Sectionals/Challenge Discussion

[geoskate]

Here's an attempt at listing entries for senior men. Again, please let me know about missing entries or errors:

BC:
1 Ronald Lam, 2 Andrew Lum, 3 Patrick Wong, 4 Rhys Anderson
Plus Liam Firus, who has a bye to Challenge due to his JGP assignments. Since he was junior champion last year I believe he has to skate senior.

Alberta:
1 Ehren Jaleel, 2 Raymond Schultz

Northern Ontario:
1. Benjamin Guthrie - did not skate at sectionals, but goes through because he's the only entry?

Central Ontario:
1. Andrei Rogozine (bye because of JGP, but he skated at sectionals anyway), 2 Raphael Yacobi-Harris, 3 Patrick Myzyk. ETA: See nadster's post below; a bye to Canadians for Andrei Rogozine is probable because he will be at the JGP Final one week after Challenge.

Western Ontario
1. Alexander Sheldrick - did not skate, but goes through because he's the only entry?

Quebec;
1 Marc-Andre Craig, 2 Eladj Baldé, 3 Ian Martinez, 4 Charles Dion, 5 Sebastian Wolfe, 6 Maxime-Billy Fortin, 7 Dave Ferland, 8 Louis-Philippe Sirois
Plus Samuel Morais, who was listed on the Quebec entries but had a bye to Challenge due to his JGP assignments.

Newfoundland:
1. Joey Russell.

If my math is correct, that means there should be 22 entries in Challenge.

Byes to Canadians due to Grand Prix Assignments and/or medallists last year at Canadians: Patrick Chan, Kevin Reynolds, Shawn Sawyer, Jeremy Ten. ETA: plus Andrei Rogozine due to JPG Final (see nadster's post below). That means that there are 13 open positions to be filled from Challenge.
Please let me know about any errors or omissions.

[nadster]

If my math is correct, that means there should be 22 entries in Challenge.

Byes to Canadians due to Grand Prix Assignments and/or medallists last year at Canadians: Patrick Chan, Kevin Reynolds, Shawn Sawyer, Jeremy Ten.. That means that there are 14 open positions to be filled from Challenge.

Please let me know about any errors or omissions.

I know that the GP and JGPF finals take place the week after challenge this year ( unlike at the same time like previous years ).

Traditionally those who made the JGPF also get a bye straight to nationals. So Rogozine would get a bye ( it does not matter that he competed at sectionals). That would leave 13 open slots to be filled at the challenge.

This year's JGPF final is in China. So I think it would be in SC's best interest to let Rogozine skip challenge so he can focus properly on the JGPF ( which is so much more important to him at the moment ).

[geoskate]

Here's an attempt at listing entries for senior pairs.

Western Ontario
- Brittany Jones/Kurtis Gaskell.(did not compete at sectionals due to their JGP assignments).
- Margaret Purdy/Michael Marinaro. (also did not compete at sectionals, due to their JPG assignments).

Quebec;
1 Jade-Savannah Godin/Andrew Evans,
2. Noemie Arseneault/Simon-Pierre Cote,
3. Alexie Gelinas/David Struthers.

If my math is correct, that means there should be 5 entries in Challenge.

Byes to Canadians due to Grand Prix Assignments and/or medallists last year at Canadians: Kirsten Moore-Towers/Dylan Moscovitch, Paige Lawrence/Rudy Swiegers, Meagan Duhamel/Eric Radford, Mylene Brodeur/John Mattatall and Kaleigh Hole/Adam Johnson. Since there are 12 spots for pairs at Canadians, that should mean that no one is eliminated at Challenge.

Note: According to the registrations at sectionals, JPG Final-bound pairs Purich/Shultz and Steele/Schultz are both skating junior at Canadians this year, as well as Bobak/Penasse.

Here's an attempt at listing entries for senior dance:

BC:
- Tarrah Harvey/Keith Gagnon had a bye to Challenge due to their Nebelhorn assignment.

