2023–24 Canadian Ice Dance: News and Updates

[danafan]

Lajoie/Lagha are not on the Challenge Cup roster anymore. Looks like Fabbri/Ayer are going instead.

https://www.schaatsen.nl/media/62265/entryl-list-cc2024_v13feb.pdf

 

[peibeck]

Lajoie/Lagha are not on the Challenge Cup roster anymore. Looks like Fabbri/Ayer are going instead.

https://www.schaatsen.nl/media/62265/entryl-list-cc2024_v13feb.pdf

Hopefully not a bad sign and they will be ready for Montreal. Of course, I'd also rather they come back when healthy and not rush, even if it does mean missing Worlds.

 

[Colonel Green]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1757840408598503701

Marjorie & Zach are (provisionally?) on the World team.

 

[Colonel Green]

View this content on Instagram

View this content on Instagram

 

[Wyliefan]

"Both Canadian ice dance teams that took part in the Youth Olympics, Audra Gans / Michael Boutsan and Caroline Kravets / Jacob Stark, have ended their partnerships. Boutsan and Kravets are on Ice Partner Search."

https://twitter.com/AnythingGOE/status/1758060818699088146

I think that's three Canadian junior dance teams that have split since nationals, right? Sabatini-Speciale/Buelow were the first.

 

[kwanfan1818]

YOG is a worthy end-goal for a competitive career, since it's such a small window between age and how infrequently YOG is scheduled.

 

[her grace]

The silver lining is that when a lot of teams split at the same time, it can lead to more suitable pairings of new teams.

 

[sk8girl]

"Both Canadian ice dance teams that took part in the Youth Olympics, Audra Gans / Michael Boutsan and Caroline Kravets / Jacob Stark, have ended their partnerships. Boutsan and Kravets are on Ice Partner Search."

https://twitter.com/AnythingGOE/status/1758060818699088146

I think that's three Canadian junior dance teams that have split since nationals, right? Sabatini-Speciale/Buelow were the first.

Four, including Bolender/Dotzert, who have also split. He is on ice partner search.

 

[Wyliefan]

Oh, I missed that one.

 

[Wyliefan]

Oh, and add one in seniors: Charlie Anderson and Luke Anderson are both on IPS.

 

[Sylvia]

It’s Worlds Media Day at the Bell Centre today (March 6):

Lajoie/Lagha are practicing and looking healthy, as far as one can tell from photos.

Photos: https://x.com/inthelopodcast/status/1765378788521554248 & https://x.com/inthelopodcast/status/1765393168772579779 (Thriller RD)

 

[Blossom on Ice]

Marjorie Lajoie and Zachary Lagha: “We love it when the coaches refer to us as super kids”.​

Marjorie Lajoie and Zachary Lagha: “We love it when the coaches refer to us as super kids”. - Blossom on Ice

World Junior champions in 2019, multiple medalists at the Canadian Championships, and finalists in the 2023 Grand Prix series, Canadian ice dancers Marjorie Lajoie and Zachary Lagha unfortunately had to withdraw from the Nationals in early January in Calgary, Canada, and also missed the 2024...

www.blossomonice.com

 

[Sylvia]

Posted by Marjorie Lajoie yesterday: https://www.instagram.com/p/C4O3NrAr2Lb/

View this content on Instagram

View this content on Instagram

 

[Wyliefan]

Peter Beaumont reports that he broke his fibula skating on Lake Louise right after nationals, and is just now getting back on the ice.

Peter Beaumont on Instagram: "So. Here’s my late post-nationals post hehe. This is why. As some of you may know, the day after we skated out gala program, we travelled up to Lake Louise. Unfortunately, while skating there, I fell on my left ankle. (

424 likes, 34 comments - _peterbeaumontMarch 14, 2024 on : "So. Here’s my late post-nationals post hehe. This is why. As some of you may know, the day after we skated out gala program, we travel..."

www.instagram.com

 

[skatingguy]

Carol Lane told us about this last month.

 

[Wyliefan]

Oh, I missed that.

 

[shan]

Oh, I missed that.

Me too! Thanks for sharing.

