Pairs skaters Anastasiia Golubeva and Hektor Giotopoulos Moore made history,  claiming Australia’s first ever medal at the prestigious International Skating Union (ISU) Grand Prix series, whilst competing in the Skate Canada event in Halifax, Canada.
 
The two-time World Junior Championship medallists made a great start to the event, recording a career best score of 64.81 points in the opening short program which put them in third place after the opening round.
 
In the final free skate event, the pair scored 121.33 points, giving them a final ranking of third with a total score of 186.14 points to secure Australia’s first ever medal at the ISU Grand Prix series, improving on their two fourth place finishes in the previous season.
 
Taking the win in their home event were 2024 World Champions Deanna Stellato-Dudek and Maxime Deschamps of Canada on 197.33, with Ekaterina Geynish and Dmitrii Chigirev of Uzbekistan in second.
 
“We feel honoured and very proud to be able to say that we claimed the first ever Grand Prix medal for Australia, hopefully it’s the first of many” said the 22-year-old Giotopoulos Moore from Sydney.
 
“Being our first competition of the season it was quite challenging both physically and mentally, we are a little bit disappointed with our performance as we know it’s not the best we could’ve done, but we accept what it is and are ready to train hard and improve on the mistakes we made.”

The ISU Grand Prix series commenced in 1995, Australia had medalled previously at the Skate Canada Event wen it was a part of the ISU Challenger Series, with Stephen Carr and Danielle McGrath claiming bronze in 1992.
 
The pair will next compete at the Finlandia Trophy ISU Grand Prix event in Helsinki, Finland, on November 15-17.
 
Also competing for Australia at the ISU GP in Canada were Ice Dance couple Holly Harris and Jason Chan, who finished in tenth place.

Australia has competed at the 2024 ISU Figure Skating World Championships in Montreal, Canada, with Hektor Giotopoulos Moore and Anastasiia Golubeva competing in the pairs and Holly Harris and Jason Chan in the ice dance event.

In the pairs event, Giotopoulos Moore and Golubeva finished in tenth place, just falling short of their eighth place performance at last year's event.

In the opening short program, they scored 63.75 points to put them in eleventh place. The pair then improved in the free skate, with the ninth best score of the round with 119.36 points.

The combined total score came to 182.71 points and a final ranking of tenth.

In the ice dance event, Harris and Chan scored 71.44 in their opening rhythm dance, their highest score of the season, putting them in 16th place.

The ice dance couple then had the 19th ranked score in the free dance of 103.34 points, giving them a combined total of 174.78 points and a final ranking of 17th.

Australian figure skaters have competed at the prestigious International Skating Union Grand Prix events in October, with the pair of Anastasiia Golubeva and Hektor Giotopoulos Moore competing in the Skate Canada event in Vancouver, Canada, and ice dancers Holy Harris and Jason Chan in the Skate America in Allen, TX, USA.

Making their senior Grand Prix debut in Vancouver in pair skating, Golubeva and Giotopoulos Moore finished an impressive fourth overall, after placing third in both the short program and free skate with a total score of 179.61 points, less than two points behind the bronze medal team of Lucrezia Beccari and Matteo Guarise from Italy on 181.42.

In first place was Canadian pair Deanna Stellato-Dudek and Maxime Deschamps on 214.64 with Maria Pavlova and Alexei Sviatchenko of Hungary in second place with 187.78 points.

At the Skate America in Allen, Texas, Holly Harris and Jason Chan finished in tenth place with a total score of 156.98 points.

2023 World Champion’s Madison Chock and Evan Bates from the USA took the win with a total score of 212.96 points, with Canadian’s Marjorie Lajoie and Zachary Lagha in second on 196.99, with French skaters Evgeniia Lopareva and Geoffrey Brissaud rounding out the podium in third.

Golubeva and Giotopoulos Moore will compete in their second ISU Grand Prix event of the season at the NHK Trophy in Osaka, Japan, on November 24-26.

Australian figure skating pair Hektor Giotopoulos Moore and Anastasiia Golubeva have recorded an incredible eighth place at their first ever senior World Championship event in Saitama, Japan.

After finishing in the silver medal position at the past two Junior World Championships, the pair showed they are ready to compete against the very best in the world, to record Australia's best World Championship result since Anthony Liu finished seventh in 2002.

The pair started off in the short program scoring 61.85 points to be ranked in 11th place, with just one mistake holding them back from a higher score.

In the free skating final event, the pair had an unbelievable performance to score a personal best 127.52 points, the fifth highest of the round, moving them up into eighth place with a total score of 189.47, also a career best.

In first place was Miura Riku and Kihara Ryuichi of Japan with 222.16, with Alexa Knierim and Brandon Frazier of the USA in scoring 217.48 in second, and Italy's Sara Conti and Niccolo Macii in third with 208.08.

