2022–23 Canadian Women: News and Updates

[danafan]

Dupuis will join Schizas at WTT. Here’s hoping for the tech minimum in the short and an improved season best score for Grand Prix selections next year.

 

[Karen-W]

Yeesh, SCI... I mean, I suppose if they're hoping Dupuis can climb into the SB Top 75...

 

[Sylvia]

ISU SB total scores for the top 6 after Worlds:
34 Madeline SCHIZAS CAN ISU GP Grand Prix Espoo 2022 26/11/2022 187.84 S [WS #15 / SR #14]
58 Kaiya RUITER CAN ISU CS IceChallenge 2022 12/11/2022 172.42 S [WS #64 / SR #58]
61 Gabrielle DALEMAN CAN ISU GP Skate Canada International 2022 29/10/2022 171.61 S [WS #69 / SR #191-tie]
62 Sara-Maude DUPUIS CAN ISU Four Continents Championships 2023 10/02/2023 170.67 S [WS #116-tie / SR #88]
67 Justine MICLETTE CAN ISU CS IceChallenge 2022 12/11/2022 167.87 S [WS #82 / SR #42]
68 Kara YUN CAN ISU JGP Solidarity Cup 2022 30/09/2022 166.88 J

Top 3 ISU SB free skate scores this season:
31 Madeline SCHIZAS CAN ISU World Championships 2023 24/03/2023 127.47 S
43 Sara-Maude DUPUIS CAN ISU Four Continents Championships 2023 10/02/2023 118.99 S
49 Kaiya RUITER CAN ISU CS IceChallenge 2022 12/11/2022 117.06 S

ETA World Standings (WS) & Season's World (SR) rankings after 2023 Worlds.

 

[RoseRed]

Yeesh, SCI... I mean, I suppose if they're hoping Dupuis can climb into the SB Top 75...

She already is...

 

[Karen-W]

She already is...

I just saw that. Not high enough to get more than an SCI host spot, I don't think. It's pretty rare for skaters in the 60-75 range to get more than that.

 

[honey]

Fiona’s injury that caused her to withdraw from her recent event was a concussion. I’m glad they didn’t push her to compete.


https://youtu.be/qcX5tlxxRQo

Interview starts around 10:34. She’s very well spoken!

 

[Sylvia]

Fiona Bombardier recapped her 2022-23 season up to winning the bronze at Nationals as Skate Ontario's Skater in Residence blog dated March 23: https://skateontario.org/skater-in-residence-fiona-bombardier/

It seems Fiona Bombardier has switched to Bruno Marcotte and team in Oakville as per her updated isu bio. Interesting...

http://www.isuresults.com/bios/isufs00111130.htm

Fiona confirmed this coaching change (she thanked Ken & Danielle Rose and said she felt it was time for a "change of environment") as well as her concussion (from a jump fall that led to in her withdrawal from Coupe du Printemps) in a brief chat earlier today with Pj Kwong & Mazin Thomas, starting here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9-Cqruurxog&t=600s

 

[Yyzskater]

Fiona Bombardier recapped her 2022-23 season up to winning the bronze at Nationals as Skate Ontario's Skater in Residence blog dated March 23: https://skateontario.org/skater-in-residence-fiona-bombardier/

Fiona confirmed this coaching change (she thanked Ken & Danielle Rose and said she felt it was time for a "change of environment") as well as her concussion (from a jump fall that led to in her withdrawal from Coupe du Printemps) in a brief chat earlier today with Pj Kwong & Mazin Thomas, starting here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9-Cqruurxog&t=600s

Fiona Bombardier recapped her 2022-23 season up to winning the bronze at Nationals as Skate Ontario's Skater in Residence blog dated March 23: https://skateontario.org/skater-in-residence-fiona-bombardier/

Fiona confirmed this coaching change (she thanked Ken & Danielle Rose and said she felt it was time for a "change of environment") as well as her concussion (from a jump fall that led to in her withdrawal from Coupe du Printemps) in a brief chat earlier today with Pj Kwong & Mazin Thomas, starting here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9-Cqruurxog&t=600s

Wow. I didn't realize she left a couple weeks after Nationals. I have to imagine that this was a decision already in the works before Nationals as changing of coaches is a process in itself. Between discussing between both her figure skating coach parents, herself, different possible coaches, and Skate Canada, it's usually not something done hastily, especially at that level.

She seems happy with the move and I wish her all the best. She seems like a delightful young lady.

 

[Sylvia]

I'm glad Maddie got an ISU PB & SB with her SP at WTT (cleanly landed 3Lz+3T, 3Lo & 2A):

https://twitter.com/x/status/1646457503067037696

“It seems like team events are my thing!
I am happy, it’s been kind of an up and down season, also the waem-up here was a bit wonky, but I pulled it out when it counted.”
I’ve always liked being in a team, as a kid I played in a soccer team. ️
“Worlds was overall my most fun experience this season. We there had such a good team spirit.”
The white swan she held in the Kiss & Cry was a gift from her mom.

