The Athletes

Juniors

Diane Szmiett
2006 Canadian junior women's champion

After capturing the Canadian Western Challenge Novice Women’s title in 2004, Diane Szmiett became the Canadian junior women’s champion in January 2006. Szmiett began skating as a seven-year-old and landed her first triple toe loop at the age of twelve. In 2005-06, she did a triple lutz, double axel and triple toe-double toe combination in her short program. Her long program included a triple toe-double toe-double toe combination and a double lutz-double flip sequence as well as a triple lutz, flip, toe and salchow to go with a double axel. Off ice, Szmiett likes to go out with friends, chat on the computer and read. She used to play soccer in a recreational league when she was younger, but quit when she started skating seriously and doesn't play any other sports now.

Joey Russell
2006 Canadian junior men's champion

Joey Russell won the 2006 Canadian Junior Men’s title and became the first figure skater from Newfoundland and Labrador to win a Canadian singles championship. Landing five triple jumps, Russell won the 2006 Canadian junior men’s title with 151.93 points. Born and raised in Labrador City, Russell fell in love with skating when he joined the Polaris skating club at the age of seven. He won the 2003 Newfoundland Sectionals Pre-Novice and is remembered as one of the most impressive skaters at that event. Russell currently trains at Mariposa School of Skating in Barrie, Ontario. One of his long-term skating goals is to compete at the 2010 Olympic Games in Vancouver.

Kyra Moscovitch & Dylan Moscovitch
2006 junior pair champions

Kyra Moscovitch and Dylan Moscovitch began skating at the age of two and competed as singles skaters before pairing up in 2003 when Kyra was 9-years-old. After winning the Eastern Challenge Pre-Novice title in 2004, and capturing the Novice Junior Nationals title in 2005 and the Pre-Novice Junior Nationals title in 2004, this brother and sister pair team were crowned Canadian Junior Pair Champions in 2006. As a single skater, Kyra won the juvenile ladies gold medal at the Ontario Winter Games and was second in pre-novice the following year. Dylan won the silver medal in junior men in 2004 and finished 14th in seniors in 2005. In junior internationals during the 2004-05 season, Dylan won the bronze at the 2004 Triglav Trophy. Previously, he had placed tenth at the 2002 ISU Junior Grand Prix in Chemnitz, Germany and ninth at the 2003 SBC Cup. Kyra is also a gymnast, who started when she was three and has competed at provincial competitions.

Allie Hann-McCurdy & Michael Coreno
2006 junior dance champions

Skating together since May 2003, ice dancers Allie Hann-McCurdy and Michael Coreno moved up to the senior level last September. The duo had a memorable moment at the 2006 BMO Financial Group Canadian Championships in Ottawa when they stood atop the podium in the junior ice dance event. Hann-McCurdy and Coreno also competed at last year’s ISU World Junior Figure Skating Championships where they placed eighth. They competed on the ISU Junior Grand Prix circuit last season, and this year the duo made the step to the ISU Senior Grand Prix circuit. Hann-McCurdy started skating when she was eight and competed in singles until she was 12, when she started ice dancing. Coreno started figure skating when he was seven. He initially wanted to learn how to skate for hockey, but when the jumps and spins came to him naturally he decided to keep skating. He tried all the disciplines in skating before deciding to concentrate on dance.

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