Canadian Pairs Shine at Skate Canada International in Saskatoon

Canadian pairs showcased their talent at the 2025 Skate Canada International held at the SaskTel Centre in Saskatoon on October 31, 2025. Two teams finished among the top three in the short program, marking a strong performance for the home nation.

Deanna Stellato-Dudek, hailing from Chicago, and Maxime Deschamps from Vaudreuil-Dorion, Quebec, captured second place with a score of 73.03. The pair, who recently won silver at the first ISU Grand Prix in France, were edged out by Germany’s Minerva Fabienne Hase and Nikita Volodin, the reigning world silver medallists, who scored 77.53 points.

“It’s always nice to skate at home in front of such an enthusiastic crowd,” said Deschamps. He noted that while some aspects of their performance were improved compared to their Grand Prix routine, they encountered difficulties on a specific element. Stellato-Dudek added, “We haven’t seen our routine yet. It’s hard to assess everything right now.”

Following closely behind, the Canadian duo of Lia Pereira from Milton, Ontario, and Trennt Michaud from Trenton, Ontario, secured third place with a new personal best score of 70.66. Pereira expressed her excitement, saying, “This is one of the best competitions we’ve done in the short, so we’re really excited about that. We love this program and we’re really happy to showcase how we trained it at home.”

Kelly Ann Laurin of Saint-Jérôme, Quebec, and Loucas Éthier from Saint-Alphonse-de-Granby, Quebec, finished sixth in the pairs short program, registering a score of 59.93.

In the women’s short program, Canadian skater Sara-Maude Dupuis from Montreal was the top performer, placing eighth with a score of 60.41. “I feel really great. It was the first time I performed my new routine in front of a large audience, and the crowd was simply incredible,” she said. Dupuis noted that her score was close to her personal best.

Competing alongside her, Uliana Shiryaeva from Coquitlam, British Columbia, finished in eleventh place with a score of 53.28, while Madeline Schizas of Oakville, Ontario, secured twelfth with 48.72 points.

Japan’s Mone Chiba took first place in the women’s short program with a score of 72.29, followed closely by the United States’ Isabeau Levito at 71.80 and Italy’s Lara Naki Gutmann at 68.11.

The competition at the SaskTel Centre will continue Saturday afternoon with the rhythm dance and men’s short program, culminating in the pairs and women’s free programs later in the evening.

This report is based on information provided by The Canadian Press.