2024–25 Canadian Pairs: News and Updates

[AngieNikodinovLove (ANL)]

Good to see Fiona Bombardier/Benjamin Mimar had a solid competition at Souvenir Georges-Éthier this weekend - 108.62 in FP, 165.17 total score. Someone has uploaded their La La Land FS (choreo. by Julie Marcotte) from today's livestream: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ly4zd-RAFkI
From the Canadian comps thread in Kiss & Cry:

CS Warsaw Cup perhaps?

Refresh my mimosa .. why didn’t skate Canada assign them for the TBD spot instead of giving it away?

 

[Karen-W]

Refresh my mimosa .. why didn’t skate Canada assign them for the TBD spot instead of giving it away?

Because their one outing this summer was a disaster and they are a brand-new team that has zero international experience. There is zero good to be achieved in throwing them into the high-pressure stakes of a GP for their first international competition when a 165 domestic score translates to, at best for a GP, a 155 score which is a good 20 points lower than the SB of any of the other teams on the roster. Why put them in a situation where they're guaranteed to finish dead last, and by a lot?

 

[danafan]

Bombardier and Mimar look way better. Thanks for posting the video link @Sylvia

Refresh my mimosa .. why didn’t skate Canada assign them for the TBD spot instead of giving it away?

No inside information but they did not skate very well earlier in the summer. Maybe if they had skated this well earlier they would have given them the TBD.

 

[AngieNikodinovLove (ANL)]

Because their one outing this summer was a disaster and they are a brand-new team that has zero international experience. There is zero good to be achieved in throwing them into the high-pressure stakes of a GP for their first international competition when a 165 domestic score translates to, at best for a GP, a 155 score which is a good 20 points lower than the SB of any of the other teams on the roster. Why put them in a situation where they're guaranteed to finish dead last, and by a lot?

Folks thought when MarBed got skate America at the very last minute amongst I think two other teams with zero or nearly 0 experience and lowww scores that fared well for them. I think they were in fourth after the short program? Finishing sixth overall.

I don’t know I was just asking, if they had a team that doesn’t need to have minimum requirements Why not put them in. I don’t know.. I go for bust .. I’m a risk taker. I’m not gonna go to the Olympics and play it safe either. ?

 

[Karen-W]

Folks thought when MarBed got skate America at the very last minute amongst I think two other teams with zero or nearly 0 experience that fared well for them. I think they were in fourth after the short program? Finishing sixth overall.

I don’t know I was just asking, if they had a team that doesn’t need to have minimum requirements Why not put them in. I don’t know.. I go for bust .. I’m a risk taker. I’m not gonna go to the Olympics and play it safe either. ?

There's a world of difference between MarBed who had junior international experience as well as both John Nicks IPC and CS Autumn Classic, not to mention a decent showing at Glacier Falls domestically under their belts before they were assigned to SkAm last season after Hanns/Neudecker WD. There was a lot more there to back up MarBed's eventual assignment to SkAm than there is to back up BoMim getting SCI this season.

 

[shutterbug]

Kemp/Elizarov were mentioned in a recent Winnipeg Free Press article about Breken Brezeden: https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/a...7/brezden-to-make-team-canada-debut-in-france

Meanwhile, Winnipeg’s junior pair skaters Ava Kemp, 16, and Yoni Elizarov, 20, who relocated to Toronto last year, were absent from Skate Canada’s junior camp in July due to an undisclosed injury and subsequently withdrew from their two Grand Prix events in Europe this month. The couple, who won silver at the prestigious Junior Grand Prix Final and ranked sixth at the world juniors last season, declined to provide any information about the injury or their future competition plans.

That certainly sounds ominous. Potentially career ending injury maybe, or possibly reevaluating their partnership?

 

[Sylvia]

My unofficial hearsay info is that K/E are hoping to return to competition when ready and move up to Senior domestically - fingers crossed for them both!

In a positive development today, Martina Ariano Kent/Charly Laliberte Laurent just posted sbs 2A and 2A+2A clips in their IG stories.

 

[shutterbug]

My unofficial hearsay info is that K/E are hoping to return to competition when ready and move up to Senior domestically - fingers crossed for them both!

