2014 Skate Canada International

Here are some athletes who are looking to prove themselves at Skate Canada:

Ashley Wagner (United States): Here’s how I see it: it’s do or die time this season for Ashley, who finished fourth at her national championships after winning the title the previous two years. She's talented, strong and has taken home her fair share of hardware, including the 2014 Grand Prix Final bronze medal. She needs to win her battle with consistency if she wants to reach and stay at the top.

Takahiko Kozuka (Japan): Since grabbing the world silver medal in 2011, Kozuka has struggled. One thing is for sure — even when his jumps fail him, there is nobody’s skating I would rather watch as he glides noiselessly across the rink. With Lori Nichol as one of his choreographers, I'm optimistic that Kozuka’s free program will give him the chance to focus on his elements while staying loose enough to make the performance happen.



Ladies

2014 Olympic team bronze medalist Ashley Wagner will lead Team USA ladies at Skate Canada. While she did not participate in any of the ISU Challenger events this fall, she was invited to debut her free skate at the Japan Open. Wagner qualified for the Grand Prix Final last season after winning gold at Trophee Bompard and silver at Skate America. Joining Wagner will be Courtney Hicks. Hicks won silver at the U.S. International Figure Skating Classic in Salt Lake City in September. She finished sixth at Skate Canada last season.



Pairs

After a fifth place finish in their senior Grand Prix debut at Skate America last week, Madeline Aaron and Max Settlage do not have time to waste as they will compete at Skate Canada this weekend. The two posted ISU personal bests in both their short program and free skate. They will be the only Team USA pair team competing at Skate Canada. They were named as replacements to this event after Felicia Zhang and Nathan Bartholomay, who originally were assigned to this competition, announced the end of their partnership in July.



Ice Dance

There will be two ice dance teams competing for the U.S. at Skate Canada. Madison Hubbell and Zachary Donohue will return to competitive ice for the first time since Hubbell had surgery for a torn labrum in her hip. The two last competed at the 2014 Four Continents Championships where they won the gold medal. As the 2014 U.S. pewter medalists, Hubbell and Donohue were the first alternates to the 2014 World Championships, and were next in line after 2014 Olympic Champions Meryl Davis and Charlie White withdrew from the event, but were unable to compete because of Hubbell’s injury. Taking their place were Alexandra Aldridge and Daniel Eaton, who had finished fifth at the U.S. Championships and won the bronze at Four Continents. Aldridge and Eaton placed 17th at Worlds. This season, they won gold at the U.S. International Figure Skating Classic in September. For more information on the ice dance competition, go to ice-dance.com.



Schedule

Live coverage begins Friday October 31 on IceNetwork (a season pass subscription is required to watch the competition live or on demand).

IceNetwork Schedule (All times listed are Eastern):

Friday October 31:
4:15 p.m.: Men’s Short Program
6:10 p.m.: Pairs Short Program
8:45 p.m.: Short Dance
10:15 p.m.: Ladies’ Short Program

Saturday November 1:

1:55 p.m.: Men’s Free Skate
4:25 p.m.: Pairs Free Skate
8:05p.m. : Free Dance
10:00p.m. Ladies Free Skate

Note: Universal Sports cable network will air the Pairs Free Skate from 4:30-6 p.m. and the Free Dance from 7:30-9:30 p.m. on Saturday, November 1st.