 

[victorskid]

Bev Smith Writes on Gilles & Poirier after the media day phone conversations: https://bevsmithwrites.com/gilles-and-poirer-ready-for-gold/

 

[Sylvia]

La Presse article today (March 18) with details on Marjorie's Jan. 4th concussion and subsequent recovery (she "cited Kaitlin Hawayek as one of her inspirations to get her through the long and frustrating recovery process."):

Marjorie Lajoie | Patiner, mais pas à n’importe quel prix

Se préparer pour des Championnats du monde, à la maison qui plus est, est une chose. Le faire tout en essayant de se remettre d’une commotion cérébrale en est une autre.

www.lapresse.ca

Machine translated excerpts:

But above all, she understands the need to follow each step of the recovery protocol. “I can do anything now. It just remains to gradually and safely get back into shape. »
Supported at the Institut national du sport du Québec, the 23-year-old athlete was followed by five professionals “for the eyes, the head, the energy”. She believes she followed the protocol to the letter. Thus explaining why she will take part in the Worlds, in front of family and friends.

“Today, my generation understands how important it is to heal well. I would have liked to come back sooner, but if I hadn't seen that other skaters had come back too early, I might have come back sooner. It's about understanding that it can have long-term consequences. I'm 23 years old and I don't feel like having migraines for the rest of my life. I never had migraines before, now I do. I want to heal 100%. [...] Even before my concussion, I took extreme care of my body, my mind and my health. It's a priority. We know that in ice dancing, it's the long term that counts. It's not at 20 that we will be world champions, it's the oldest who have the results. So I always prioritized recovery and my injuries. »»

The goal this week will certainly be to enter the top 10 . In Grands Prix this season, their worst result was a sixth position in Beijing. They were forced to forgo the National Championships at the turn of the new year. These Worlds will therefore be their first, and only, real test before ending the season.
Last week, the routine was not yet perfect, according to Lagha, but he promises a worthy finish when the time comes: “It will be perfect for the Worlds. There are still some details to work on in the free version. The court is pretty much set in stone, but there is still a little work to do. »

 

[Colonel Green]

Peter Beaumont reports that he broke his fibula skating on Lake Louise right after nationals, and is just now getting back on the ice.

Peter Beaumont on Instagram: "So. Here’s my late post-nationals post hehe. This is why. As some of you may know, the day after we skated out gala program, we travelled up to Lake Louise. Unfortunately, while skating there, I fell on my left ankle. (

424 likes, 34 comments - _peterbeaumontMarch 14, 2024 on : "So. Here’s my late post-nationals post hehe. This is why. As some of you may know, the day after we skated out gala program, we travel..."

www.instagram.com

Nadiia celebrates his return.

 

[Colonel Green]

So the season concludes on high notes for Gilles & Poirier and Lajoie & Lagha. Heartening to see, for both teams, and I'm especially pleased for the latter since Marjorie's injury had looked like it might completely derail things after the first half of this season was so big for them.

 

[skatingguy]

Well after the top 2 retire they too cannot hold an entire dance programme. Canada need to give their teams more assignments - the challengers were abysmal for the teams lower in the rankings in Canada. Strange moves too like not giving the 2x World Junior Bronze medalists the home GP invite. You have to hone and nurture talent to keep it.

Canada usually only has one top team at a time - we've had an unusual amount of depth over the past decade, so now we are heading back towards normal level of depth. No, they gave the opportunities to two other teams - Fabbri/Ayer & Lanaghan/Razgulavs - so all 3 of those teams got 1 Grand Prix event this season to gain experience, and as it turned out those two teams beat Bashynska/Beaumont at Canadian Nationals.

 

[kwanfan1818]

How do you define "top team"?

I went down the Wikipedia rat-hole back to 1990 and found that this was true from 1994-2001, when B/K broke into the Top 10 and were the only Canadian Dance team there, until Dubreuil/Lauzon came in 10th in 2002. After B/K's retirement after 2003, for over 20 years, there have only been two years where the top two teams didn't make the Top 10 -- 2004 (D/L-8, W/L-11) and 2008 (Virtue/Moir-2, Weaver/Poje-17) -- with combinations of D/L and Wing/Lowe, D/L and V/M, V/M and Crone/Poirier, V/M and W/P, W/P and Gilles/Poirier, G/P and Fournier Beaudry/Sorensen, and this year, G/P and Lajoie/Lagha making it. In 2011, 2014, 2017, 2019, 2021, 2023, and 2024, all three teams were Top 10.

