing in my mind: they’re not Tessa and Scott.
That, of course, would be Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir, the most decorated ice dancers ever at the Winter Olympics with five medals, three of them gold (two in ice dance, in 2010 in Vancouver and 2018 in PyeongChang, where they were also part of a team gold medal as well). And it’s also fair to suggest they’re among the most beloved Canadian skaters of all time. So imagine trying to be the ones following in those rather hefty footsteps.
“Those are impossibly enormous shoes to fill. I don’t think we ever will,” admitted Poirier. “But I think it’s so nice to be just part of such a strong legacy of ice dance that’s really been built over the last two to three decades, starting with Shae Lynn (Bourne) and Victor (Kraatz), essentially. To be a part of that is a big honour and it’s not something we take lightly but the entire way, it’s pushed us to be better.
“The most important thing is we’ve had to constantly grow if we wanted to keep up, if we wanted to catch up … if we ever wanted to be in that place, we knew we couldn’t just stay where we were. It’s been such a motivating force in our careers more than anything, to be part of such a great group of skaters. We even have such a great group of skaters coming behind us that are growing and moving up the ranks, and that’s exciting to see as well. It keeps us motivated in the same way.”
(an aside: one of those up-and-coming skaters is Ukrainian-Canadian ice dancer Nadiia Bashynska, who trains with partner Peter Beaumont alongside Gilles and Poirier at Ice Dance Elite in east Toronto. Bashynska also has quite the reputation as a baker, from what we hear, and so it was that Gilles asked her to bake the all-important cake for her October wedding celebration. And yes, Bashynska says she’s up for the challenge. Stay tuned for the end result on Instagram. No doubt one of them will end up posting pics there).
Junior Grand Prix gets underway
This week’s Riga Cup in Latvia marks the start of the six-event Junior Grand Prix Series. And it’s already been a productive meet for Canadian skaters.
You might recall that Canada sent three pair teams to last year’s Junior Grand Prix Final in Beijing, two of them hitting the podium. The bronze medallists there, Jazmine Desrochers and Kieran Thrasher, got their new season started on a shiny note by claiming the silver medal in Riga behind China’s Jiaxuan Zhang and Yihang Huang. The Canadian duo, who are coached by Bruno Marcotte in Oakville, Ontario, had won the short program.
Canadian junior women’s champion Lulu Lin of Oakville, who has quite the ‘magical’ back story, got her season going with a solid fourth-place finish in Riga. Heading into Saturday’s free skate final, Quebec’s Anthony Paradis sits in sixth place in the men’s event. After Friday’s rhythm dance, Montreal’s Sandrine Gauthier and Quentin Thieren stand fifth, while Aurea Cincon-Debout and Earl Jesse Celestino of Montreal are two places back in seventh.