Was back to skating this week, and checked in with my . From what they've heard, Ava has suffered a (to borrow terminology from the pro sports world ), "lower body injury". A return to competition is expected once she has recovered.

 

[fan]

Was back to skating this week, and checked in with my . From what they've heard, Ava has suffered a (to borrow terminology from the pro sports world ), "lower body injury". A return to competition is expected once she has recovered.

What does this mean? A butt injury?

 

[skategal]

What does this mean? A butt injury?

Groin maybe? ??‍

 

[shutterbug]

What does this mean? A butt injury?

Groin maybe? ??‍

Sounded like leg/foot. mentioned something about a cast, but the dressing room was noisy and I didn't quite catch it.

 

[Sylvia]

May 8 [Patinage Quebec's]:

Team B Pairs (4):
Emy Carignan & Bryan Pierro [Josée Picard] - S6 at 2024 Nationals
...
ETA - not listed: Elizabeth Thibodeau-Mailhot / Daniel Villeneuve QC S4

Émy Carignan and Bryan Pierro have split after many years together - his IPS profile as of: Oct. 6: https://icepartnersearch.com/showbio.php?i=6483

Thibodeau-Mailhot/Villeneuve have signed a professional contract with Holiday on Ice's new "Horizons" show in Europe.

The Patinage Quebec Équipe Excellence - Couple 2024-2025 document (updated on Aug. 15) - 3 pairs:
Deanna Stellato & Maxime Deschamps [Josée Picard]
Kelly Ann Laurin & Loucas Éthier [Stephanie Valois]
Martina Ariano Kent & Charly Laliberté Laurent [Marc-André Craig]

NextGen pair (1): Noémie Rolland & Étienne Lacasse [Stephanie Valois]

Team B pairs as of August 19:
Emy Carignan & Bryan Pierro [Josée Picard] - split
Julia Quatrocchi & Simon Desmarais [Annie Barabé]
Julia Di Menna & Félix-Antoine Chartrand [Jean-Marc Babin]

 

[danafan]

Bombardier and Mimar will make their international debut at the Warsaw Cup, per the Skate Canada international assignments page.

 

[Sylvia]

Robert Brodie's Oct. 18th Substack article includes a summary of Deanna/Max's pre-SCI24 media call - an excerpt:

And they’ve already been working hard on upping the technical ante. The throw-triple Lutz is one new trick they’re determined to add this season, and it’s something they started working on throughout the Stars On Ice tour back in the spring. There is a triple-double-double jump sequence that they’d like to have in place for the Olympic season (Stellato-Dudek said they did a “dry run” of that element at Skate Canada’s high-performance camp at the end of the summer, “and we had it go successfully or mostly successfully”). [...]
“We never expect perfection at the first event [Nebelhorn Trophy], so we were still pretty happy with it. But we’ve made a lot of choreographic changes to the short and just kind of honed in on some of the elements that we had a harder time with in the free,” she said. “And so we put in a lot of time, like a lot of time, on all of this. So we’re hoping to see the fruits of our labour next week.”

Updates on Deanna's citizenship quest, starting here (posts #40-42): https://www.fsuniverse.net/forum/th...-rather-than-later.111726/page-2#post-6667687

 

[withwings]

A good skate from Canadians Trennt Michaud and today Lia Pereira today!! Bravo Canadians! IMHO- finally- there are some signs of an improvement from Trennt in the performance department; more or less he is in sinch with his partner Lia

 

[Sylvia]

Photo of Pereira/Michaud and their quotes in the mixed zone afterwards: https://x.com/goldenskate/status/1852441120095277538

Lia Pereira / Trennt Michaud ?? 64.38

Lia: “We feel really good about today. We still gain new experiences every time we go out there. This was our first time coming back to an event we won last year, so dealing with some kind of expectations was new. But overall it was very nice to come back here where we know the venue already and everything feels familiar.”

Trennt: “This new SP was choreographed by Jean-Luc Baker and Olivia Smart. They are two of my best friends. For Olivia it was actually the first choreography she ever did. We love her she is so creative and such a good performer.”

