Skate Canada Alumni Podcast

Canada’s 1988 Olympic sweetheart, Elizabeth Manley, has turned her silver medal into an outstanding career both on and off the ice. Strong, talented and determined, and taking another exciting step into the future, Liz is using everything she’s learned from sport and from her battles with depression to carve out a new niche for herself … this time as a “Life Coach”.

Debbi Wilkes welcomes Skate Canada Hall of Fame member, Ann Shaw. As a former international dance competitor and now a retired official, Ann has experienced every part of the skating world. From judging national, world and Olympic events to serving on the ISU Dance Committee, Ann’s pedigree and contributions have helped promote and define our sport in Canada and around the world.

In this month’s alumni podcast, Debbi Wilkes welcomes former Skate Canada President, Marilyn Chidlow.  Marilyn is an Alberta native who has been involved in every level of skating volunteering including the local club level, the National Board level as the Skate Canada President from 2000 to 2006, and attending the Olympic Winter Games. Marilyn not only remembers her first steps on the ice but also some of her greatest challenges and successes as leader of Skate Canada.

This month’s podcast with Debbi Wilkes, Patrick talks about his career, his retirement, his future, and the important time for reflection during the COVID-19 isolation, the longest time he has been off the ice since he started skating! Most elite athletes are perfectionists… and Patrick Chan admits he is no different.  His drive to learn and succeed and, since retirement, he has a new appreciation for what is required to move into the next chapter of his life.  While he hopes skating will always play a significant role, Patrick is open to developing new skills and searching for his next great challenge.

Two-time Olympian and three-time Canadian champion, Emanuel Sandhu describes himself as a perfectionist with a two-sided personality.  Recently he and Debbi Wilkes chatted about his life and career, even the COVID pandemic could not suppress his optimism, curiosity, and love of adventure. For Emanuel, ballet and skating were perfectly intertwined both in his soul and on the ice to create an unforgettable combination of athleticism and artistry.  Join Emanuel and Debbi for this revealing and inspiring conversation.

In these days of multitasking, there is no better expert than today’s guest on the Alumni Podcast, Manon Perron.  Manon has master it all, from being a skater, local/national and Olympic coach, team leader, mentor, and now as a Skate Canada Advisor to the High Performance Program.  Her energy and passion for the sport and for developing skaters’ skills beyond the ice, and her contributions to high performance are immeasurable.  Manon and Alumni Chair Debbi Wilkes caught up recently to talk about Manon’s incredible career and her continuing dedication to skating in Canada.

Two-time Canadian Champion Cynthia Phaneuf opens up about her career on the ice and off the ice since her retirement back in 2012,  and expresses how her life has changed since her last competitive performance.

All champions contribute to the sport of figure skating, but only a few change the sport in significant ways. In this edition of the Alumni podcast, our greatest champion, Don Jackson describes his skating life before, during and after his historic triple Lutz back in 1962. From recognition at international skating hot spots… to the local arena … Don’s life has been dedicated to skating and to the people who have supported him in his quest to be the best at every level of involvement.  Enjoy listening to Don as he and Debbi Wilkes share some outstanding memories.

Fasten your seat belts because this month’s podcast with Norm Proft, Alumni and Skate Canada Competition Services Director, dives into the life and times of Kurt Browning and the friendship they continue to share through skating.  Listen as Norm reveals stories behind the success of one of skating’s greatest icons.

This month, Debbi Wilkes visits with a champion, coach, choreographer and visionary, who many claim is the originator and architect for Canada’s worldwide reputation as a leader in choreography and artistic expression. Sandra Bezic began her love for the sport at her local rink learning to skate alongside her brother Val Bezic… the start of what would eventually become a Hall of Fame career which takes her around the world designing programs, shows and concepts that have changed the face of skating.

Competitor, coach and Alumni Committee member Nic Young chats with world-renowned pair coach Richard Gautier.  Together they explore Richard’s skating career and what attracted him to coaching, in particular, pair skating.  You will discover that Richard’s success in skating is based on more than what appears at the rink. To explore his coaching philosophy, enjoy listening to Richard's passion about being one of the world’s best.

Retired official Jean Senft has been front and centre in the sport with a judging career which spanned events at her local club all the way to the Olympic Games. Her daughter, Lauren, a competitive international level ice dancer, retired and now a technical specialist, leads the chat where they both share memories about their skating adventures and discuss the special bond they share as a result.

This month featuring Part 2 and the continuation of last month’s conversation with Olympic Coach Bruno Marcotte as he chats with former national team member Nic Young. The two reflect on family, the future of skating, the positive impact of sport and how it has impacted their lives. Powerful, insightful and inspiring!