Alberta:
- Sarah Lysne/Christopher Steeves: Did not skate at Alberta sectionals but may still qualify since they are the only Alberta team. They haven't done a competition all year, though, so I don't know if they are still competing.

Manitoba:
- Alexa-Marie Arotta/Martin Nickel did not skate at Manitoba sectionals, but since they are the only Manitoba senior ice dance team they would go through to Challenge without skating.

Eastern Ontario:
- Helene Letourneau/Kevin Boczar did not skate at EOS sectionals, but since they were the only entry they would go through to Challenge anyway,.

Quebec:
1. Audrey Dupont/Marcus Connolly,
2. Anne-Chloe Bissonnette/Dylan Lockey
Marie-Eve Fournier/Derek Green did not skate at Quebec sectionals but may still qualify, due to the number of entries allowed from Quebec.

If my math is correct, that means there may be 7 entries in Challenge.

Byes to Canadians due to Grand Prix Assignments and/or medallists last year at Canadians: Vanessa Crone/Paul Poirier, Kaitlyn Weaver/Andrew Poje, Alexandra Paul/Mitchell Islam, Sarah Arnold/Justin Trojek, Kharis Ralph/Asher Hill.. Also, of course, Virtue/Moir, if they are back to skating by that point.
Since there are 15 dance spots and only 12 teams (13 with Virtue/Moir), I think all teams will get through Challenge to Canadians. By contrast, the contest for spots at Canadians for the junior level will be quite competitive.

Please let me know about any errors or omissions.

[geoskate]

Here's an attempt at listing entries for junior men. Again, please let me know about missing entries or errors:
BC Section:
1. Nam Nguyen, 2. Pollux Yeung, 3. Dylan Archambault.
Alberta Section:
1. Christopher Blackmore, 2. Daniel Kratochvil, 3. Stephen Lawson.
Saskatchewan section:
1. Garrett Gosselin
Northern Ontario Section:
1. Joel Bond, 2. Jacob Cryderman.
Western Ontario Section:
1. Michael Marinaro
Central Ontario Section:
1. Shaquille Davis, 2. Iassen Petkov, 3. Scott Boas, 4. Caden Armstong, 5. Satish Stafansson (5th, but qualifies because of bye for Shaquille Davis due to his JGP assignment).
Eastern Ontario Section:
1. Peter O'Brien.
Quebec section:
1. Jack Kermezian, 2. Sasha Alcoloumbre, 3. Samuel Angers, 4. Maxime Deschamps, 5. Mathieu Chouinard, 6. Nicolas Yaskiw, 7. Alexandre Vaugeois, 8. Jeremie Boisier-Michaud.

I don't think there are any entries from Newfoundland, or from the NB/NS/PEI sectional competition. If my math is correct, that means there should be 24 entries in Challenge. I can't think of any byes to Canadians at the junior level, so that should mean that 18 of the 24 entrants to Challenge would go on to Canadians.

For junior women, the entries should be the following:
BC Section:
1. Janet Truong, 2. Morgan Jmaiff, 3. Kelsey Wiebe, 4. Kitty Qian.
Alberta Section:
1. Kaetlyn Osmond (but she has a bye to Challenge due to JGP assignments), 2. Natasha Purich (but she's also competing in pairs in the JGP Final, so she may have to give up her spot), 3. Jane Gray, 4. Alexandra Rynn, 5. Lauren Sieffert (5th, but qualifies due to bye for Kaetlyn Osmond). If Natasha Purich has to give up her spot, she would be replaced by Rebecca Marsh.
Saskatchewan section:
1. Brett Cancade, 2. Shelby Stupak.
Manitoba section:
1. Deidre Russell, 2. Lindsay Penner, 3. Janelle Langlais.
Northern Ontario Section:
1. Jessica Niemi, 2. Taylor Latimer, 3. Veronique Cloutier, 4. Riley Rogowski.
Western Ontario Section:
1. Zoey Brown, 2. Cassandra McDonnell, Elizabeth Liao, 4. Kelsey Sobkowich.
Central Ontario Section:
1. Rachel Greben, 2. Giouzelin Mutlu, 3. Andrea Tou, 4. Michelle Chung.
Eastern Ontario Section:
1. Alaine Chartrand, 2. Carly Morishita, 3. Jennifer Pettern, 4. Anna Krzemien.
Quebec section:
1. Juliana Sagaria, 2. Roxanne Rheault, 3. Alexie Gelinas (also competing in senior pairs), 4. Maude Gagnon, 5. Chloe Larose, 6. Marylie Jorg, 7. Karelle Nadeau, 8. Alexandra Gagnon.
Nova Scotia section:
1. Najala Orrell

