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Strong field announced for 2006 Skate Canada International
(June 27, 2006 - Ottawa, ON) - Fans in Victoria, B.C. will be treated to strong competition in each of the four disciplines at the 2006 Skate Canada International, which takes place in the B.C. capital at the Save-On-Foods Memorial Centre from Nov. 2-5.
The men’s field in Victoria promises to be an extremely exciting competition featuring two-time Canadian Champion and 2006 Olympic bronze medallist Jeff Buttle, as well as two-time world champion and 2006 Olympic silver medallist Stephane Lambiel, of Switzerland, three-time U.S. Champion Johnny Weir and 2006 Japanese Champion Daisuke Takahashi, who is currently ranked ninth in the ISU world standings.
Two-time Canadian bronze medallist Shawn Sawyer will also represent Canada, as well as Marc-André Craig, who placed sixth at last year’s national championships.
The ladies event is also shaping up to be very exciting. The Canadian contingent consists of two-time Canadian Champion Joannie Rochette, who placed fifth at the 2006 Olympic Winter Games, B.C. native and Canadian silver medallist Mira Leung and Canadian bronze medallist Lesley Hawker.
The Canadians will be challenged by 2006 world silver medallist Fumie Suguri, of Japan, and her teammate Yoshie Onda, 2005 MasterCard Skate Canada International Champion Alissa Czisny, of the U.S., 2006 world junior champion Yu-Na Kim, of the Republic of Korea, and four-time Finnish Champion Susanna Pöykiö.
Canada will be well-represented in the pair event in Victoria. Three-time Canadian Champions Valérie Marcoux and Craig Buntin, who were fifth at the 2006 world championships in Calgary, will challenge for the podium. They will be joined by teammates Jessica Dubé and Bryce Davison, who were seventh in Calgary, and two-time Canadian medallists Elizabeth Putnam and Sean Wirtz.
Fans will also have the opportunity to see China’s Dan Zhang and Hao Zhang in Victoria. The Zhangs won the silver medal at the 2006 Olympic Winter Games and followed up their performance in Turin with a silver medal at the 2006 world championships.
Headlining the ice dance event are four-time Canadian Champions and 2006 world silver medallists Marie-France Dubreuil and Patrice Lauzon. Challenging Dubreuil and Lauzon will be the Lithuanian team of Margarita Drobiazko and Povilas Vanagas, who, after a three-year absence from eligible competition, placed fourth at the 2006 world championships and seventh at the 2006 Olympic Winter Games. They were also world bronze medallists in 2000. The Italian team of Federica Faiella and Massimo Scali, who were eighth at the 2006 world championships, will also compete in Victoria.
Making their ISU Grand Prix debut are Canadian bronze medallists Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir. Virtue and Moir had an outstanding 2005-2006 season, capturing the gold medal at both the 2006 world junior championships and the ISU Junior Grand Prix Final and winning the bronze medal at the 2006 ISU Four Continents Championships. Two-time Canadian medallists Chantal Lefebvre and Arseniy Markov will also compete in Victoria.
All-event ticket packages for the event are on sale and can be purchased by phone at (250) 220-7777 or 1-866-514-5050, online at www.selectyourtickets.com, or in person at the Save-On-Foods Memorial Centre box office. All-event ticket packages cost $149 and $130, plus applicable taxes and surcharges.
Skate Canada, the national governing body responsible for the development and administration of figure skating in Canada, is the largest figure skating association in the world. With skating programs for athletes of all ages, offered at 1364 clubs across the country, Skate Canada is an association dedicated to providing every Canadian the opportunity to experience the passion, spirit and triumph of skating. Primarily self-supporting, Skate Canada is able to provide direct athlete funding, which reaches approximately 1 in 7 competitive athletes and 1 in 3 synchronized skating teams each year through various training and performance-related grants.
