11 NextGen Skaters to Represent Canada at Junior Grand Prix #3 in Latvia 

OTTAWA, ON (September 6, 2022) – Following a brief stop in Ostrava, Czech Republic, 11 Canadian NextGen skaters will be travelling to Riga, Latvia for the third Junior Grand Prix of the season from September 7 to September 10, 2022. The team will count one entry in women, as well as two in men, pair and ice dance. 

At only 14 years old, Grayson Long will be competing at his first Junior Grand Prix after claiming silver at both the 2022 Skate Canada Challenge and the 2022 Canadian Tire National Skating Championships. First year junior David Shteyngart will also be representing Canada in this category. Shteyngart took home the gold medal at the 2022 Skate Canada Challenge and the 2022 Canadian Tire National Skating Championships last season while competing as a novice. 

Justine Miclette, 16, will be the lone entry in the women’s event. The Chambly, Que., native is the current Canadian junior champion and placed fourth at the 2022 Challenge Cup in Tilburg, Netherlands earlier this year. 

Canadian novice champions Ava Kemp and Yohnatan Elizarov will be competing in the pair discipline for the first time alongside Ashlyn Schmitz and Tristan Taylor. The Saskatchewan-based duo of Schmitz and Taylor finished sixth at the 2022 Skate Canada Challenge. 

Sandrine Gauthier and Quentin Thieren will be Canada’s first entry in ice dance, with the pair coming in fourth at last year’s Skate Canada Challenge, where they missed the podium by less than a point. Completing the team will be ice dancers Jordyn Lewis and Noah McMillan, who finished sixth at Skate Canada’s 2022 NextGen simulation. 

Competition starts on Thursday, September 8, with women, pair and men short program. Rhythm dance, pair and women free program will take place on September 9, followed by the men free program and free dance on September 10. The full schedule and results are available here. 

Team Canada 

Name | Age | Hometown | Coach | Training Location  

Men 
Grayson Long | 14 | Oakville, Ont. | Brian Orser & Karen Preston | Toronto, Ont. 
David Shteyngart | 16 | Ottawa, Ont. | Darlene Joseph | Ottawa, Ont. 

Women 
Justine Miclette | 16 | Chambly, Que. | Stéphanie Fiorito & Ian Connolly | Chambly, Que. 

Pair 
Ava Kemp | 14 | Winnipeg, Man. & Yohnatan Elizarov | 18 | Winnipeg, Man. | Kevin Dawe & Andrew Evans | Winnipeg, Man.  
Ashlyn Schmitz | 16 | Shellbrook, Sask. & Tristan Taylor | 20 | Regina, Sask. | David & Vicki Schultz | Regina, Sask. 

Ice Dance 
Sandrine Gauthier | 18 | Saint-Constant, Que. & Quentin Thieren | 18 | Mont-Saint-Hilaire, Que. | Patrice Lauzon & Benjamin Brisebois | St-Bruno, Que. 
Jordyn Lewis | 18 | Komoka, Ont. & Noah McMillan | 18 | Ilderton, Ont. | Scott Moir & Cara Moir | Ilderton, Ont. 

Team Leaders – Andre Bourgeois & Manon Perron 
Medical Team – Shirley Kushner & Ghislaine Robert 
Officials – Ron Conacher, Lynne Dey, Lauren Senft & Laurene Collin Knoblauch 

For more information, please visit www.isu.org.