Also representing Australia at the World Championships was Holly Harris and Jason Chan in the ice dance.

The couple reached the top-20 free dance final skate with a 16th place performance in the short program scoring 64.80.

In the free dance, the couple improved to have the 15th best performance of the round, scoring a career best 104.67 points, giving them a final ranking of 16th overall with a total score of 169.47.

Australian Ice Dance couple Holly Harris and Jason Chan have finished eighth at the Four Continents Figure Skating Championships in Colorado Springs, USA, matching their previous best result at the event.

Competing in the opening rhythm dance, the couple scored 60.71 points and ranked ninth, with a fall impacting their score.

The couple had a much improved final free dance performance, recording a career best score of 101.98 points, the seventh best of all competitors.

With a total combined score from both combined programs of 162.69 points, the final ranking for the couple was eighth place, finishing behind event winners Madison Chock and Evan Bates of America with a score 220.81.

Also in action for Australia at the Four Continents was India Nette and Eron Westwood who finished in 11th in the ice dance, Vlada Vasilev who placed 18th in the women's singles, and Darian Kapitch who also placed 18th in the men's singles.

The ISU 2023 World Figure Skating Championships will be held in Saitama, Japan, from March 20–26.

Australian figure skaters Holly Harris and Jason Chan have claimed victory at the Santa Claus Cup in Budapest, Hungary.

In a field of 14, the ice dance couple had the highest routines in both the rhythm dance and free dance programs to score 178.16 points in total

Competing in her sixth World Championships, two time Olympian Kailani Craine has finished in 22nd place in Montpellier, France.

Craine advanced to the free skate in 22nd place, after scoring 56.64 points in the short program.

In the free skate, she received a score of 105.11 from the judges, giving her a total score of 161.75, and remained in 22nd for her final ranking.

Also representing Australian in Montpellier, were the ice dance couple of Holly Harris and Jason Chan.

Harris and Chan recorded a World Championship personal best finish of 18th place, after scoring 64.91 in the rhythm dance and 95.01 in the free dance,giving them a total score of 159.92 points.

2018 NSWIS Olympian Kailani Craine has just fallen short of qualifying for the free program at the ISU World Figure Skating Championships in Stockholm, Sweden, finishing in 26th place.

The 22-year-old from Newcastle scored 56.86 points in the opening short program at the World Championships, missing out on the 24-woman-final by just two spots in 26th place.

The women's podium was was an historic clean sweep for Russia, with 16-year-old Anna Shcherbakova taking victory with Yelizaveta Tuktamysheva in second place and Aleksandra Trusova in third.

In the Ice Dance event, Australia was represented by Holly Harris and Jason Chan who also just fell short of advancing to finals.

The Ice Dance couple finished the rhythm dance program in 24th place, missing out by four places for the free dance in their World Championship debut.

Victory in the ice dance also went to Russia, with the team of Victoria Sinitsina/Nikita Katsalapov in first, with Madison Hubbell/Zachary Donohue of the USA in second and Canadian pair Piper Gilles/Paul Poirier rounding out the podium in third.

Unfortunately two time Olympian Brendan Kerry was unable to compete in the men's due to an injury sustained earlier in the season.

IMAGE: Kailani Craine at the World Championships in Stockholm

The Australian Figure Skating community is very excited for our team at the upcoming ISU World Figure Skating Championships being held in Montreal, Canada, later this month.

Our team almost covered every discipline, however the very recent and unexpected split of our Junior World & Junior Grand Prix Pair Champions has left a hole in the team.

This year’s Championship will feature for the first time ever the ISU World Skating Awards with our ice princess, Olympian Kailani Craine nominated in the best costume category. Kailani will compete in the ladies division alongside two time Olympian Brendan Kerry in the mens.

In the ice dance division we have a brilliant new couple Holly Harris and Jason Chan competing in their first World Championship.  

Be sure to tune in for what promises to deliver fantastic performances from our team.

Next year, for the first time ever, Ice Skating Australia will host the prestigious ISU Four Continents Championships in Sydney at Olympic Park Feb. 9-14, 2021.

These Championships will feature the top ranked skaters from US, Canada, Japan, China and Australia in the important pre Winter Olympic year.

Article courtesy of Peter Lynch/Ice Skating Australia

IMAGE: Australian National Champions and our representative at the World Championships, Kailani Craine, Brendan Kerry, Holly Harris and Jason Chan  © Michael Santer Photography

Olympians Brendan Kerry and Kailani Craine have continued to extend their impressive list of national titles, after both claimed victory at the Australian Figure Skating Championships at the O’Brien Icehouse in Melbourne.

