Archive

Mar 26 - Nathan Chen Update:  Nathan Chen, who required surgery following a hamstring injury at the 2016 U.S. National Championships exhibition continues his recovery at the  U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, CO.  He recently has been on the ice briefly, but will be in off-ice physical therapy for at least one more month, before he begins his on-ice recovery.

Apr 8 - David Dore, 1^st Vice President of Figure Skating for the International Skating Union, passed away this morning in Ottawa, at age 75.

Dore was the youngest President of the Canadian Figure Skating Association, now known as Skate Canada, serving from 1980 to 1984.  Subsequently he was Director General of Skate Canada until 2002.  Most recently, and up until his passing, he served as the 1^st Vice President of Figure Skating for the ISU.

“The skating community in Canada and around the world are extremely saddened by the passing of David. He brought figure skating to a whole new level with his innovative and forward-thinking ideas; many practices that he implemented are still in use today,” said Dan Thompson, Skate Canada CEO. “Our thoughts and prayers are with the Dore family during this trying time. The sport has lost a true champion.”

Dore was inducted into Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame in 2008. In 2002, he received the International Olympic Committee’s highest honor, the Olympic Order, for his contribution to sport in the global community. In 2008 he was inducted into the Skate Canada Hall of Fame as a builder.

Dore was a Canadian national champion in Fours in 1964, a world and Olympic level judge, and was involved locally at the club and section level.

Apr 11 - Jan Dijkema, ISU Vice President for Speed Skating announced he was running for president of the ISU, bringing the total number of announced candidates to four.

In his statement announcing his candidacy he wrote, "Herewith I would like to announce my candidacy for the position of ISU President. The ISU has been my home and passion for many years. My love of skating has motivated me to work hard for the ISU family and stakeholders to promote and develop the sport worldwide. I am excited for the future of figure skating, short track speed skating and speed skating on all its levels. I hope that I may continue showing my leadership."

"As ISU President, the key themes of Inspiration & Innovation would be central throughout my tenure. I hope to inspire the skating community, helping to innovate and evolve the ISU and Member Federations, while never forgetting the solid foundation that has already been laid. Guided by these principles, I will focus on three strategic pillars:

• Marketing, Promotion & Digitalization

• Development

• Good Governance

Dijkema was in Boston during the recent World Figure Skating Championships meeting with ISU figure skating officials to gauge potential support for his candidacy.  In announcing his run he released a seven page slickly produced manifesto promoting his candidacy.

The political buzz in Boston was that some in the figrue skating community are supportive of Dijkema to prevent the election of Didier Gailhaguet, and to allow other figure skating officials time to build support for a run for the presidency in future years.  Dijkema is age eligible to run for ISU office in 2016 and again in 2018, and potentially could serve for no more than six years.

May 17 - Patrick Chan announces he is relocating to train in Vancouver at the Champs International Skating Center in Burnaby, BC.  He and coach Kathy Johnson will be moving from Detroit in July.

May 29 - Rafael Arutyunyan and co. will be moving from East West Ice arena in Artesia, CA to Lakewood Ice in Lakewood, CA at the end of this summer.

Jun 4 - Rafael Arutyunyan is named Coach of the Year by PAS for second consecutive year.

Jun 8 - ISU congress agrees to eliminate anonymous judging.

Sep 23 - Patrick Chan will be working with a new coaching team this season. Marina Zoueva, Oleg Epstein and Johnny Johns will make up Chan’s coaching team. He will train in Canton, Michigan at the Arctic Edge Arena.

“I am excited to be working with Marina, Oleg and Johnny. They each bring so much to the table and have such a rich history of coaching world and Olympic competitors in all the disciplines. I am looking forward to the season ahead and my first event the Finlandia Trophy in just a couple weeks,” said Patrick Chan.

In August, Chan and his previous coach Kathy Johnson ended their skater-coach partnership after four years working together.

Chan’s first grand prix of the season will be Skate Canada International. The event takes place from October 27-30, 2016 in Mississauga at the Hershey Centre. 

Sep 26 - Hall of Fame pair skater Frances Dafoe passed away at age 86 on Friday evening.

Dafoe, a native of Toronto, was a pioneer in pair skating with her partner Norris Bowden. During their career they captured four Canadian titles from 1952-1955, two World titles in 1954 and 1955 and an Olympic silver medal in 1956. They became the first Canadian pair team ever to win a World title in 1954. They were also the Canadian Ice Dance Champions in 1952.

Dafoe has a long list of honors, including becoming a member of the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame in 1955, entering the Canadian Olympic Hall of Fame in 1958, receiving the Order of Canada in 1991 and being inducted into the Skate Canada Hall of Fame in 1993.

After her competitive career Dafoe remained actively involved in skating. She was an Olympic judge and a successful costume designer. She was a graduate of the famed Parsons School of Design in New York City and went on to design thousands of costumes. She worked for CBC for close to 40 years designing costumes for various shows. She also designed the costumes for the closing ceremonies at the 1988 Olympic Winter Games.

Oct 13 - The 2017 edition of Skate America will beheld in Lake Placid, NY at the end of November 2017. As a part of the 2017 & 18 Olympic seasons, US Figure Skating had asked that Skate America be the last of the six Grand Prix events. The Final next season will be in Nagoya, Japan.

Oct 27 - The 2017 edition of Skate Canada will beheld in Regina, Saskatchewan from October 26-29, 2017 at the Brandt Centre located at Evraz Place.