OTTAWA, ON: A strong Canadian team has been assembled for the fourth of eight 2005 International Skating Union (ISU) Junior Grand Prix events, which will be held Sept. 22-25 in Montreal. A total of 14 athletes will represent Canada in the Ice Dance, Pair, Ladies and Men’s events at the competition.

Coming off a gold medal win in the Ice Dance event at the 2005 ISU Junior Grand Prix event in Canillo, Andorra earlier in September are Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir. Virtue, a 16-year-old native of London, Ont., and Moir, 18, of Ilderton, Ont., are ranked fourth in the Senior Ice Dance discipline in Canada. They were crowned the Canadian Junior Ice Dance Champions in 2004. They won two medals on the ISU Junior Grand Prix circuit last season, taking home the gold medal from Harbin, China, and winning the silver medal in Courchevel, France. They qualified for the 2004 ISU Junior Grand Prix Final, at which they won the silver medal. Virtue and Moir also captured the silver medal at the 2005 ISU World Junior Figure Skating Championships. Igor Shpilband and Marina Zoueva coach the duo at the Arctic Edge Ice Arena in Canton, Mich.

Joining Virtue and Moir is the team of Alice Graham and Andrew Poje. Graham, 18, of North Bay, Ont., and Poje, 18, of Waterloo, Ont., are the 2005 Canadian Junior Ice Dance bronze medallists. They competed at the 2004 ISU Junior Grand Prix event in Courchevel, France, where they placed fifth. Paul MacIntosh and Igor Tchiniaev coach Graham and Poje out of the Kitchener-Waterloo Skating Club.

Rounding out the Canadian entries in the Ice Dance event are Mylene Lamoureux and Michael Mee. Lamoureux, 18, of St-Eustache, Que., and Mee, 20, of Montreal, are ranked fourth in the Junior Ice Dance discipline in Canada. They competed on the ISU Junior Grand Prix circuit last season, placing fourth in Long Beach, Calif. Shawn Winter coaches Lamoureux and Mee at the Club de Patinage Artistique Pierrefonds and the Club de Patinage Artistique Ste-Julie.

Representing Canada in the Pair event are Michelle Cronin and Brian Shales. Cronin, 18, and Shales, 20, both of Mississauga, Ont., are the 2005 Canadian Junior Pair Champions. They competed at two ISU Junior Grand Prix events last year, winning the bronze medal in Long Beach, Calif. and placing fourth in Harbin, China. They finished seventh at the 2005 ISU World Junior Figure Skating Championships. Kris Wirtz, Kristy Wirtz and Paul Wirtz coach Cronin and Shales at the Toronto Cricket Skating and Curling Club.

Representing Canada in the Ladies event and making her debut on the ISU Junior Grand Prix circuit is 17-year-old Erin Scherrer. Scherrer, of Waterloo, Ont., is ranked eighth in the Senior Women’s discipline in Canada. She competed internationally last season, placing sixth in the Junior Ladies event at the 2004 Triglav Trophy. Dianne Rouleau coaches Scherrer at the Kitchener-Waterloo Skating Club.

Also making her debut on the ISU Junior Grand Prix circuit is Cecilia Gauvin. Gauvin, 18, of Quebec City, is ranked seventh in the Junior Women’s category in Canada. She has international experience, finishing eighth in the Junior Ladies event at the 2004 North American Challenge Skate event in San Jose, Calif. Manon Perron and Nathalie Martin coach Gauvin out of the Club de Patinage Artistique St-Leonard.

Fifteen-year-old Kathryn Kang will also represent Canada. Kang, of Vancouver, is the 2005 Canadian Novice Women’s silver medallist. She competed internationally earlier this year, placing sixth in the Junior Ladies event at the 2005 NACS event in Kansas City, Kan. She also won the silver medal in the Novice Ladies event at the 2005 Mladost Trophy. Jill Marie Harvey and Joanne McLeod coach Kang at the BC Centre of Excellence in Burnaby, B.C.

Representing Canada in the Men’s event is 2005 Canadian Junior Men’s Champion Patrick Chan. Chan, 14, of Toronto, has already competed on the ISU Junior Grand Prix circuit this season, finishing fourth in Bratislava, Slovakia. He competed at the 2005 ISU World Junior Figure Skating Championships, where he placed seventh. Osborne Colson coaches Chan out of the Granite Club in Toronto.

Joining Chan is Labrador City, N.L.’s Joey Russell. Russell, 17, is ranked fourth in the Junior Men’s discipline in Canada. He competed internationally earlier this season, taking home the gold medal from the 2005 NACS event in Pierrefonds, Que. He also won the gold medal in the Junior Men’s event at the 2005 Mladost Trophy. Lee Barkell coaches Russell at the Mariposa School of Skating in Barrie, Ont.

Rounding out the Canadian entries in the Men’s event is Jamie Forsythe. The 18-year-old from Kingston, Ont. is ranked eighth in the Junior Men’s discipline in Canada. This will be his first ISU Junior Grand Prix assignment. Lee Barkell coaches Forsythe.

Lorna Schroder, of Georgetown, Ont., and Nepean, Ont.’s Karen Butcher will be the Canadian officials at the event. Skate Canada National Coach Consultant Petra Burka, a former Canadian and World Champion, and Jeff Partrick, Skate Canada Chief Membership Officer, will act as the team leaders. The contact number during the event is (514) 253-3365. Results will be posted on the Skate Canada web site at http://www.skatecanada.ca/ as soon as they become available.

Skate Canada, the national governing body responsible for the development and administration of figure skating in Canada, is the largest figure skating association in the world. With skating programs for athletes of all ages, offered at 1388* clubs across the country, Skate Canada is an association dedicated to providing every Canadian the opportunity to experience the passion, spirit and triumph of skating. Primarily self-supporting, Skate Canada is able to provide direct athlete funding, which reaches approximately 1 in 7 competitive athletes and 1 in 3 synchronized skating teams each year through various training and performance-related grants.

* As at August 31, 2004.