The two skaters have had an impressive decade as Australia's leading Figure Skating athletes, highlighted by two Olympic Games appearances for Kerry, with Craine becoming an Olympian for the first time in 2018.
 
Kerry took out his eighth national title in impressive fashion, scoring 216.11 points, to finish ahead of James Min and Damian Kaptich.

In the Senior Ladies, Craine won her sixth national title, with a comprehensive win ahead of Yancey Chan and Ashley Colliver.
 
Holly Harris and Jason Chan won their first national Senior Ice Dance title, finishing ahead of last years winners Chantelle Kerry & Andrew Dodds in second, with Matilda Friend and William Badaoui rounding out the podium in third.
 
Unfortunately Pairs skaters Harley Windsor and Ekaterina "Katya" Alexandrovskaya were unable to compete, due to an injury sustained by Alexandrovskaya in training prior to the competition.

The event was a great showcase of Australian Figure Skating, with strong participation and crowds over the week at the O'Brien Icehouse facility.
 
Podium Images ©  Michael Santer Photography

Australia’s largest, strongest and youngest Junior Worlds Figure Skating team in recent history will compete at the Junior World Figure Skating Championships in Taipei this week.  
 
Contesting the Ladies, Men, Dance and Pair titles will be Holly Harris (14), James Min (16), ice dancers Matilda Friend (17) and William Badoui (18) and pair skaters Harley Windsor (20) and Ekaterina Alexandrovskaya (17).
 
The rise of pair skaters Windsor and Alexandrovskaya has them tipped as genuine medal contenders.  
 
After winning Australia’s first gold in a Junior Grand Prix and backing it up with a fifth place in the Junior Final and performing high-quality high-level triple throws and twists in their first season, the expectations of the indigenous Sydney-sider and his Moscow-born partner are high.
 
“Last year when we started I could not expect the result we had,” Alexandrovskaya said of their performances so far. “Australia is not a figure skating country. But this (the pairing) has worked.”
 
“We are going for a medal but we have to skate clean to do it,” Windsor said. 

National Junior Men’s Champion James Min is no stranger to world competition who already has two World Junior Championships under his belt (placing 31st and 27th).
 
The engaging Adelaide teenager, who is the eldest son of Cambodian refugees, weighs just 44kgs – but is accomplishing multiple triple jump combinations and what he lacks in stature he makes up for in performance skills and execution.
 
“The key is on-going development,” said coach Richard Laidlaw who has taught Min since his first days on the ice.  
 
“He has a good jumping technique now. All the triples are in place and we will continue to develop quads next season. For now though, it is about doing what he can do well,” Laidlaw said.
 
Min is much more focussed on the process rather than the outcome.
 
“I’m doing clean run throughs and my fitness is great,” he said. “I am obsessed over my lutz at the moment because it’s not 100 percent where I want it to be every day.”
 
“I just need to focus on what I need to do in the moment. Think about the process and not the outcome and do what I do in training.”
 
At 14, Holly Harris is the youngest in the Australian team but has impressed in her debut junior international season placing 11th in her first Junior Grand Prix (Germany) and collecting a silver medal in Riga, Latvia late last year with mature performances, technically and artistically, that belie her tender years.
 
Harris, who trains most of the year in Colorado Springs with her mum Karen looking after her whilst her father and siblings remain in Sydney, is a talent to watch for the future.
 
Coach Tom Zakrajsek confirmed Harris’ potential.
 
“Holly has been working very hard and training very thoroughly to prepare for World Juniors,” Zakrajsek said.
 
“I feel fortunate to be coaching her as she is a young talent with a bright future. She has very specific goals for the event regarding personal bests and she will using her first appearance at theses championships to gain experience so that she can springboard to greater achievements over the next few years.”

For ice dancers Matilda Friend and William Badaoui, its’ another week, another country and another comp.
 
Junior Worlds closes a long and demanding season for duo, who in February, competed back to back in the Four Continents Championship in PyeongChang and the Asian Winter Games in Sapporo, Japan.
 
Baddoui says competing at the Asian Winter Games, where they finished in 6th place with two new PBs, has given them a big confidence boost.
 
"Just the scale and level of competition at Asian Winter Games, everything feels a little bit easier when you come out of a competition that big," he said.
 
"Experiencing something that was so close to an Olympics, which is our ultimate goal, gave us new motivation and drive." Friend said.
 
The Junior and Senior Ice Dance national champions goal for Junior Worlds is to earn a high enough ranking after their short dance to make it through to the free dance , which both acknowledge will require a flawless skate and top effort given the calibre of the 31 teams competing.
 
"But we're also looking for a PB and to improve our ranking from last year,” they said.
 
The Junior World Figure Skating Championships will be held from Wednesday March 15 to 18 in Taipei and begin with the men’s short program on Wednesday followed by the Pairs short.