Sara-Maude:

https://twitter.com/x/status/1646439073819533315

“Not in my wildest dreams I would have thought I would compete at #4ContsFigure, and now I am here! It’s incredible.
I was in Japan as a child but I hardly remember it, and it’s my first competition here. It’s so cool! Everything is so clean and well organized, it’s amazing.”
A funny thing that happened to her during a competition: “it was not this season, but I somehow managed to get lost in the small village of Oberstdorf during my first international Novice competition. I arrived 20 minutes before the competition. The competition though went well and it was a good learning experience.”

March 23:

I have heard the name Lance Vipond for years associated with a number of great Canadian skaters and for the first time I recently caught an interview with him and PJ. I think Maddie has used Asher Hill but Lance is her main choreographer. Anyway, they did speak of Maddie's issues with the long program and her decision to return to her past program. Lance was totally in favour of that decision - that she return to a program she has had success with and it sounded like it was slower and better prepared her for the jumps. He has created programs for Kaetlyn and Keegan and Kevin R., to name a few, so pretty diversified skaters. So much is going on in these young skaters lives, sometimes major changes do not improve things.

BTW, this is what Maddie said after her Worlds FS (copied from the ISU Quick Quotes document):

(on when she changed her free skate program back to last season’s Madame Butterfly) I took my skates off right after my free skate at Four Continents and decided in the hallway with my team right then and there that we were going to go back to the old program. I had a very difficult time training (this season’s) long. In the second full run through (of Madame Butterfly) I only missed one element after a year of having a very difficult time training the other one (West Side Story) – it just never stopped for four minutes and by the time I got to the end I was consistently tired, and there was no amount of cardio training that seemed to help. So I came back to this one and I was like ‘wow, this is so much easier!’

(on studies at McMaster University) I’m not sure if I’ll do summer term this year. Technically I’ll be done the second or third week of April and I have a research job for the summer. I’m enjoying studying psychology but not sure what I want to do after.

(on her skating plans) I think the big thing is going to be finding a free skate that works for me. I’m not really sure if I’m keeping my short program yet; the first priority will be the free skate.

ETA that Maddie shared 3 WTT team spirit photos on Friday morning in Tokyo: https://www.instagram.com/p/Cq_bk36yajj/

 

[danafan]

I watched the replay this morning and was happy to see Schizas skate so well. Of course my first thought was why not at worlds, but..Well that's why it's frustrating to see her struggle in competition because we know she's capable of this. She's still Canada's top skater and our best shot at getting top 10 and earning two spots.

The clean short program at an international continues to elude Dupuis but she has a chance to improve her season best overall score and thus improve her chances at a grand prix selection.

I would love to see Schizas get selected by other grand prix hosts to open up spots for the other Canadian women at Skate Canada International.

 

[Sylvia]

Sept. 30, 2022:

Not surprisingly Schumacher has been crossed off the ISU list for Skate Canada and this is also reflected on the international assignments page. I suppose this is the end of her career. Sad she couldn't build on the promise of two top 10 finishes at junior worlds.

Alison's post earlier today with retrospective photos & 2 clips ("lots of love for the last 16 years or so "): https://www.instagram.com/p/CrzTAYFrVYz/

 

[Sylvia]

Gabby Daleman will be the subject of an "inspirational sports documentary" that will "start production next February and May in Toronto": https://www.instagram.com/p/ClNFbHMsqCv/

Also per Gabby Daleman's instagram there is a documentary about her life in production. It's being produced by "ZGN Productions" https://www.instagram.com/zgn_productions/?hl=en

ZGN Productions recently "wrapped up over 15 days of filming in Toronto, Canada" with Gabby: https://www.instagram.com/p/CtfHrXDJGbV/
More photos from filming (in Barrie): https://www.instagram.com/p/CtKnWS3Jnil/

Feb. 23, 2023:

Daleman also posted practice clips of her on the ice at what I believe was Mariposa in her story yesterday or the day before (can’t remember and the story has expired now). The blue wall is very distinctive and I recognized it right away.

Perhaps giving credence to some of the rumours on Twitter a couple of weeks ago that this might be her new training base? If that is true, there are some potentially interesting coaching choices there for her.

Michael Hopfes' March 11th on ice photo is captioned "So proud of my two Olympians... Hard work pays off." showing him with Gabby and Julian Yee (who coaches in Vancouver now): https://www.instagram.com/p/CpqoSWcLYBd/

Mariposa School of Skating featured Gabby in their "Winning Wednesday" post 2 days ago: https://www.instagram.com/reel/CteTQYnNpA4/
Hopfes is listed as the "Base Coach to Gabrielle Daleman" in the 2nd photo of their May 26th tweet: https://twitter.com/SkateMariposa/status/1662097151332065281