2024–25 Canadian Pairs: News and Updates

[victorskid]

Skate Canada / Patinage Canada on Instagram: "WELCOME HOME DEANNA 🇨🇦❤️ We couldn't be happier for @deannamsd622 who took her Oath of Canadian Citizenship this morning 🙌 This marks a significant milestone towards her and @maximedeschamps goal of qua

2,955 likes, 50 comments - skate_canada on December 11, 2024: "WELCOME HOME DEANNA 🇨🇦❤️ We couldn't be happier for @deannamsd622 who took her Oath of Canadian Citizenship this morning 🙌 This marks a significant milestone towards her and @maximedeschamps goal of qualifying for the #Milan2026...

www.instagram.com

Great news! Deanna Stellato-Dudek got her citizenship!

Skate Canada news release: https://skatecanada.ca/2024/12/pairs-world-champions-open-new-door-for-the-winter-olympic-games/

 

[honey]

That’s great news!

 

[Desperado]

So happy for her and Maxime!

P.S. I would’ve added champagne emojis but I saw the interview where she explains why she doesn’t drink (wine stays in your system for 28 days?! and how it could impact performance) so I will refrain.

 

[Sylvia]

Re-posting here from the Deanna/Canadian citizenship news thread ... A 7-minute video (Deanna replies to journalists' questions in English and also one in French before Maxime takes over) is embedded in this Le Journal de Montreal article by Mylène Richard: https://www.journaldemontreal.com/2...nt-canadienne-afin-daller-aux-jeux-olympiques

In the last minute of the video, Maxime says he is almost back in shape to train at full capacity and Deanna says they feel "very confident" about Nationals. And Deanna finishes with "And when we go to Four Continents, which is in South Korea, I'll have the same passport as everyone else!" (everyone laughs)

 

[Sylvia]

Copying out the 2025 Canadian Nationals pairs entries:

Category: Senior Pair (as of Dec. 12)
Name Section
Fiona Bombardier / Benjamin Mimar ON
Jazmine Desrochers / Kieran Thrasher ON [JGPF bye]
Kelly Ann Laurin / Loucas Éthier QC
Cristina Lyons / Marty Haubrich ON [only team that competed at Challenge]
Deanna Stellato-Dudek / Maxime Deschamps QC
Lia Pereira / Trennt Michaud ON
Number Entries: 6

Category: Junior Pair (as of Dec. 10)
Name Section
Martina Ariano-Kent / Charly Laliberté-Laurent QC [injury bye through Challenge]
Noémie Rolland / Étienne Lacasse QC [Challenge, 2nd]
Siyul Back / Gavin Mahoney ON [Challenge, 3rd]
Julia Quattrochi / Simon Desmarais QC [JGPF bye]
Ava Kemp / Yohnatan Elizarov ON [Challenge, 1st]
Number Entries: 5

 

[Sylvia]

Re-posting and replying here from the OES News thread:

... today's Bavarian Open entries confirm ... [Mozes Jozsef BEREI, 20] is entered in Bavarian Open with Lily Wilberforce, obviously representing Hungary.
She is Canadian and was on IPS last spring ... it doesn't look like she's ever competed internationally and the last time she competed domestically was July 2023.

Wilberforce/Aidan Wright competed in 2021-22 and then she competed with Joshua Dore at the July 2023 NextGen comp. and in 2024 Skate Ontario Sectional Series Qualifying but they did not end up competing at Challenge in December 2023.

Ariano Kent/Liberte Laurent (would be their first int'l of the season if they compete) and Kemp/Elizarov are entered in the Bavarian Open, Jan. 20-26 in Oberstdorf.

 

[Sylvia]

Re-posting and replying here to @AngieNikodinovLove (ANL) from the 2025 Canadian Nationals subforum in Kiss & Cry:

Has Canada had only six pairs in its national competition before? Is this the least amount they’ve had? I mean half the teams here are guaranteed medals.

They had six teams in 2013 and 2019, too.

They've also had only seven teams a number of times recently.

Of the 10 Senior teams entered at 2024 Nationals (Proft/Nadeau decided to go pro before Challenge last season and joined Holiday on Ice in Europe; think both are touring with Cirque du Soleil's CRYSTAL now?) only 3 are still together and competing at 2025 Nationals:

1 Deanna Stellato-Dudek / Maxime Deschamps QC
2 Lia Pereira / Trennt Michaud ON
3 Kelly Ann Laurin / Loucas Éthier QC
4 Elizabeth Thibodeau-Mailhot / Daniel Villeneuve QC - started a pro contract together in 2024 with Holiday on Ice
5 Fiona Bombardier / Gabriel Farand ON - she's with Mimar now & he retired
6 Émy Carignan / Bryan Pierro QC - his IPS profile as of Oct. 6: https://www.icepartnersearch.com/showbio.php?i=6483
7 Caidence Derenisky / Raine Eberl SK - he partnered with Ashlyn Schmitz this season but they did not enter Challenge
8 Summer Homick / Marty Haubrich ON - she switched to ice dance (debuted on JGP this fall) & he's with Cristina Lyons (new to pairs this season)
9 Ashlyn Schmitz / Tristan Taylor SK - he's with Miyu Yunoki for Japan (Sr.) & she competed with Raine Eberl but they did not enter Challenge
WD Brooke MacIntosh / Benjamin Mimar ON - she's now competing with Marco Zandron for Spain & he with Fiona B.