If my math is correct, that means there should be 39 entries in junior women at Challenge. I can't think of any byes to Canadians at the junior level, so that should mean that 18 of the 39 entrants to Challenge would go on to Canadians, and 21 entrants stop at Challenge.

For junior pairs, the entries should be the following:

BC Section:
1. Amelia Austin/Braeden Donaldson - they didn't skate at sectionals, but they were the only pair entered so I assume they qualify for Challenge.
Alberta Section:
- Natalie Kwong/Garnet Suidy skated as guests at Western Ontario sectionals, but were registered at Alberta sectionals. I have assumed that they qualify by means of the Alberta sectionals.
- Natasha Purich/Raymond Schultz should get a bye through to Canadians because they are in the JGP Final.
Western Ontario Section:
1. Katherine Bobak/Matthew Penasse, 2. Kristen Tikel/Ian Beharry, 3. Taylor Steele/Rob Schultz, 4. Aveline Person/Alexander Sheldrick.
- Taylor Steele/Rob Schultz should get a bye through to Canadians because they are in the JGP Final.
Central Ontario Section:
1. Gabriella DeBono/Christopher Sisca.
Quebec section:
1. Tara Hancherow/Sebastien Wolfe, 2. Krystel Dejardins/Charlie Bilodeau, 3. Catherine Balde/Maxime Deschamps, 4. Marianne Rioux-Oullet/Thomas Potvin.
Newfoundland/Labrador section:
1. Alexandra Young/Matthew Young.


If my math is correct, that means there should be 11 entries in Challenge. There should be two byes to Canadians at the junior level (Purich/Schultz and Steele/Schultz, since both are in the JGP final). With 10 spots remaining, that means that all but one of the pair entrants at Challenge should go through to Canadians.

Finally, dance:
BC Section:
1. Sara Aghai/Qwynn Dalmer, 2. Larissa Van As/Troy Shindle
- Nicole Orford/Thomas Williams had a bye to Challenge due to their JGP assignments.
Alberta Section:
- Jazz Smyl-Joly/Ryan Behnia skated as guests at EOS, but they would qualify through Alberta because they are the only Alberta junior dance team.
Western Ontario Section:
1. Jade Marrow/Allan Stoll, 2. Olga Lioudvinevitch/Benjamin Mulder.
-Carolyn MacCuish/Tyler Morris have a bye to Challenge because of their JGP assignment.
Central Ontario Section:
1. Kelly Oliveira/Jordan Hockley (but they have a bye to Challenge anyway due to the JGP assignments),
- Abby Carswell/Andrew Doleman have a bye to Challenge because of their JGP assignment.
- Edrea Khong/Edbert Khong have a bye to Challenge because of their JGP assignment.
Eastern Ontario Section:
1. (Guest), 2. Sarah Clarke/Steven Clarke, 3. Lauren Sears/David MacKay-Perry, 4. Anoushka Ritchie-Hervieux/Philippe Masse 5. Joanna Salvagna/Christopher Lettner, but they qualify because the first placement was a guest team.
Quebec section:
1. Laurence Fournier-Beaudry/Yoan Breton, 2. Victoria Hasegawa/Connor Hasegawa (but they had a bye to Challenge due to their JGP assignment), 3. Elisabeth Paradis/Francois-Xavier Ouellette, 4. Marieve Cyr/Benjamin Brisebois, 5. Carolane Soucisse/Benjamin Smyth, 6. Mellisande Dumas/Anthony Quintal, 7. Rachel Kirkland/Sebastien Buron, 8. Laurence Darveau/Jonathan Arcieri, 9. Josyane Cholette/Simon Proulx-Senecal (they qualify because the Hasegawas have a bye to Challenge).
- Andreanne Poulin/Marc-Andre Servant have a bye to Challenge due to their JGP assignment.

