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Skate Canada's Alumni Committee presents a podcast to celebrate the incredible achievements of our athletes, coaches, officials, and hall of fame members. On each episode, we'll tell the stories and share the experiences of our alumni. Some stories will be familiar, but most will be memories and behind-the-scenes insights which the world has never heard. They are all delivered lovingly and with tremendous passion for the sport that has given each of us so much.
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Featuring Elizabeth Manley 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 nic…
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Featuring Ann Shaw 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 a…
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Featuring Marilyn Chidlow 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 …
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Three-time Olympic medalist and 10-time national champion Patrick Chan is the most decorated male figure skater in Canadian history. A three-time world champion (2011, 2012, 2013), a 2018 Olympic gold medalist in the team event in PyeongChang, he won two Olympic silver medals in the men’s event and team event at the Sochi games. And in January 2018…
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Featuring Emanuel Sandhu 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…
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Featuring Manon Perron In these days of multitasking, there is no better expert than today’s guest on the Alumni Podcast, Manon Perron. Manon has mastered 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…
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Featuring Cynthia Phaneuf 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. Not all past champions have made a smooth transition into their life-after-skating quite like Cynthia. She now put…
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Featuring Donald Jackson 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 spot…
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Featuring Kurt Browning 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. Skate Cana…
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Featuring Sandra Bezic 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 Bezi…
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Featuring Jean Senft 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 s…
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Featuring Bruno Marcotte – Part 2 Welcome to the Alumni podcast, 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. P…
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Featuring Bruno Marcotte – Part 1 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, th…
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Featuring Jan and Cynthia Ullmark 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 …
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Benoît Lavoie – Part 2 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…
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Benoît Lavoie – Part 1 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 Sk…
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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. Doug Steele was involved with figure skating as a skater, …
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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…
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This season Skate Canada and the Alumni Committee welcomed two new members into the Alumni Family. This past January at Nationals in Saint John, two of Canada’s most popular national team members, Dylan Moscovitch and Elladj Baldé, renewed their friendship and reminisced about the experiences skating has brought to their lives Facing the end of the…
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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.…
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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. Joyce Hisey The 1952 Canadian Silver Dance medallist from Toronto went on to become a long serving and effective volunteer and official, leaving her mark on the sport of figure skating …
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Skate Canada Archivist – Emery Leger 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 & He…
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NEXXICE Senior Tune in to listen to NEXXICE legends Shelley Simonton-Barnett (coach) and Jennifer Beauchamp-Crichton (alumnus) chatting about our 9 time Canadian Champions. 2015 World Synchronized Skating Champions (Hamilton, ON) NEXXICE Senior is a team known world-wide in synchronized skating. Representing the Burlington Skating Centre, the two-t…
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Lenny Faustino Debbi Wilkes chats with Canadian pair skater, Lenny Faustino. Lenny with pair partner Jacinthe 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 pai…
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Michael Slipchuk 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…
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In the second episode, Christopher Mabee chats with pair skater Elizabeth Putnam, a two-time Canadian bronze medalist with partner Sean Wirtz. 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…
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In this inaugural episode of the new Skate Canada Alumni podcast, Debbi chats with three-time Canadian Pair champion, Craig Buntin. 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 …
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