 

[Sylvia]

First look at a program run through this season by Ariano Kent/Laliberté-Laurent, filmed by Jordan Cowan earlier this month (they kept their Junior SP music from last season): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XeBLpeBpkh8

Music: “I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles)” by Sleeping at Last ‪and The Proclaimers ‪
Coaches: Marc-André Craig and David Alexandre Paradis at Académie Perfomance Isatis in Chambly, QC
Choreographer: Joey Russell

Key sentence from the video’s caption: “Towards the end of the [2023-24] season, Charly had to undergo shoulder surgery.”

 

[Sylvia]

Cross-posting @cyndyt's link here from the 2025 Nationals subforum in Kiss & Cry - Daniel Rainbird's Canadian Press feature article on Jazmine Desrochers/Kieran Thrasher who are making their Senior national debut this week in Laval (Jan. 14): https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/windsor/figure-skating-desrochers-thrasher-canada-1.7430849

ETA excerpt from the end:

Desrochers and Thrasher say they have no expectations heading into the biggest senior event of their young careers this weekend, other than gaining experience that could help them transition from junior to senior full-time. The duo remains eligible for the junior circuit again next season.
"The goal isn't to be the best in junior, it's to be the best in senior," Thrasher said. "We thought we might as well get a head start on the senior stuff this year in preparation for next year."
The thought of going to an Olympics only crept into Thrasher's mind this season. Desrochers, meanwhile, says it's now a goal, but that they're focused on gradually improving.
Marcotte thinks the skaters are still coming to grips with what they're capable of achieving.
"I really believe they can become Olympians," Marcotte said. "Are they there? No. But do I think they have the potential? Definitely. But even more important than having the potential, they have to believe it."

 

[Sylvia]

Rob Brodie writes about Deanna & Max in the first half of his first article from Laval (Jan. 16):

#SCNats25: 'It's like a fire burning'

With citizenship issues and a bout with illness behind them, Deanna Stellato-Dudek and Maxime Deschamps are ready to put on a show at the Canadian championships

rwbrodiewrites.substack.com

Excerpt:

Doctors also had him wearing a heart monitor at one point, just to ensure he wouldn’t push too hard. It required a certain amount of patience, but Deschamps finally got back to feeling like himself as the calendar turned in 2025. Following the doctors’ orders, as the old saying goes, turned out to be the ticket to getting through it as quickly as he did.
“He wasn’t allowed to go over a certain level (with his heart rate). Sometimes, he would take a lap around the rink and he would go over it. We had to wait for him to go back down, and I would go do something else and then he would say ‘OK, it’s down’ and we would go to the next thing,” said Stellato-Dudek. “It was super limiting at that time, but I think that helped him get back so quickly. Even to be able to put the weight back on, that’s not easy, either, because some of that is muscle. But even that came back on pretty quickly because of the protocol they gave us.”

(I've cross-posted this link in the Canadian Men's news thread since the second half focuses on that topic.)

 

[victorskid]

Skate Ontario In the Loop article on Pereira & Michaud (& others)

‘A Very Small Team of Two’: Chemistry the Key for Ontario Pairs Skaters at Nationals - Skate Ontario

By: Dylan Nazareth The 2025 Skate Canada Nationals are underway, with the senior pairs skaters set to lace up for their short programs later today. For three Ontario duos, it’s clear that the key to succeeding at this competition is all about connection and chemistry. Veteran Presence Now in...

skateontario.org

 

[kalamalka]

Mixed results in the SP for the two junior pairs at the Bavarian Open - Kemp/Elizarov in first with a new PB of 60.01; Ariano Kent/Laliberte-Laurent in 7th with 48.47 and 2 deductions. Hope they both have good FPs for confidence going into Junior Worlds (where I will be able to watch live).

 

[Sylvia]

Bavarian Open Junior Pairs results from last week:
GOLD Ava KEMP / Yohnatan ELIZAROV CAN 167.15 1 2 (107.14 in FS)
BRONZE Martina ARIANO KENT / Charly LALIBERTE LAURENT CAN 141.93 7 3 (93.46 in FS)
FS protocols: http://www.deu-event.de/results/BAY...OR----FNL-000100--_JudgesDetailsperSkater.pdf
SP protocols: http://www.deu-event.de/results/BAY...OR----QUAL000100--_JudgesDetailsperSkater.pdf

Noemie Rolland & Etienne Lacasse (competed in 1 JGP last fall & placed 4th of 5 Junior pairs at 2025 Canadians) have split - he is on IPS as of Jan. 27: https://icepartnersearch.com/showbio.php?i=7779
Their ISU bio: https://www.isuresults.com/bios/isufs00120549.htm

 

[Colonel Green]

Robert Brodie's latest story, about Fiona & Ben.

Apparently Fiona competed in Warsaw unaware that she had a hand fracture.