If my math is correct, that means there should be 24 entries in Challenge. I can't think of any byes at the junior level for dance, so that means 15 of the entries should go through to Canadians and 9 entries will be eliminated. This is far more competitive, obviously, than the dance event at the senior level.

[hohoho]

Thanks Geoskate for the information. With only 2 weeks to challenge, lets get some predictions started:

Senior Men:

1. Andre Rogozine
2. Marc-Andre Craig
3. Joey Russell.

Senior Ladies:

Should be wide open.

1. Quebec
2. Quebec
3. Quebec

Junior Men

1. Nam Nguyen
2. Shaquille Davis
3. Garrett Gosselin

Junior Ladies:

1. Kaetlyn Osmond
2. Julianna Sagaria
3. Kitty Qian

[nadster]

Thanks Geoskate for the information. With only 2 weeks to challenge, lets get some predictions started:

Senior Men:

1. Andre Rogozine
2. Marc-Andre Craig
3. Joey Russell.

Senior Ladies:

Should be wide open.

1. Quebec
2. Quebec
3. Quebec

I highly doubt that Rogozine will show up for the challenge. He would have a bye to nationals because he made the JGPF. Besides, the JGPF takes place the week after the challenge in China. It is better for him to take the time ( jet-lag , time zone etc ) to prepare for the JGPF ( where medalling there would guarantee him senior GP assignments next year ). I expect Craig, Balde and Russell to medal there in some order.

As for the women, I would not expect a Quebec sweep of the senior ladies at the challenge. Like you I would not dare to predict this event as most of the senior women that made it are inconsistent skaters.

Adriana Desanctis ( CO ) has skated very strongly all season and it is a pity she did not receive a senior B assignment at least this year. Will Kate Charbonneau ( MB) regain the form she had a JW worlds last season? If she does, I think Kate could win the challenge. Unfortunately her skates have not been up to that standard this year. Basically Adriana has been the most consistent this year but Kate has the most potential when on.

[geoskate]

My predictions -

Junior men: 1. Shaquille Davis, 2. Nam Nguyen, 3. Jack Kermezian (but 1 and 2 could easily
Junior women: 1. Kaetlyn Osmond, 2. Julianna Sagaria, 3. Rachel Greben
Junior dance: 1. Orford/Williams, 2. Poulin/Servant, 3. Oliveira/Hockley
Junior pairs: (Assuming Purich/Schultz and Steele/Schultz will not be there) 1. Bobak/Penasse, 2. Hancherow/Wolfe, 3. Tikel/Beharry
Senior men: 1. Eladj Baldé, 2. Marc-Andre Craig, 3. Joey Russell (assuming Andrei Rogozine will not be at Challenge).
Senior women: 1. Adriana Desanctis, 2. Alexandra Najarro, 3. Kate Charbonneau
Senior dance: 1. Harvey/Gagnon, 2. Letourneau/Boczar 3. Arotta/Nickel
Senior pairs: 1. Jones/Gaskell, 2. Godin/Evans, 3. Purdy/Marinaro

[SubRosa]

As first alternates, Jones/Gaskell will likely be on the plane to Beijing for the JGPF, if Sui/Han qualify for and decide to skate in the SGPF (which seems likely at this point, depending of course on what happens at TEB).

[geoskate]

Excellent point. I had completely forgotten that Sui/Han have very likely qualified for both the SGPF and the JGPF.

