High stepping into the history books
Canadian ice dancers will fill half the spots at the Grand Prix Final in China next month, something that we've never seen before in a country with a rich history in that event.
It’s been a fall season of historic proportions for Canadian skaters — and we’re not just talking about pair teams, whose exploits we detailed in this space a week ago (right here, in case you happened to miss it).
Rather, we speak this time about the discipline in which has been, by far, the most productive for Canada for the better part of this century. That, of course, would be the country’s ice dancers, who have produced 16 medals at the World Championships since 2002, including four golds (three by the incomparable Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir; the other coming in 2003, when the brilliant Shae-Lynn Bourne and Victor Kraatz became Canada’s first ever World champions in ice dance). It’s been the stuff of legends, to be sure.
But for all of that greatness, Canada is about to see something it has never witnessed before at a Grand Prix Final. When the top skaters in the Series convene in Beijing from Dec. 7-10, half the entries in the ice dance event will wear the red maple leaf on their backs. And every one of them should be right in the hunt for a spot on the podium. If you’re wondering, Canada has never had multiple ice dance medallists at the Grand Prix Final, though it has had two entries in that discipline in the past.
For two Canadian teams, it’s a return to the event that is considered the second most important of the season after the World Championships. Reigning World bronze medallists Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier are the defending champions in the event, while current Canadian champions Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Nikolaj Soerensen were sixth in Turin, Italy.
The third Canadian entry — the up-and-coming Marjorie Lajoie and Zachary Lagha — will make their Grand Prix Final debut in Beijing (their resume does include two previous appearances at the Junior Grand Prix Final). They will also be the only newcomers in the GP Final field, with five of the six teams from Turin a year ago likely to be in Beijing (reigning World champions Madison Chock and Evan Bates of the United States have already secured a spot; Lilah Fear and Lewis Gibson of Great Britain, along with Italy’s Charlene Guignard and Marco Fabbri, punched their tickets earlier today by finishing 1-2 at NHK Trophy in Japan, the final stop of the six-event series).
Worth noting is that it took 206.84 points to land on the Grand Prix Final podium a year ago in Turin. It’s a score that all three Canadian teams have come close to matching in Grand Prix events this season (Fournier Beaudry and Soerensen recorded a season’s best of 206.32 in Finland; Lajoie and Lagha produced 206.02 at Cup of China, an event in which they bested Gilles and Poirier in the rhythm dance by 0.98 points). Gilles and Poirier turned in a world-leading total of 219.01 in winning Skate Canada International, which was just a fraction of a point off their personal best (they won the GP Final in 2022 with 215.64 points). So they’ll all be competitive in Beijing.
It’s an unprecedented level of depth at the world level for Canadian ice dancers, and perhaps it shouldn’t be considered surprising given the results of last season. At the 2023 World Championships in Saitama, Japan, Gilles and Poirier earned their second bronze medal in three seasons at the global event, while Fournier Beaudry and Soerensen placed fifth. Lajoie and Lagha didn’t compete at the event simply because Canada only had two available ice dance spots at the competition (while they finished in the silver medal position at the Canadian championships behind Fournier Beaudry and Soerensen, a spot at Worlds had been reserved for Gilles and Poirier, who missed nationals because of a health issue).
Those in the know at Skate Canada — and in the skating world in general, for that matter — are hardly surprised to see Lajoie and Lagha make the leap into the Grand Prix Final. They’ve been considered rising stars in the sport since winning the World Junior title in 2019 (a feat accomplished by only one other Canadian team, the two-time Olympic champions Virtue and Moir).
“With Marj and Zach, because of numbers last year — we only had two entries in dance at Worlds — they weren’t able to go. But we always felt they would have been in a position to be top six, top seven last year,” said Mike Slipchuk, Skate Canada’s high performance director. “You kind of had to see this year, but they’ve definitely come out (strong) and the score they put up in China puts them right in the mix with the top five, and that’s encouraging.
“It’s nice to see, because when you’ve missed a cycle of Worlds, you’re never sure where you’re going to fit back in. But it’s different when you’re not there because of not enough spots versus other factors. Everyone knew why they weren’t at Worlds, but they’ve hit the ground running this year. They had two good events and they’re in a great position for the Final.”
What it should also mean is one heck of an ice dance competition at the 2024 Canadian championships in Calgary, which Slipchuk points out is another good thing for the national team.
“I always say that when everyone is pushing each other at home, it makes us better when we get out at the World level,” he said,
As for the Grand Prix Final, here’s one last number to consider. A year ago in Turin, four of six teams posted overall scores above 200 points. This year, it’s likely all six will do so in Beijing (each of them has totalled at least 206 in Grand Prix events this season). That’s some fierce competition.
Maddie makes some Grand gains
As we’ve written here previously, two-time Canadian women’s champion Madeline Schizas decided to take her skating in a different direction over the summer, turning to two sets of ice dance coaches to develop new programs. And the early reviews have been mostly good, with Schizas placing fourth at Skate Canada International (where she was second in the free skate) and fifth at Cup of China. Not quite enough to get her to the Grand Prix Final, but a clear sign that the 20-year-old has stepped up her game in a big way. It’s exactly what Skate Canada officials hoped to see from her.
“I know her goal was to get to the Final, and that should be your goal. But we haven’t had a lady have two top-five finishes on the Grand Prix since Kaetlyn (Osmond, in 2016 and 2017),” said Slipchuk. “That’s something that she may not see as much right now, but definitely it was a good showing. She had two strong events, she had a great free program at both events. You’re fighting with those girls in the top 10, top eight (in the world), and that’s where you want to be. She definitely continues to get stronger.”
He also saw it as validation for all the changes she made — and the travelling she did, to London and Toronto — to get better over the summer.
“The changes they made in moving in a bit of a different direction with programs — with Scott (Moir), Adrian (Diaz) and Maddie (Hubbell) in London, and working with Carol (Lane) and Juris (Razgulajevs) with the long program — it’s helped develop stroking, it’s helped develop programs, it’s just a continued development of skills,” added Slipchuk. “This was the right time to explore some different ways to do it. We’re very happy with the season that she’s had. She continues to keep improving, and she’s still relatively new to the senior ranks. For her, it’s been a good season.”
Now it’s on to Calgary for a shot at a third straight Canadian women’s title, which hasn’t happened in this country in more than a decade (2010 Olympic bronze medallist Joannie Rochette did it five times in a row from 2006-10; before that, Jennifer Robinson accomplished the same feat from 1999-2003).
Grand Prix Series hits final stop
NHK Trophy, the final event of the Grand Prix Series, goes this weekend in Japan, with skaters there getting one last chance to secure berths at the Final in Beijing in two weeks’ time. That won’t be on the table for the small contingent of Canadian skaters in Osaka, who will use this event as another step toward getting ready for nationals in Calgary. That group includes Wesley Chiu in the men’s event, Kelly-Ann Laurin and Loucas Ethier in pairs, and ice dancers Marie-Jade Lauriault and Romain Le Gac. It’s the second Grand Prix event of the season for all of them.
In Friday’s short programs, Laurin and Ethier wound up seventh, while Chiu placed 11th. Lauriault and Le Gac were also seventh in the rhythm dance. All the free skates are on Saturday.
Meanwhile, 2020 Canadian champion Roman Sadovsky will get another chance to start his much-delayed season at Golden Spin of Zagreb, a Challenger Series event Dec. 6-9 in Croatia. Sadovsky, who battled the effects of an ankle injury earlier this fall, was scheduled to skate at Warsaw Cup last month, but had to pull out when the luggage containing his skates got lost en route to Poland and didn’t make it in time for the competition.