 

[skatingguy]

How do you define "top team"?

I went down the Wikipedia rat-hole back to 1990 and found that this was true from 1994-2001, when B/K broke into the Top 10 and were the only Canadian Dance team there, until Dubreuil/Lauzon came in 10th in 2002. After B/K's retirement after 2003, for over 20 years, there have only been two years where the top two teams didn't make the Top 10 -- 2004 (D/L-8, W/L-11) and 2008 (Virtue/Moir-2, Weaver/Poje-17) -- with combinations of D/L and Wing/Lowe, D/L and V/M, V/M and Crone/Poirier, V/M and W/P, W/P and Gilles/Poirier, G/P and Fournier Beaudry/Sorensen, and this year, G/P and Lajoie/Lagha making it. In 2011, 2014, 2017, 2019, 2021, 2023, and 2024, all three teams were Top 10.

I would define a top team in ice dance as top 5 - those are the teams that are in contention for the podium.

 

[manhn]

Where would Lauriault and Le Gac land in this? Top 15? If P2 and the Danadians retired right this instant, could they get top ten?

Our younger Canadian teams that have come out of juniors will have to deal with the ups and downs that most young teams deal with. Kinda like that the young US teams.

Can we steal more ice dancers from other countries?

 

[Karen-W]

Where would Lauriault and Le Gac land in this? Top 15? If P2 and the Danadians retired right this instant, could they get top ten?

Our younger Canadian teams that have come out of juniors will have to deal with the ups and downs that most young teams deal with. Kinda like that the young US teams.

Can we steal more ice dancers from other countries?

Hard to say. They're 16 on the SB which puts them between DemLeM/Taschlers and the Mrazeks. I'd guess somewhere in the 10-15 range right now but if they came into Worlds as the #2 Canadians behind LajLag, I'd guess they finish 9-10 at Worlds.

 

[kwanfan1818]

Since 2000, only three countries have had more than one team in the Top 5, and, in each case, earned at least one medal:

RUS/FSR
2004 (2,4)
2009 (1,5)
2019 (2,4)
2020 (1,5)+
2021 (1,5)+

CAN
2011 (2,5)
2012 (1,4)
2013 (2,5)
2017 (1,4)
2023 (3,5)
2024 (2,5)

USA
2009 (2,4)
2011 (1,3)*
2014 (2,5)
2015 (2,5)
2016 (2,3)*
2018 (2,5)
2020 (2,4)+
2021 (2,4)+
2021 (2,3)* (duplicate of 2022)+
2022 (2,3)*

*Two medals
+Thanks to @Karen-W for the correction.

Canada no teams in the Top 5 in 2000 and 2005. Russia/FSR had no teams in the Top 5 in 2006-7, 2010-11, 2014-16, 2018, and 2021.+ The US had no teams in the Top 5 in 2000-4.

 

[Colonel Green]

Can we steal more ice dancers from other countries?

We could always forcibly repatriate Lim & Quan.

 

[Karen-W]

Since 2000, only three countries have had more than one team in the Top 5, and, in each case, earned at least one medal:

RUS/FSR
2004 (2,4)
2009 (1,5)
2019 (2,4)
2020 (1,5)

CAN
2011 (2,5)
2012 (1,4)
2013 (2,5)
2017 (1,4)
2023 (3,5)
2024 (2,5)

USA
2009 (2,4)
2011 (1,3)*
2014 (2,5)
2015 (2,5)
2016 (2,3)*
2018 (2,5)
2020 (2,4)
2021 (2,3)*
2022 (2,3)*

*Two medals

Canada no teams in the Top 5 in 2000 and 2005. Russia/FSR had no teams in the Top 5 in 2006-7, 2010-11, 2014-16, 2018, and 2021. The US had no teams in the Top 5 in 2000-4.

Are we talking Worlds? There wasn't a Worlds in 2020. I think you mean 2021 for Russia & USA not 2020.

 

[kwanfan1818]

Are we talking Worlds? There wasn't a Worlds in 2020. I think you mean 2021 for Russia & USA not 2020.

I did mean that, and I double-counted 2022 as a result. I'll go back and fix it.