To the delight of the home crowd, two-time and reigning ISU World Ice Dance silver medalists Piper Gilles/Paul Poirier (CAN) danced to the lead as the Ice Dance event at Skate Canada International kicked off in Saskatoon (CAN) on Saturday. 

“Supermodels” Piper Gilles/Paul Poirier (CAN) take the stage

Four-time ISU World medallists Gilles/Poirier of Canada danced to a commanding lead in an entertaining Rhythm Dance event that brought the 90s back. Lithuania’s Allison Reed/Saulius Ambrulevicius (LTU) came second, ahead of Christina Carreira/Anthony Ponomarenko (USA). 

Gilles/Poirier picked the “Supermodel” theme for their dance and delivered an upbeat performance that was highlighted by fast-paced footwork, excellent twizzles and a rotational lift, scoring 85.38 points. The Canadian Champions took the stage for the first time this season, debuting their program. 

“I thought our performance today was really fun, it definitely felt like the first time that we were out there, we almost wanted to go but then we had to kind of resist that extra energy that we had,” Gilles commented. “I think we really just kind of stuck to our training, we were like, ‘This is today’s program, not the Olympics’ and we had a blast and the audience really got behind us.”

Piper Gilles/Paul Poirier (CAN) put on an incredible show on home ice at Skate Canada 2025 in Saskatoon, Canada © ISU

The team has decided to start their season at the ISU Grand Prix series for a few years now. 

“We understand that we do come into the Grand Prix season with less preparation than other teams,” Poirier acknowledged. “We've really been focused through this entire quad on not trying to compare ourselves to the progress of our competitors and really to stay focused on the task at hand and stay focused on our own vision for the programs and where we want to take them. We feel that's what allows us to perform at our best.  

“So I think we felt really comfortable coming out to compete today and as much as we were really proud of the performance day, we also see where the program can grow and where we can take it over the next few months.”

With already four competitions under their belts, Reed/Ambrulevicius oozed confidence on the ice and delivered a dynamic dance to “I’m Too Sexy”, executing smooth step sequences and twizzles. The 2024 ISU European bronze medallists picked up 80.89 points, just below their season’s best from the ISU Grand Prix de France. 

Allison Reed/Saulius Ambrulevicius (LTU) fed off the energy of the crowd at Skate Canada 2025 in Saskatoon, Canada © ISU

“We just went out there and had a ton of fun,” Reed noted. “The crowd really got into it towards the back half of our program. They were clapping along and so that made that extra exciting for us to perform.”

The Lithuanians are already competing in their fifth event this season after an early start at the Olympic qualifier that they won. 

“I think having us being prepared early was a blessing in disguise,” Ambrulevicius said. “We had a very good summer, which led us to succeeding in our goals that we set and I think we are enjoying this preparation and feeling very good about ourselves and we want to continue carrying this through.” 

Dancing to “Sweet Dreams”, Carreira/Ponomarenko earned a level four for their twizzles and lift to set a new season’s best of 76.83 points.

“Overall we are pretty happy with the performance today,” Ponomarenko shared. “We left a couple points on the table here and there, were shaky some areas but overall very happy. We're looking to skate tomorrow more like we do in practice and have some fun.” 

Christina Carreira/Anthony Ponomarenko (USA) fed off the energy of the crowd at Skate Canada 2025 in Saskatoon, Canada © ISU

Two-time ISU Grand Prix Finalists Marjorie Lajoie/Zachary Lagha (CAN) were narrowly edged out of the podium with 75.95 points but will fight for a medal in the Free Dance. Katerina Mrzakova/Daniel Mrazek (CZE) are currently ranked fifth on 74.29 points followed by Hannah Lim/Ye Quan (KOR/70.97 points).

The schedule of the ISU Grand Prix Skate Canada International is as follows:

Friday, October 31: Women’s & Pairs Short Programs
Saturday, November 1: Rhythm Dance, Men’s Short Program, Women’s & Pairs Free Skating
Sunday, November 2: Men’s Free Skating, Free Dance

ISU Grand Prix Standings

Check out who is on their way to qualify for the ISU Grand Prix Final:

Men                               Women                    Pairs                      Ice Dance

For full entry lists and further information regarding the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Series please visit here.

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The schedules of each ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating event are available below:

5. 17 - 19 Oct 2025                       Grand Prix de France in Angers (FRA)
6. 24 - 26 Oct 2025                       Cup of China in Chongqing (CHN)
7. 31 Oct-2 Nov 2025                   Skate Canada International in Saskatoon (CAN)
8. 07 - 9 Nov 2025                        NHK Trophy in Osaka (JPN)
9. 14- 16 Nov 2025                       Skate America in Lake Placid (USA)  
10. 21 - 23 Nov 2025                      Finlandia Trophy in Helsinki (FIN)  

The ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final: 

5. 04 - 07 Dec 2025                        Nagoya (JPN)