2025-2026 Canadian Figure Skating | Page 17 | Golden Skate

2025-2026 Canadian Figure Skating

Well, personally, I would love to see Cristina Lyons back in pairs, but she's two years older than Charly and no longer Junior eligible, so I don't think he'd go for her at this time in his career.

There are some international skaters with pairs experience looking for partners, like Claudia Sinclair Scotti (ESP/ITA) and Lilianna Murray (USA), but neither has consistent triples. With Varvara Cheremnykh (RUS), who has pairs experience and triple jumps, he'd have the same height difference as with Brooke McIntosh, which would be quite the adjustment for him after skating with Martina.
There are some skaters who might be willing to try pairs in Canada and outside of Canada (like Leona Gebara (SWE), who has both 3S and 3T), but it is always a risk pairing up with a partner who is completely new to the discipline.
Hmm. I genuinely think he needs a partner who can do triples, otherwise he will continue to be held back. It may be that he needs to bite the bullet of having a partner who needs to learn the pairs elements from scratch so that he can have a higher technical ceiling with them longer-term. Canada has been quite successful recently in supporting good female singles skaters with the transition to pairs.
 
From Next Gen, we have Sandrine Blais and the two Volkova sisters, as possibilities.

From ONT, I’ve always seen Ksenia as a Pairs girl. She has the “IT” factor and hasn’t learned a triple triple or the 3Lo and hasn’t made much strides forward in her technical jumps. I was hoping to see her and David S pair up though…. 😏

There are a lot of talented senior ladies from Quebec. But, they may be too old for what Charly is looking for. I hope we don’t lose him to another country. He is a great Pairs partner.

David S and Charly Pair developments will be interesting 🤔
 
Somebody previously mentioned Kara Yun for pairs although I understand she has retired (after Junior worlds). She is back in BC I think I read. It seems a shame that one disappointment (which seemed a bit unfair to me), has caused her to quit. Lots of "ifs" and "buts" but perhaps she could be encouraged to consider / try pairs.
 
Somebody previously mentioned Kara Yun for pairs although I understand she has retired (after Junior worlds). She is back in BC I think I read. It seems a shame that one disappointment (which seemed a bit unfair to me), has caused her to quit. Lots of "ifs" and "buts" but perhaps she could be encouraged to consider / try pairs.
That was me. I thought Kara would for sure be at Next Gen. When I didn’t see her name, I concluded that maybe she accepted David S’s request to try for Pairs, as she was the only one missing.

But, David S. Skated at ONT recent event. I hope Kara isn’t discouraged by Junior Worlds. She skated as good as she could skate at that event.

All it takes, is one look at Lia and Fiona to see them flourish in Pairs. But, Pairs is a scary event for me if I was a girl. I wouldn’t want to be thrown in the air and constantly at the mercy of my male partner.

But, Charly is experienced in Pairs and similar to Trentt (a safe bet and sure path to International events).
 
well... what a frustrating day...
went to the tennis stadium... Both Canadians played poorly and lost... and Bianca just w/d as she tore ligaments on Sunday.

So... I get home... and Marly is no longer Marly.

If Kara wants to try pairs.. they could be Karly :)

I agree about Christina Lyons .. okay fine... she's older so they would need to skate seniors but she does have solid jumps.... but then, she's 165 cms... It is on the taller side for sure. Does anyone know how tall Martina is ?

I am not surprised, like you all, about the split announcement... Let's put it this way : the guy just went through a severe injury and got himself back in shape in no time to get ready for junior worlds... and then... they cannot even succeed to beat a new team like Julia and Étienne who are doing a lot of doubles but are well prepared. I'd be frustrated too, IF, his perception is that Martina wasn't putting the effort... As fans, though, I am very cautious about this : there is no way for us, other than reading his post, to know what happened and that doesn't belong to us anyway. I am just sad.

Re potential partners.
Charly is only 184 cms... so a bit taller than Trennt but definitely not tall enough for someone like Brooke (167cms) or anyone in the 165cms + department. I guess there are lots of partnerships with the 20cms height difference but I have the feeling that Martina was shorter so that would mean quite the adjustment here.

There are plenty of shorter women, especially in Quebec... but do they really want to get twisted and thrown ? Or do their parents want them to be LOL (I doubt Martine wants her girls to be thrown and twisted) I remember Josée Chouinard not really thrilled at first, by the idea of Fiona doing pairs.

It is kind of ironic in some ways... Beau and Julia may have been potential partners for Charly but I am not sure their jumps are steadier... but now, they are taken.

@RatedPG mentioned David S but let's not forget that Bryan Pierro and perhaps even Thierry Ferland are also experienced unmatched male partners in Québec.

Hetty Shi or Lulu Lin could be really good pair girls if they wanted to be.

sigh.
 
I have kind of secretly been hoping for Hetty and David Shteyngart. Kara Yun could be a good option for pairs, too.
Those are good picks. These girls are tiny and can land difficult triple jump combinations.

I also haven’t seen much improvement from either of these two. Hetty has regressed even more than Kara.

If it wasn’t for Victoria transferring from Russia, at Next Gen, we would be void of any singles eligible junior girl attaining the domestic benchmark needed for international assignment.

Let’s wait to see what happens. I also want to add Ksenia cause something tells me that Skate Canada will not pick her for JGP despite finishing 2nd at Junior Nationals and 3rd at Next Gen. The lack of triple-triple or 2A-triple is what prevented Fiona from JGP assignment. Ksenia also doesn’t have a 3Lo. So, this makes me curious as to what Skate Canada will do with our Junior Girls in the singles event.
 