 

[Colonel Green]

KMT’s little pairs operation on the west coast is doing well now, looking at the recent domestic results.

 

[puglover]

KMT’s little pairs operation on the west coast is doing well now, looking at the recent domestic results.

Not sure if you were able to watch but they were very good. KMT sitting in the K&C after looked just as fun as I would picture her to be. It helped that the short programs I saw were well skated but I think I would try extra hard to see that smile of hers. Several former pairs skaters appear to be coaching the new generation. Nice to see Annabelle Langlois and she looks great. We really have had some great pairs girls. Best of luck to this new crop!

 

[Colonel Green]

A good 4CC for our pairs, between Lia & Trennt's first championship medal and Deanna & Maxime putting out easily their best free skate so far this season.

 

[victorskid]

Julia Quattrocchi / Simon Desmarais have ended their partnership. Desmarais is retiring to focus on his studies, Quattrocchi is searching for a new partner

@jusim_skate on Instagram: "Après deux belles années, le partenariat entre Simon et moi se termine. Ce fut une expérience remplie de beaux moments, de travail acharné et de magnifiques accomplissements ! Simon a pris la décision d’arrêter et commenc

97 likes, 3 comments - jusim_skate on February 26, 2025: "Après deux belles années, le partenariat entre Simon et moi se termine. Ce fut une expérience remplie de beaux moments, de travail acharné et de magnifiques accomplissements ! Simon a pris la décision d’arrêter et commencera de nouveaux...

www.instagram.com

 

[HappyFS@15]

Julia Quattrocchi / Simon Desmarais have ended their partnership. Desmarais is retiring to focus on his studies, Quattrocchi is searching for a new partner

@jusim_skate on Instagram: "Après deux belles années, le partenariat entre Simon et moi se termine. Ce fut une expérience remplie de beaux moments, de travail acharné et de magnifiques accomplissements ! Simon a pris la décision d’arrêter et commenc

97 likes, 3 comments - jusim_skate on February 26, 2025: "Après deux belles années, le partenariat entre Simon et moi se termine. Ce fut une expérience remplie de beaux moments, de travail acharné et de magnifiques accomplissements ! Simon a pris la décision d’arrêter et commencera de nouveaux...

www.instagram.com

hmmmmm, I wonder now that Brooke is free and looking for a partner,

 

[Karen-W]

hmmmmm, I wonder now that Brooke is free and looking for a partner,

Except Simon is the one retiring to focus on his studies...

 

[farahfan]

Except Simon is the one retiring to focus on his studies...

Canada allows same sex partnerships right?

 

[HappyFS@15]

Except Simon is the one retiring to focus on his studies...

Oh didn't get that part..... too bad!

 

[shutterbug]

Two of KMT's baby pairs are entered in the Junior and Advanced Novice categories at the Maria Olszewska Memorial 2025 competition running from Mar. 5-9, 2025:

Ava Cheung/Stephen Lee (N2)
Jaslynn Wong/Nico Conforti (N1)

Schedule: https://pzlf.pl/public/uploads/documents/Zawody/2024-2025/MOM2025_TimeSchedule.pdf

Start orders/results: https://pzlf-wyniki.pl/2425/MOM2025/

A machine translation of the host competition website (https://pzlf.pl/news/3-memorial-marii-olszewskiej) appears to indicate there will be a YouTube livestream of the event, however the linked ViStream page is set to private.

 

[victorskid]

Live stream: https://www.youtube.com/@polfsskatingbroadcast/streams

 

[honey]

Deanna and Max are using Lori Nichol for the free skate next season!

I remember back in 2000 thinking Deanna would slay a Lori program, and now here we are and it’s finally going to happen.

I have faith that if the ideas for these programs have been saved for a long time that they aren’t going to be the misses that they skated to this season.
https://www.instagram.com/p/DIoFiWeSQu3/?igsh=N2d6NnJ0MjBxcGVz

It felt like this whole season they were on their back foot, never able to catch up. I noticed they are not doing SOI, and I’m sure this was their choice, prioritizing getting the programs done and some rest time before starting again with the big push to Milan.

 

[Excidra]

Deanna and Max are using Lori Nichol for the free skate next season!

I remember back in 2000 thinking Deanna would slay a Lori program, and now here we are and it’s finally going to happen.

I have faith that if the ideas for these programs have been saved for a long time that they aren’t going to be the misses that they skated to this season.
https://www.instagram.com/p/DIoFiWeSQu3/?igsh=N2d6NnJ0MjBxcGVz

It felt like this whole season they were on their back foot, never able to catch up. I noticed they are not doing SOI, and I’m sure this was their choice, prioritizing getting the programs done and some rest time before starting again with the big push to Milan.

Thanks for sharing.

Deanna and Maxim lost a lot of ground this season; falling behind four teams. I am hoping this descend they're on doesn't continue into next season. Lori Nichol doing the FS program is a huge deal. I am hoping that she comes up with a classic program for them. Please do not use Lady Gaga, Beyonce or any pop star for the SP next season. I think they'd skate the heck out of something like Kistmet by Bond.