Lia: “People told us we look like we have so much fun during practices, so we wanted to show that in this new fun program. It shows this fun part of our personalities very well. We really enjoy performing it.”

Trennt: “Our goal is to medal in every event we attend, we know we are capable of that.”

 

[withwings]

The choreography really sort of knocked to their personalities finally to come out. Truly good job of Olivia Smart and Jean Luc- Baker.

 

[Colonel Green]

Bombardier & Mimar at their most recent domestic comp. The short program was clean (though unfortunately the video/audio in the recording is annoyingly choppy), the free skate jumps/throws were messier. This partnership looks like it has real potential; Fiona has great on-ice presence.

 

[Sylvia]

Skate Ontario Sectional Championship Senior Pair final results:
1 Fiona Bombardier / Benjamin Mimar 60.79 (1) 101.29 (2) 162.08 - their int'l debut at CS Warsaw Cup is in less than 2 weeks!
2 Jazmine Desrochers / Kieran Thrasher 55.54 (2) 104.94 (1) 160.48 - JGP Final is next up
3 Cristina Lyons / Marty Haubrich 47.79 (3) 86.85 (3) 134.64
SP protocols: https://skateontario.org/results/25NOV/24NOVSSSeniorPairSP1DRO.pdf
FP protocols: https://skateontario.org/results/25NOV/24NOVSSSeniorPairFP2DRO.pdf

Senior Pairs SP starts at the 46-minute mark in Skate Ontario's replay video: https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x98vv2e
(FP replay not yet uploaded)

ETA - Desrochers/Thrasher's 1st place Ontario Senior FS: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qYN3AxaLjDE

My unofficial hearsay info is that K/E are hoping to return to competition when ready and move up to Senior domestically - fingers crossed for them both!

It looks like Ava Kemp/Yohnatan Elizarov (Granite Club) will stay Junior in Canada this season after all - they were listed with a Bye in Junior to Challenge: https://skateontario.org/results/25NOV/24NOVSSJuniorPairSP1SO.pdf

 

[Sylvia]

Posted on Sept. 29:

Bombardier and Mimar look way better. [...]
No inside information but they did not skate very well earlier in the summer. Maybe if they had skated this well earlier they would have given them the TBD.

Confirmed by Mike Slipchuk in Rob Brodie's Substack article after Skate Canada International (linked here https://www.fsuniverse.net/forum/threads/canadian-figure-skating.111461/page-10#post-6676653):

You may have noticed that Canada only filled two of its available three spots in Halifax. And there’s a reason for that. We’ll let Slipchuk explain.
“We have an international criteria that we set and we didn’t have a third team this summer that met any standard that we set to come to an international event. We have teams that were training, but we’re not going to bring a team that has not met (the standard) in any discipline,” he said. “We have to make the decision at the end of August and at that point, no one had shown us they were close to that. Some have met it now, but it was too late at that time.”
One of the teams in that category is the new pairing of Fiona Bombardier and Benjamin Mimar, who will make their international debut in three weeks time at Warsaw Cup, a Challenger Series event.

... he [Mimar] joined forces with Bombardier, whose previous partner, Gabriel Farand, retired from the sport. The new tandem, which trains with coach Bruno Marcotte in Oakville, Ontario, is still very much in its development phase.
“They’ll go to Warsaw in a few weeks but at that time (at the end of summer), they just weren’t ready,” said Slipchuk. “They just need time to keep developing. We don’t want to put any athlete in a position where you could come out and the result isn’t what you expect or it’s a negative experience.”

 

[Skate Talker]

Congrats to Fiona Bombardier and Benjamin Mimar for their solid short program at Warsaw Cup. That was a very decent international Challenger Series debut.

 

[Colonel Green]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1860073336031629320

And the all-important Worlds TES minimums were achieved.

 

[Alilou]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1860073336031629320

And the all-important Worlds TES minimums were achieved.

And in that first pic especially Fiona looks just like her mom. ?

 

[honey]

Busy couple of weeks for Canadian pairs!