This month’s podcast, we welcome two celebrated Alumni (in a two-part interview). In the driver’s seat and host this month is Nic Young, a former national team member, and his guest, national, international and Olympic Coach, Bruno Marcotte. With Nic having transitioned into coaching, the two chat about skating, their history and careers … and their competitive drive to motivate their athletes and in the process to advance the sport of figure skating.

On this month’s alumni podcast, let’s welcome former national team member Norm Proft as he introduces, visits, laughs and reminisces with his former coaches, Olympic and World coaches Jan and Cynthia Ullmark. It’s an in-depth conversation with two of Canada’s most historic and celebrated coaches as they tell their stories and share their philosophies.

Last month we had the opportunity to listen in on the conversation between Skate Canada’s past President, Benoît Lavoie, and Olympic silver medallist Debbi Wilkes as they discussed Benoît's early years in skating. This month it’s part two of the conversation when Benoît talks frankly about skating, its joys and its challenges and his role on the ISU Council.

Of all the individuals who have contributed to skating in Canada and around the world, few have the incredible experience of Benoît Lavoie. His skating career began as a competitor but it was his commitment as a volunteer which gave him the greatest satisfaction. National, international and Olympic judge, past President of Skate Canada and now a Council member of the International Skating Union, Benoît shares his adventures with Alumni Chair Debbi Wilkes in this first edition of a two-part conversation.

Debbi Wilkes, speaks with Saskatchewan’s Doug Steele, whose career in skating spans decades from learn-to-skate toddler to Skate Canada President. Along the way, Doug was tasked with developing the national and international competitive framework for what was to become Synchronized Skating.

Josée Picard and Éric Gilles were recently inducted into the Skate Canada Hall of Fame at the 2019 Canadian National Skating Championships in Saint John, New Brunswick.  Alumni Committee Chair, Debbi Wilkes, visited with them recently to discuss their success as coaches and to discover that some of their greatest long-term achievements were actually "off the ice".

Episode 9: Dylan Moscovitch & Elladj Baldé

As Athlete Ambassador of the 2019 Canadian Tire National Skating Championships, Elvis shared accounts of some of his experiences competing at Nationals, the things it taught him and the lessons he hopes he can pass along. 20 years post competition and he is still one of the most sought-after performers in the world.

Ann Shaw, Skate Canada Alumni Committee member chats with Joyce Hisey about her experience as a Team Leader at the annual senior competition in Oberstdorf, Germany.

Skate Canada Hall of Fame & Heritage Committee member, Diane Imrie chats with Emery Leger, Skate Canada Archivist about Skate Canada's collection from photographs, trophies,medals, costumes, films… and much more. Emery has been at Skate Canada for 12 yrs and is also the lead of the Skate Canada Hall of Fame & Heritage Committee.

Tune in to listen to NEXXICE legends Shelley Simonton-Barnett (coach) and Jennifer Beauchamp-Crichton (alumnus) chatting about our 9 time Canadian Champions.

Lenny Faustino Debbi Wilkes chats with  Canadian pair skater, Lenny Faustino.  Lenny with pair partner Jainthe Larivière, were the 2003 Canadian National Champions and represented Canada at the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympic Games. Faustino and Larivière began their partnership in 1997, and in 1998 were Canadian Junior bronze medalists.This pair team represented Canada and had extensive international experience and won 3 medals including a gold in 2001 at the Nebelhorn Trophy in Germany.With a silver medal at the 2001 Canadian National Championships and with their sites on the 2002 Winter Games, Lenny and Jacinthe posted their best ever result at the Canadian National Championships in January 2002 and earned a berth on the 2002 Olympic Figure Skating Team that was headed to Salt Lake City for the Winter Games.Lenny retired from competition in 2004 and is a graduate of York Univeristy  with a Bachelor of Administration Studies, Marketing Honours and has a Diploma from Georgian College in Business - Marketing.He married Jennifer Ruppel in 2005, and has two beautiful children, Oscar and Matilda.  He currently works as a Certified Financial Planner (CFP) and Chartered Life Underwiter (CLU) with Trudy Butt & Associates Private Wealth Management.