Even if Sui/Han stay in the JGPF, the 1st alternate team for the Senior Grand Prix Final should be Takahashi/Tran, who also qualified for the Junior Grand Prix Final. In that case they would face the same decision as Sui/Han, and IMO they would go to the SGPF if they had the chance.

I think it's very unlikely that both Sui/Han and Takahashi/Tran would choose the JGP Final over the SGP Final. You're probably right in suggesting that Jones/Gaskell won't be at challenge due to the JGP Final.

[hohoho]

Does anyone know if the challenge events will be streamed on Skatebuzz? It will be nice to be able to see the up and coming skaters and Canada's next group of young guns,

[mariposa]

Starting orders for Eastern/Western Challenge are up on the Skate Canada website.

[geoskate]

Here's the link: http://www.skatecanada.ca/en/events_...2011Result.cfm

[geoskate]

Comparing the actual entries back to the original listing above, the junior listings appear to be unchanged. There are a few minor changes in senior:
1. As nadster suggested, Andrei Rogozine is not listed in senior men, presumably because he will be at the JPG Final and gets a bye to Canadians.
2. From the Quebec section in senior men, Louis-Philippe Sirois has been replaced by David Struthers.
3. Also in senior men, Alexander Sheldrick from WOS is not listed. He was listed in the entries for WOS sectionals, but did not compete at the event.
4. In senior women Gabrielle Anne Cormier is listed. She was originally listed in the entries for NB sectionals but did not compete, I think. She would go through anyway because there were only two senior women competing in the section.
5. There are seven entries in pairs rather than five, since Meagan Duhamel/Eric Radford and Kaleigh Hole/Adam Johnson are entered. They don't need to compete here, since both teams have a bye to nationals, but probably they want the competitive experience.
6. There are only five entries in senior dance rather than seven because the teams of Sarah Lysne/Christopher Steeves (AB), Alexa-Marie Arotta/Martin Nickel (MB) and Marie-Eve Fournier/Derek Green (Quebec) all are not competing, even though they were listed as entries at their respective sectionals. On the other hand Kharis Ralph/Asher Hill, who have a bye to nationals due to the Senior Grand Prix event, are competing.

[NorthernDancers]

Comparing the actual entries back to the original listing above, the junior listings appear to be unchanged. There are a few minor changes in senior:

6. There are only five entries in senior dance rather than seven because the teams of Sarah Lysne/Christopher Steeves (AB), Alexa-Marie Arotta/Martin Nickel (MB) and Marie-Eve Fournier/Derek Green (Quebec) all are not competing, even though they were listed as entries at their respective sectionals. On the other hand Kharis Ralph/Asher Hill, who have a bye to nationals due to the Senior Grand Prix event, are competing.

I don't understand why Alexa-Marie/Martin, and Marie-Eve/Derek aren't competing. Don't they have to in order to go to Nationals? Because there are so few teams, everyone just goes to Nationals? Or did these teams quit?

[nadster]

I don't understand why Alexa-Marie/Martin, and Marie-Eve/Derek aren't competing. Don't they have to in order to go to Nationals? Because there are so few teams, everyone just goes to Nationals? Or did these teams quit?

There aren't enough dance teams ( even considering byes ) to eliminate any dance teams at the challenge this year. See geoskate's previous post listing the dance teams. At most there will be 13 teams at nationals this year where there are 15 spots available ( byed + challenge). So competing there is optional

What it would mean though is that the teams that were able to skip the challenge solely due to lack of challenge entries , should they show up at nationals, would be the first to skate at nationals.

Skate order is the following for the SD at Canadians. My definition of a byed skater is one who medalled at last Canadians, got a senior GP assignment or made the JGPF ( the valid ways of being able to skip the challenge no matter how many teams entered the challenge)

1. Skaters that did not compete at challenge but only got to Canadians due to lack of entries at the challenge.
2. Reverse order of results of non-byed skaters at challenge.
3. Byed skaters who did not skate at senior dance last year ( Paul/Islam)
4. Byed skaters in reverse order