I was sitting in traffic this weekend, and as one does, was listening to a little T Swift. And “Don’t Blame Me” came on and now I can’t stop thinking about how that song would be such a better choice for Deanna and Max’s short than what they picked. Thematically, very similar vibe to what they chose, but it matches the energy they are giving so much more. I agree 100% with some of the comments I’ve heard that not only is the music slow and plodding, but it’s not matching the energy they (especially Deanna) are trying to give. Deanna is trying to give drama and passion very overtly with her face and sharp movements and it often feels like it’s pushing against the music instead of working with it. Something that matches that energy would be a much better fit.

Anyhoo, that’s my unsolicited opinion. Eagerly awaiting the news that they have changed the program to pretty much anything else or gone back to last season’s. Surely this isn’t going to last the whole season .

Upon rewatch of Lia and Trennt at Cup of China, I very much noticed that they really did put in a ton of work on the performance side of things since the first event. They looked much more elevated as a team because of it and good on them for putting in that work. I still think the choreo is lacking though, but they are doing what they can right now with the programs they have been given. I keep hoping for more though.

And very nice international debut for Bombardier and Mimar! The throws were very impressive especially. I really hope emphasis for them over the next few years is put on the polish, line and finesse. So often we see teams with tons of potential, but they get limited at potential because they never grow past their initial level of skating skills and presentation. But there is a good technical base here, and I think some ability to perform inside them, so hoping they keep the momentum going and have a great season. And I’ll even say something nice about a Julie Marcotte program. I thought the La La Land suited them quite well and had some nice moments of choreography in it. It didn’t feel like usual Julie-ness.

Nationals should be a decent event with a strong top 4 and that third ticket to worlds looks like it could be a fight now. Looking forward to it!

 

[Sonata]

And I’ll even say something nice about a Julie Marcotte program. I thought the La La Land suited them quite well and had some nice moments of choreography in it. It didn’t feel like usual Julie-ness.

I will say the next part of their development would involved getting someone else than Julie Marcotte to choreograph their programs.... Alas, as she seems to be one of their coaches, I don't think this will happen.

Fiona Bombardier looks so much more solid in a few short months. I see the spark in her once again. Although I am still a bit sad she has left singles skating.

 

[Sylvia]

Reposting here from the Challenge competition thread in the Kiss & Cry section:

Laurie Nealin article in today's Winnipeg Free Press focusing on Manitoba skaters Kemp/Elizarov, Davey Howes, and Breken Brezden: Manitoba figure skaters come home for Skate Canada Challenge

Excerpt re. Kemp/Elizarov:

Kemp, 16, and Elizarov, who turns 21 next week, are once again in comeback mode after being sidelined from competition for several months while she recovered from an unspecified injury. It is the third time in as many seasons the Winnipeggers’ resilience has been tested. [...]
The junior pairs kick off the Challenge competition Thursday afternoon. The field has been reduced to three couples after two top contenders qualified for next week’s Grand Prix Final in France and another [MAK/CLL presumably] is out with injury.
Kemp and Elizarov’s short program is set to music from the HBO series Succession. It was choreographed by Canada’s 2008 world men’s champion Jeff Buttle, now part of their coaching team along with his former coach Lee Barkell.
The pair’s routine has a big fan in André Bourgeois, Skate Canada’s NextGen director, whose job it is to guide the country’s up-and-comers.
“It’s a program that will stand out. It’s so different, so cool how it’s done,” Bourgeois said last month in Halifax.
Kemp and Elizarov’s goal this week is to re-familiarize themselves with the feeling of competing and garner feedback from the judging panel in the build-up to Canadians and, potentially, the world junior championships in Hungary in February. (Kemp and Elizarov have already competed twice at worlds, finishing sixth both times.)
“They really love competing. They like to perform and they’re excited to perform back in their home town,” Dawe said, as he headed to a training session last Friday.
“We’re not far off from where we were before we had the break. At Challenge, we’re not doing all of our hardest content even though we’re (training) it all. We’re being smart and making sure we don’t have any more interruptions to the season.”

