2025-2026 Canadian Figure Skating

[RatedPG]

Academie Performance Isatis posted what looks like a teaser for a new team announcement with Charly Laliberte-Laurent:

Amazing
I can’t wait to find out who it is.

All I will say is, the new girl better jump better than Martina. Speaking of, what happened to Martina? I saw her skate at a Junior singles event. I think she was trying to reach the minimum TES for Challenge and just missed it. I don’t recall seeing her at Sectionals. But, I only watched the free skates and only watched the later flights. I guess she must be focusing on Pairs now.

I can’t wait to see what Charly has up his sleeve. I completely forgot about him with three of our Junior pairs making it to the JP Finals.

 

[4everchan]

Amazing
I can’t wait to find out who it is.

All I will say is, the new girl better jump better than Martina. Speaking of, what happened to Martina? I saw her skate at a Junior singles event. I think she was trying to reach the minimum TES for Challenge and just missed it. I don’t recall seeing her at Sectionals. But, I only watched the free skates and only watched the later flights. I guess she must be focusing on Pairs now.

I can’t wait to see what Charly has up his sleeve. I completely forgot about him with three of our Junior pairs making it to the JP Finals.

Martina w/d from sectionals.

 

[4everchan]

I think the max is two challengers and Kaiya got that.

I thought so too but I guess skaters can enter more ( I see some with three entries on the challenger table, with their lowest score not counting) but would Skate Canada do this ? It could be that Skate Canada has their own limit of two already

Gabby - Should have clearly gotten Golden Spin though… especially after her 180+ skates both domestically and then internationally
I guess she has to prove herself further at the Challenge event.

Gabby : I think she did deserve a Challenger but then, I am betting that Skate Canada didn't want to give her a bye.

Uliana - that one is a mystery to me. She keeps scoring 170+ domestically and only got the Skate Canada spot. I believe she surpassed the benchmark three times. She should have been sent to Denis Ten, Warsaw or even Golden Spin in addition to the Skate Canada spot.

Mystery. Maybe Skate Canada told her no challenger but host spot... Who knows... or maybe she had plans for a challenger and it was too close to SCI and had to let that go ???

These two women need opportunities and deserved a second international event.

yes

KMS - I heard before HP she was aiming for Warsaw. But, she seems like she didn’t do well enough at high performance camp and when she failed scoring over 166 at her one domestic event, in ONT, something tells me she lost that spot. So, she at least had a chance to fight for it.

She has unfortunately been struggling with injury and getting back is not often easy. So it's good that she is taking things more domestically at this point (and slowly).

 

[discodisco]

I have no idea what went on with them but it was unfortunate. Very unfortunate. They used to be such great jumpers but they are struggling this season.

I love their short program, and while I love the mission, I'm not 100% sold on this program for a reason I can't quite determine. Like many, I very much appreciate the symbolism of the somewhat unrefined boy soprano in the context of the movie, but I do have to admit that it is pretty grating on the ears.... additionally, I think what is really really noticeable with them is, similar to Sarah - Maude, they just don't quite have the same speed as the other teams. The ice coverage just isn't quite as impressive, and when they are nervous or holding back, there's a noticeable drop in speed and less impressive ice coverage than with the other teams at the top, who don't drop so much in speed or attack. That's it - I'm really impressed that she was able to pull off the throws so well despite the Rocky start - so that's a great positive step in the right direction

 

[discodisco]

In this case it wasn’t the jump itself, they clipped blades as they started crossovers after.

Think they stay for another quad? For pairs men, 33/34 isn’t out of the realm.

Interesting to note that despite the missed sequence, a couple deductions for Falls and a less than Stellar performance, their PCS scores weren't too bad, and the judging suggested that they are definitely heading toward mid-135 if they could put everything together, which was quite a positive take away from the competition I think.

 

[discodisco]

GoGo and Roman are really putting up a fight for that Olympic spot. It is so good to have two men pushing each other this way. Think both of them should have been up a bit more in PCS, which might have even put GoGo in 2nd place. And had Roman been able to go without any qs, we might have have had 2 men on the podium. ( I know, not really but wishful thinking! )

Totally. He’s finally got the monkey off his back with the inconsistency—his free skates have been solid all year, and he’s fighting to the end. The big thing he still has to fix before nationals is the under-rotations. His jump height swings from huge on the quad to barely off the ice on others, and even with his natural speed he often crawls into non-quad jumps. There’s really no reason for him to be under-rotating the Lutz, but he still does.

