OCTOBER 2019 IFSMAGAZINE.COM 45XBOOK YOUR TICKET!
The International Skating
Union (ISU) recently ann-
ounced its provisional
allotments for the 2020-
2021 skating season.
One of the most
exciting notifications
on that list was the
2021 Four Continents
Championships, which
are slated to be held
in Sydney, Australia,
February 8-14.
This will be the
first major senior ISU
competition to ever
take place south of
the Equator.
Australia was award-
ed the 2000 World
Championships, but
complications with
television rights caused
the event to be moved
from Brisbane to
Nice, France.
XOVER AND OUT
Three months after
the birth of her son
Alexander, Russia’s
Ekaterina Bobrova, 29,
bid farewell to her com-
petitive ice dance career
via an announcement
on Instagram.
“I do it without any
regrets and with joy in
my heart! This big part of
me and my life has come
to an end.”
Bobrova and her hus-
band Andrei Deputat, a
former pairs competitor,
plan to open a skat-
ing school and coach
young children.
Her longtime on-
ice partner, Dmitry
Solovyev, is hoping to
continue his competi-
tive career with one of
their biggest rivals —
Elena Ilynykh, the 2014
Olympic ice dance
bronze medalist with
Nikita Katsalapov.
Bobrova said she felt a
twinge of jealousy when
Solovyev first told her of
his plan, but she has now
adjusted to the idea and
wishes him and Ilynykh
great success.XSYNCHRO WORLDS
Canadian fans cheered
when the ISU announced
the World Synchronized
Skating Championships
would return to their
nation in 2022.
The competition will
take place once again in
Hamilton, Ontario, April
7 - 9.
Canada last hosted the
event in 2015.XFLYING SOLO
Japan’s Shoma Uno let
the world know in an
Instagram post on July15 that he has decided
not to enlist a full-time
coach this season.
Uno is now training at
Chukyo University with
Takeshi Honda as his
jump coach.
“I can’t simply choose
someone suddenly and
ask them to come with
me to all my competi-
tions. I don’t think I’d
know what to do with a
new coach,” Uno said.
Canada’s Shae-Lynn
Bourne choreographed
a new short program for
Uno and David Wilson
crafted the long.XVENUE CHANGES
Canada’s top pairs team,
Kirsten Moore-Towers
and Michael Marinaro,
left their Montreal skating
hub in June to train full-
time with Bruno Marcottein Oakville, Ontario.
Both skaters were born
and raised in Southern
Ontario and are now just a
short drive away from their
respective families.
Gabrielle Daleman
confirmed that she has
left the Toronto Cricket
Club and is now train-
ing exclusively with Lee
Barkell at the Granite
Club in Toronto.XBATTLE IS BACK
The popular Canadian
reality show “Battle of
the Blades,” which pairs
figure skaters with hock-
ey players, will make its
return to the small screen
on Sept. 19.
The show is only avail-
able online for Canadian
viewers with a televi-
sion subscription to a
local network.
Check your local list-
ings for air times.
Kaitlyn Weaver,
Andrew Poje and
Eric Radford have
been announced as
competitors on the
show, along with
Ekaterina Gordeeva
and season four winner
Amanda Evora.
Weaver and Poje will
not compete on the
Grand Prix or Challenger
Series circuits this year,
and have given no indi-
cation they would be
returning to the com-
petitive circuit at all
this season.
Information on tick-
ets to attend the live
shows will be available in
mid-August.Quicksteps