 

[shutterbug]

Cross posting from the Kiss and Cry forum, relevant excerpts from Laurie Nealin's article appearing in Saturday's edition of the Winnipeg Free Press (email required to read full article): Winnipeg pair erases all doubt

First, Ava Kemp and Yohnatan Elizarov knocked off any lingering rust in their finale to take the junior pair title after a nine-month absence from competition.

With an assist from Freddie Mercury, the reigning Canadian junior champions were excited to be, and to show, they are back in the game after Kemp’s extended recovery from injury.

Six hours before Howes stepped on the ice, Kemp and Elizarov debuted their new long program set to Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody. Even before their choreographer suggested it, that music had piqued Kemp’s interest and she wondered if it was something worth considering.

“We were wanting to do something different than our long program last year because it was kinda super serious,” said Elizarov. “We wanted the long to be a little more fun, a bit more entertaining so that’s the goal.”

They will ramp up the technical difficulty of their long program over the next six weeks — turning the throw double-jumps and individual double salchows they performed here into triples.

 

[Sylvia]

Today (Dec. 2):

https://twitter.com/x/status/1863654543281549399

 

[Sylvia]

From Nealin's post-Challenge article (post #87 above):

They will ramp up the technical difficulty of their long program over the next six weeks — turning the throw double-jumps and individual double salchows they performed here into triples.

Today Coach Kevin Dawe shared an Instagram story clip of Kemp/Elizarov landing a throw triple Salchow clip in practice.

Re-posting here:

In a recent TSL with Duhamel/Lease I felt her comments were rather pointed about Madi and Trennt/Lia. ... the potential she saw in the pair that hasn't materialized. I felt she might be suggesting they mix it up - maybe a coaching/training location change. Any thoughts?

Pereira/Michaud did manage to win the bronze at Cup of China. From @honey's post above:

Upon rewatch of Lia and Trennt at Cup of China, I very much noticed that they really did put in a ton of work on the performance side of things since the first event. They looked much more elevated as a team because of it and good on them for putting in that work. I still think the choreo is lacking though, but they are doing what they can right now with the programs they have been given. I keep hoping for more though.

ETA a relevant reply from the Women's thread:

Madi & Trennt both study at McMaster in Hamilton, so unfortunately, I would imagine entertaining coaching options in Toronto is not feasible as that commute daily would be very difficult to manage. I'm assuming this is a conscious choice to accept not the most ideal training conditions they may want in order to simultaneously progress other aspects of their lives (education, etc) - in other words, it's a trade off they are willing to make even if it limits their short-term skating career potential.

Jazmine Desrochers/Kieran Thrasher won their 2nd consecutive bronze at the Junior Grand Prix Final (they will make their senior national debut in Laval):

Skate Canada / Patinage Canada on Instagram: "? BACK-TO-BACK ? Jazmine Desrochers & Kieran Thrasher repeat as bronze medallists at Junior Grand Prix Final ? _____________ La preuve que le travail acharné en vaut la peine ? Jazmine Desrochers e

1,090 likes, 9 comments - skate_canada on December 7, 2024: "? BACK-TO-BACK ? Jazmine Desrochers & Kieran Thrasher repeat as bronze medallists at Junior Grand Prix Final ? _____________ La preuve que le travail acharné en vaut la peine ? Jazmine Desrochers et Kieran Thrasher brillent ? à...

www.instagram.com

ISU SB total scores after the GPF/JGPF (Dec. 7, 2024):

5	Deanna STELLATO-DUDEK / Maxime DESCHAMPS	CAN	ISU GP Finlandia Trophy 2024	17/11/2024	207.44	S
11	Lia PEREIRA / Trennt MICHAUD	CAN	ISU GP Cup of China 2024	23/11/2024	188.74	S
15	Kelly Ann LAURIN / Loucas ETHIER	CAN	ISU GP Finlandia Trophy 2024	17/11/2024	178.57	S
22	Fiona BOMBARDIER / Benjamin MIMAR	CAN	ISU CS PGE Warsaw Cup 2024	22/11/2024	170.51	S
25	Jazmine DESROCHERS / Kieran THRASHER	CAN	ISU JGP Ankara 2024	20/09/2024	159.77	J

 

[danafan]

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

2,951 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!