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Some of the top figure skaters across Canada and the world will be in Saskatoon for a weekend competition.
They will be competing in the International Skating Union (ISU) Grand Prix at the SaskTel Centre, with some Canadians vying for a chance to make Team Canada for the 2026 Winter Olympics.
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Here’s what you need to know about the event.
What is the ISU Grand Prix?
The ISU Grand Prix, originally known as the ISU Champions Series, started in 1995 and it consists of six international senior events that culminate with the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final.
The skaters are seeded and invited to the six Grand Prix events based on the results of the previous year’s ISU World Figure Skating Championships.
For Canadian skaters, this event serves as a chance for athletes to try and earn a spot on Team Canada for the 2026 Winter Olympic Games.
When is the ISU Grand Prix?
The ISU Grand Prix starts on Oct. 31 and runs until Nov. 2.
The first event on Friday—the Pairs short program—gets underway at 5 p.m., which is followed by the Women’s short program starting at 6:25 p.m.
On Saturday, the first event of the day is the Ice Dance Rhythm Dance, which starts at 12:45 p.m., and Sunday’s first event kicks off at 10:30 a.m., which is the Men’s Free Skating.
What Canadian’s are competing?
Ice Dance silver medalists Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier will make their season debut in Saskatoon; other Canadians joining them in the Ice Dance competition are Marjorie Lajoie and Zachary Lagha.
In the Pairs event, Canadian champions Deanna Stellato-Dudek and Maxime Deschamps will look to claim their second medal of the season.
In the Men’s event, Canadian’s Stephen Gogolev and Roman Sadovsky will go head to head for the third time this year.
In the Women’s event, Madeline Schizas will look to challenge for a podium spot.
Who else is competing?
In the Ice Dance event, Lithuania’s Allison Reed and Saulius Ambrulevičius are set to compete. The pair claimed bronze at the first stop of the Grand Prix.
In the Pairs event, German duo Minerva Fabienne Hase and Nikita Volodin will look to step atop the podium; the two are also the reigning world silver medalists.
Ilia Malinin from the United States of America headlines the Men’s competition. The World Record Holder and two-time World Champion enters this event with a gold medal from the Grand Prix de France.
In the Women’s competition, Japanese standout Ami Nakai and Mone Chiba, the Grand Prix de France Gold Medalist and World Bronze Medallist, respectively, will look for a spot atop the podium.
When was the ISU Grand Prix previously held in Saskatoon?
The competition was last held in Saskatoon in 2001 at the then Credit Union Centre (Sasktel Centre).
Emanuel Sandhu, Elvis Stojko and Ben Ferreira were the Canadian’s who competed in the Men’s event.
Stojko took home a silver medal in the event.
In the Women’s event, Nicole Watt and Marianne Dubuc were the lone Canadians.
Neither Canadian took home a medal, finishing 9th and 10th.
In the pairs, Jamie Salé and David Pelletier, Anabelle Langlois and Patrice Archetto, and Chantal Poirier and Ian Moram were the Canadian representatives.
Salé and Pelletier took home gold, and Langlois and Archetto finished with a bronze.
In Ice Dancing, Shae-Lynn Bourne and Victor Kraatz, Megan Wing and Aaron Lowe, and Josée Piché and Pascal Denis were the Canadian representatives.
Bourne and Kraatz won gold in the event.