In this episode, Debbi Wilkes chats with Mike Slipchuk, 1992 Olympian & Canadian Champion, Skate Canada's High Performance Director and Alberta Sports Hall of Fame & Museum member. Edmonton native Michael Slipchuk has been involved in the development of skating champions for the past 20 years. He brought his considerable experience as a competitor and coach to the role of High Performance Director when he joined Skate Canada in 2007. One of Slipchuk’s first priorities was to create a strong support network for Canadian skaters.  He has assembled a team of physical therapists, sport psychologists, nutritional specialists, and strength and conditioning experts to provide their individual expertise to the elite level skaters.  He has also re-ignited the strong Canadian team concept when groups of skaters assemble to represent the country at international events. Since he began in this position, Canadian athletes have won 25 world medals and nine Olympic medals, including 10 world titles and three Olympic gold medals. Slipchuk was Canadian men’s senior champion in 1992 and represented Canada at the 1992 Winter Olympic Games, where he placed ninth.  He retired from competitive skating after the 1992 Olympics to focus on coaching young skaters. Certified as an NCCP (National Coaching Certificate Program) Level Four coach he trained skaters who competed at national and international levels while also leading coaching seminars across the country. He was named head coach at the Glencoe Club in Calgary, Alberta in 1995, a position he held until he joined Skate Canada. An early proponent of figure skating’s revamped judging system, in 2004 Slipchuk began serving at Grand Prix events as an ISU (International Skating Union) Technical Specialist. In 2006 he was assigned to the first Olympic Winter Games where the system was used in Torino, Italy. That same year he was also on the technical panel for the women’s event at the ISU World Championships in Calgary.  His final event as a Technical Specialist before joining Skate Canada was the 2007 ISU Junior World Championships (Men’s) in Oberstdorf, Germany. The City of Edmonton honoured Slipchuk with the Salute to Excellence (1983), Award of Excellence (1992).  He was inducted into the city’s Sports Hall of Fame in 2001. In 2012, he was recognized by the Alberta Sports Hall of Fame, inducted as both an athlete and a builder.

A native of Toronto, Elizabeth Putnam began training with Sean Wirtz in July 2002, and the pair won bronze at the 2003 Canadian Championships and placed ninth at their first ISU Four Continents Championships in Beijing. The pair made their Grand Prix debut in the 2003–04 season, placing sixth at the 2003 Skate America and fifth at the 2003 Skate Canada International.  In the same season, Putnam and Wirtz, captured a bronze at the 2003 Bofrost Cup on Ice and another bronze at the 2004 Canadian Championships. Throughout the years, they continued to compete in the ISU Grand Prix series, international events and Canadian Championships and at the 2006 ISU Four Continents Championships in Colorado Springs, they won a bronze medal. In 2007, Putnam and Wirtz announced their retirement after withdrawing from their Grand Prix assignments due to Wirtz’s injuries. Elizabeth decided to return to single skating, training in Vancouver under Jill Marie Harvey and Joanne McLeod, she later pursued a career skating on cruise ships.  In 2015, she appeared in a video skating on Widgeon Lake, near Coquitlam, at an altitude of 2,500 feet. Find out what Elizabeth is up to now a days by listening to the podcast!

In this inaugural episode of the new Skate Canada Alumni podcast, Debbi chats with three-time Canadian Pair champion, Craig Buntin. Buntin is a three-time Canadian Pair Champion, first finding success with partner Valérie Marcoux. Together they won three Canadian pair titles from 2004-2006 and competed at the 2006 Olympic Winter Games in Torino, Italy. In 2007 he teamed up with Meagan Duhamel.  At their first world championships in 2008 they placed 6th and landed on the podium three times at the national championships.  They also captured a bronze medal at the 2010 ISU Four Continents Championships. Since retiring from competitive skating in 2010 Buntin has completed an MBA at McGill University.  Craig has been on TEDx Talks and is a successful entrepeneur. Currently, Craig is the CEO of SPORTLOGiQ.  SPORTLOGiQ brings an entirely new level of analysis to the sports analytics market. Using feeds from current broadcast cameras, the company uses player tracking and activity recognition to annotate player movement and provide context to game analysis. SPORTLOGiQ is a venture backed startup, having successfully secured significant seed financing to ensure the next 18 months of growth. Between 2009-2012 was the Founder and Managing Director of Teabean, white coffee. Teabean produces and sells baked white coffee beans, a crossover coffee/tea consumer beverage. The product combines the caffeine of coffee with the taste, health benefits and variety of tea. In 2011, White Coffee Infusion was named one of New York City’s 7 hot items in coffee and tea by Bites on MSN. VeriSkate, a software app that is used to analyze the movements of figure skaters: how high they jump or throw, the distance the move travels, the speed at which it travels, the flow, the ice coverage. Key Links: Website: http://sportlogiq.com Blog: http://sportlogiq.com/en/blog/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/craigbuntin or https://www.linkedin.com/company/sportlogiq Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sportlogiq Twitter: https://twitter.com/craigbuntin or https://twitter.com/sportlogiq Email: info@sportlogiq.com Game Plan: mygameplan.ca AthletesCAN: athletescan.com