17cm of a height difference (Brooke and Charly) isn't the end of the world, it's more the fact that he isn't very strong and her jumps aren't the most stable. People have made it work with less of a difference before, but it's rare. Martina is probably no more than 160.

I think there is a good possibility we will see him representing France. I would also suggest bringing in a Russian girl, for either country
 
There's a good contingent of Canadian skaters that'll be at Glacier Falls (most are from BC):

Junior Women
Calissa Adlem
Gabrielle Jugnauth
Konstantina Lock
Amy Ritchie
Malia Stuart
Emily Liao

Junior Men
William Bocksay
Tehryn Lee
Matthew Yu
Christopher Manis
Nico Conforti

Junior Pairs
Rebecca Laiu/Marty Haubrich

Senior Pairs
Lia Pereira/Trennt Michaud

Senior Men
Aleksa Rakic
Neo Tran
Shohei Law

Senior Women
Amy Shao Ning Yang
Madeline Schizas
Brookelynn Pollock

As well Gabrielle Daleman is competing in Philadelphia this week.
 
17cm of a height difference (Brooke and Charly) isn't the end of the world, it's more the fact that he isn't very strong and her jumps aren't the most stable. People have made it work with less of a difference before, but it's rare. Martina is probably no more than 160.

I think there is a good possibility we will see him representing France. I would also suggest bringing in a Russian girl, for either country
As I said, many teams deal with a 15-20cms height difference but that's definitely not something Charly would be used to be doing. He is young. He just had a shoulder injury. He is not the strongest guy out there. Maybe in a few years but not right now. I'd say that options like Brooke are out of the question.

What Russian girls ? I just read something on social media... who knows it it's true but apparently the Russians are "done" with giving away talent to other countries... says Anton Shikarulidze. Canada has plenty of girls able to land 3T and 3S and 2a. It's really not the issue. The issue is for them to be wanting to do pairs, just like Lia or Fiona. Even a less highly ranked skater like Emmanuelle Proft with her stable but basic jumps was getting somewhere with Nic, two singles skaters without prior experience in pairs.

Regarding France, it's a possibility for sure. However, I do feel that if it does make more sense for his brother, considering the pool of skaters in Canadian ice dance and also, the fact that France has a few great schools for ice dance, I am not sure Charly needs to switch feds because pairs will always be a smaller contingent of skaters... and he has access to some of the best coaches here. Of course, one can represent any country and still train in Canada... especially if they do not need t obtain the citizenship as they already have it...

In any case, this split comes at the worst possible time. Their programs were made. The season was just starting. I hope this decision was well thought for him... and not just the result of one bad outing.

Anyone can ask Maxime or Thierry etc how difficult it is to find a good partner.... Lori-Ann couldn't land jumps... but with Thierry, they were fun to watch and had great elements... now... none of them can land their jumps because Thierry has been sitting out for a couple seasons. I hope this doesn't happen to Charly as he certainly could use his junior eligibility to develop.
 

Heartfelt edit for Martina Ariano Kent and Charly Laliberte-Laurent , set to "Dream it Possible" by Delacey. "It's not until you fall that you fly"
 
I'm late to the party, but:
Minsol Kwon officially has Canadian citizenship and will skate on the junior grand prix this year?
Love her style of skating! I'm curious why she switched countries. Anyway, praying for the best for her!
 
I'm late to the party, but:
Minsol Kwon officially has Canadian citizenship and will skate on the junior grand prix this year?
Love her style of skating! I'm curious why she switched countries. Anyway, praying for the best for her!
Where have you seen this? As far as I am aware, there has been no confirmation that she is intending to switch federations. She was not at Next Gen, and the skater who has switched from Russia (Victoria Barakhtina) was.
 
Where have you seen this? As far as I am aware, there has been no confirmation that she is intending to switch federations. She was not at Next Gen, and the skater who has switched from Russia (Victoria Barakhtina) was.
I've been hearing bits and pieces of heresay and rumors for months. Idk where the truth is. I "heard" that the Korean federation didn't believe in her abilities and wouldn't push for her. I "heard" that she switched to Canada. I "heard" there was discourse with her transfer to Canada. Someone please clear up all this for me! Idk where to look, as i dont have instagram or twitter.
 
I've been hearing bits and pieces of heresay and rumors for months. Idk where the truth is. I "heard" that the Korean federation didn't believe in her abilities and wouldn't push for her. I "heard" that she switched to Canada. I "heard" there was discourse with her transfer to Canada. Someone please clear up all this for me! Idk where to look, as i dont have instagram or twitter.
She moved to Canada last summer and has competed in a small number of domestic events (including the recent Ontario one), which she can do without switching countries. Skaters can compete domestically in more than one country (e.g. Skaters who represent Ireland internationally often compete on the GBR domestic circuit), but they cannot represent more than one country internationally. There has not been any announcement that Minsol Kwan has been released by the Korean Federation or has sought to represent Canada internationally. She also has not competed in or for Korea since she moved to Canada. It is possible that she might be intending to switch to Canada, but there has been no confirmation of any sort. If she had switched countries and was wanting to represent Canada on this year's Junior Grand Prix circuit, she would have been at Next Gen rather than the Ontario competition.
 
Minsol identifies herself as a Korean figure skater on her Instagram bio. She did recently update her profile picture with her free skate from Skate Ontario July and didn't indicate a switch in her recent post.
 
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