I genuinely think the only way he can pass Steven for the Olympic spot is by tightening up those under-rotations and adding about 10% more speed and float into and out of his jumps. That’s the gap. Steven has way more jump and transitional content, but the other guy has better spins, skating skills, and speed. Still, he can’t bleed 10 tech points—he’s basically skating clean for ~160, and with those fixes he’d probably be in the 170s.

 

[4everchan]

I love their short program, and while I love the mission, I'm not 100% sold on this program for a reason I can't quite determine. Like many, I very much appreciate the symbolism of the somewhat unrefined boy soprano in the context of the movie, but I do have to admit that it is pretty grating on the ears.... additionally, I think what is really really noticeable with them is, similar to Sarah - Maude, they just don't quite have the same speed as the other teams. The ice coverage just isn't quite as impressive, and when they are nervous or holding back, there's a noticeable drop in speed and less impressive ice coverage than with the other teams at the top, who don't drop so much in speed or attack. That's it - I'm really impressed that she was able to pull off the throws so well despite the Rocky start - so that's a great positive step in the right direction

I don't find them that slow TBH.. They are faster than some others. I have seen all these teams live a few times. They are in the middle of the pack. What I do find though is that they are indeed cautious at times when approaching a big element. That is understandable considering they haven't been doing pairs for as long as some teams but it should be better already.

I loved both programs last year better. The SP though, as I was watching it with commentary this time, it made me notice that everything is well-timed with music and it's very very well-done. It should be rewarded.

Sara-Maude is a bit slower but it's not like Maddie is fast. From the top group, Uliana is much slower... the only one who is quite fast is Gabby.

Now, this is something that may be somewhat an unpopular opinion but I love speed skating and when I want to see people skating fast, I watch speed skating. I am a huge Chan fan, so yes, I appreciate flow and speed and powerful skating, but not everyone has to skate that way (well I wonder if anyone can still skate that way... haven't seen that in a long time). I mean there are a lot of men or are very slow and get forgiven because quads (not talking Malinin here because he does have some better than average speed). I find that this argument of speed is not applied objectively the same way and I also know for a fact that speed on streaming is very misleading. If the ISU wants to reward fast skating, they need to implement electronic devices judging of speed. It's already possible (we see that in some Japanese competitions where they give speed into and out of a jump, angle and distance) but when fans use that argument, I am always ambivalent because are they talking about their experience from the rink of the stream ? And you know, as I have mentioned the speed of some skaters here, this was from when I saw them live... but things evolve... I remember seeing Duhamel/Radford being very cautious for everything and relatively slower at ACI one year (they didn't even win the event that year) and thought they were not fast... next event I saw them, they were extremely fast. So there's that too.

 

[4everchan]

PS... I like the soprano boy in the Misson.. much better than Nella Fantasia with Sarah Brightman

 

[discodisco]

I like Roman better too and think he has better scoring possibility if he were ever to go clean with no qs or doubled jumps and if he could get his levels up. However he has had so many chances in the past and as mentioned above GoGo is only 20 so sending him might be the best bet for the future.

If you watch Tracy in the kiss and cry as the scores were coming up, I think it was Dawning on her that Roman's time might be up. I e, he basically skated his cleanest program ever, and only got 160.xx whereas in the past he's gotten close to that for programs with far less content... it might be a case of too little too late unfortunately

 

[discodisco]

Gogolev's component scores are pretty generous, if anything.

Hopefully that's something he can work on if the tech is finally becoming less of a struggle.

I agree that his skating skills are pretty abysmal, and both his speed and Ice coverage are pretty poor. However, in terms of choreography, his program is pretty complex and I think it's put together really well. There's far more going on choreographically in his program with regard to transitional content and is pretty creative choreographically, although obviously Roman is light years ahead with his basic skills

 

[discodisco]

I think Maddie did what she needed to do here, have a solid short and free after how her season has gone. Hopefully her short program music gets sorted out and she can have a program that she loves as much as Lion King for the second half of the season.

So.... I'm confused, did Skate Canada just encourage her to go back to the Lion King program for this one competition? Or for the rest of the season? I had thought she couldn't get the rights for it due to the cost, and was wondering if maybe skate Canada said that they would help her out with the costs so that she could keep it... but are you saying that she still has to find another one, a third program of the season for her short? I definitely did not like her previous short program...

 

[discodisco]

Interesting. I've never thought of jumps as a strongsuit for Trennt. Lia, absolutely. But not Trennt.

He used to be really good. As a team they were one of the most consistent on the circuit to the point of being almost guaranteed a medal at a grand prix. His triple toe is still okay, but his Salchow is pretty tight on rotation most of the time... not as crisp as it used to be

 

[discodisco]

I don't find them that slow TBH.. They are faster than some others. I have seen all these teams live a few times. They are in the middle of the pack. What I do find though is that they are indeed cautious at times when approaching a big element. That is understandable considering they haven't been doing pairs for as long as some teams but it should be better already.

I loved both programs last year better. The SP though, as I was watching it with commentary this time, it made me notice that everything is well-timed with music and it's very very well-done. It should be rewarded.

Sara-Maude is a bit slower but it's not like Maddie is fast. From the top group, Uliana is much slower... the only one who is quite fast is Gabby.

Now, this is something that may be somewhat an unpopular opinion but I love speed skating and when I want to see people skating fast, I watch speed skating. I am a huge Chan fan, so yes, I appreciate flow and speed and powerful skating, but not everyone has to skate that way (well I wonder if anyone can still skate that way... haven't seen that in a long time). I mean there are a lot of men or are very slow and get forgiven because quads (not talking Malinin here because he does have some better than average speed). I find that this argument of speed is not applied objectively the same way and I also know for a fact that speed on streaming is very misleading. If the ISU wants to reward fast skating, they need to implement electronic devices judging of speed. It's already possible (we see that in some Japanese competitions where they give speed into and out of a jump, angle and distance) but when fans use that argument, I am always ambivalent because are they talking about their experience from the rink of the stream ? And you know, as I have mentioned the speed of some skaters here, this was from when I saw them live... but things evolve... I remember seeing Duhamel/Radford being very cautious for everything and relatively slower at ACI one year (they didn't even win the event that year) and thought they were not fast... next event I saw them, they were extremely fast. So there's that too.

I get what you're saying. I agree it's not speed skating. But that's what makes skating more impressive- it's the base for everything that they do. It's like watching your typical double axle versus sakamoto. She flies into an out of it and it highlights edge control and depth, etc. It also allows greater use of the ice surface, which affects the program layout, and therefore the choreography component.

Sarah is like a snail. If you watch, for example, her triple flip (which I think is probably her least impressive triple) she barely has any speed going into or out of it, it only covers a few feet in terms of the amount of ice she covers, it barely gets off the ice, and even when it's fully rotated, it's barely a base value jump. Maddie is not Bonnie blair, that's for sure, but she has much better ice coverage, and noticeably better speed. I agree, she's nowhere near the top, but I think that's one of the things that people neglect to notice when they complain about why they think Sarah should be getting higher PCS source. She just does not have the speed or power or attack of most other mid-level skaters out there. That said, I think her short program is miles ahead of her free program this year and I think she needs to go back to one of her more dynamic free skating programs in the past because she's a different skater in her short program then her free skate and it's incredibly noticeable. I think her short program is excellent this year- it's fun, it brings out her personality, it seems to set her up better in terms of demonstrating speed and power - in short it's a huge step forward.

 

[4everchan]

I get what you're saying. I agree it's not speed skating. But that's what makes skating more impressive- it's the base for everything that they do. It's like watching your typical double axle versus sakamoto. She flies into an out of it and it highlights edge control and depth, etc. It also allows greater use of the ice surface, which affects the program layout, and therefore the choreography component.

Sarah is like a snail. If you watch, for example, her triple flip (which I think is probably her least impressive triple) she barely has any speed going into or out of it, it only covers a few feet in terms of the amount of ice she covers, it barely gets off the ice, and even when it's fully rotated, it's barely a base value jump. Maddie is not Bonnie blair, that's for sure, but she has much better ice coverage, and noticeably better speed. I agree, she's nowhere near the top, but I think that's one of the things that people neglect to notice when they complain about why they think Sarah should be getting higher PCS source. She just does not have the speed or power or attack of most other mid-level skaters out there. That said, I think her short program is miles ahead of her free program this year and I think she needs to go back to one of her more dynamic free skating programs in the past because she's a different skater in her short program then her free skate and it's incredibly noticeable. I think her short program is excellent this year- it's fun, it brings out her personality, it seems to set her up better in terms of demonstrating speed and power - in short it's a huge step forward.

I agree with all your points. I still think she's lowballed in PCS because of the attention to detail and the quality of her skating. She is slow, especially into some jumps. I agree. But the ice dance training still shows in her transitions and skating skills.

I remember how Shae-Lynn Bourne was hiding with brilliant and intricate choreography how slow Kevin Reynolds was... I think Sara-Maude can improve speed but I'd say that she has some good choreo in there.

And finally, yes, her SP is brilliant. Maybe having a new LP next year will show us that she is indeed capable of better ice coverage.

 

[discodisco]

I would say that Sara-Maude Dupuis and Gabrielle Daleman have an edge over Maddie for the Olympic spot. Because Sara-Maude and Gabrielle did all season great SP score and not Maddie.

I'm not so sure about that... congrats to Sarah for her fully rotated and clean triple axle today! That's fantastic, and I feel like she deserves to be credited with the first triple axle in Canada now, as opposed to the messy version that you landed before. However, she's clearly the weakest of the three in terms of skating skills and program components. If nothing else, Gabby will always have excellent speed and Ice coverage, which is something Sara is the weakest at. I think that Sara has a fantastic short program, but has a ton of work to do on that free skate. I don't think it sets her up well. I would say that Maddie still has the highest points ceiling...

 

[discodisco]

Just watched SMDs free and it was very good. Think as she skates more frees with the 3A she will be able to improve the rest of the program.
Also even if Maddie gets the lone Olympic spot, Canada at least has some strong back up ladies who might do well at 4CC.

Great job in landing the three axle. However, the program does not highlight her strengths- the short program was a 10 out of 10 hit in terms of a perfect fit for bringing the best out of her and taking her choreography and performance components up a notch. I don't think the free skate does the same thing.

 

[discodisco]

I think the max is two challengers and Kaiya got that.

Gabby - Should have clearly gotten Golden Spin though… especially after her 180+ skates both domestically and then internationally
I guess she has to prove herself further at the Challenge event.

Uliana - that one is a mystery to me. She keeps scoring 170+ domestically and only got the Skate Canada spot. I believe she surpassed the benchmark three times. She should have been sent to Denis Ten, Warsaw or even Golden Spin in addition to the Skate Canada spot.

These two women need opportunities and deserved a second international event.

KMS - I heard before HP she was aiming for Warsaw. But, she seems like she didn’t do well enough at high performance camp and when she failed scoring over 166 at her one domestic event, in ONT, something tells me she lost that spot. So, she at least had a chance to fight for it.

The problem with Uliana is that she has the skating skills of a novice, though. She has some of the shallowest edges out there, she never gets down into her knees, she is slow as molasses, has zero expression, and worst of all, she is skating with Joanne MacLeod so she's never ever going to improve in those areas. As a result, I think it would be very dangerous to invest in her, because I do not see her improving at all given her current environment. But most frustrating thing is watching Joanne McLeod sitting with one of her students who just skated pretty much another clean program, and seeing a look of confusion on her eyes about why her students are getting five and sixes in pcs. It's been this way since the late '90s, and I've yet to see her improve a student's skating skills. She's had tons of students who can rotate, like Sandhu, and Reynolds, and Leung, and now Uliana, but they're never going to improve in their areas of weakness - so... is it a good investment of resources? I don't think so personally

 

[SkatersWaltz]

So.... I'm confused, did Skate Canada just encourage her to go back to the Lion King program for this one competition? Or for the rest of the season? I had thought she couldn't get the rights for it due to the cost, and was wondering if maybe skate Canada said that they would help her out with the costs so that she could keep it... but are you saying that she still has to find another one, a third program of the season for her short? I definitely did not like her previous short program...

Yes. It appears as though Olympic copyright rules are different. It doesn’t seem to be an issue using Lion king in the Grand Prix but it is an issue for the Olympics (too expensive). I don’t really understand why but that seems to be the case. Lauriault/Lagac have the same problem with their Prince short. They are ok for the fall competitions but will likely have to change their short for the Olympics.

 

[discodisco]

I really do not like pipers dress for the free dance. I mean yes it's beautiful by itself but it looks like an off the rack costume for a van Gogh dress up party or something. Too literal. I'm much prefer their previous costumes. Pollock's way too refined as well. If they're looking for a van go look, previous costume was way way closer

 

[4everchan]

I really do not like pipers dress for the free dance. I mean yes it's beautiful by itself but it looks like an off the rack costume for a van Gogh dress up party or something. Too literal. I'm much prefer their previous costumes. Pollock's way too refined as well. If they're looking for a van go look, previous costume was way way closer

What they have mentioned (I forget where I read that) is that their first costumes were about a painter and his work (in progress). This version is the finished product, hence the fully elaborated/literal sunflower dress.