Pair preps for weekend test in Kelowna

KELOWNA, B.C. — Their first spin around the ice at Skate Canada International on Thursday was a mix of business and pleasure for Winnipeg pair skaters Ava Kemp and Yohnatan Elizarov.

Job one for the practice session was to get accustomed to the size and feel of the ice surface at Propsera Place while test-driving the lifts, throws and jumps they’ll perform Friday in their senior ISU Grand Prix competition debut.

“The big thing is the patterns (skating into elements) because these boards are very narrow but very long — it’s NHL size — so when you’re setting up elements you need to make sure you’re using the full length or else you’re going to run into the boards,” Elizarov explained in a post-skate chat with media.

“The second thing is the ice which is sometimes really soft or really hard. This ice is really soft.”

The problem with soft ice, the pair said, is that blades carve ruts into the ice. Kemp got caught in a particularly deep one on the take-off for her triple salchow on Thursday, making it impossible to launch herself upwards to execute the three revolution jump.

Still, Thursday wasn’t all work and no play for the 2026 world junior champions. The two skaters exchanged smiles and bantered with each other and with their coaches — Kevin Dawe and Lee Barkell — at rinkside to offer guidance, reminders and reassurance.

Once off the ice, the athletes both donned witches’ hats in the spirit of Halloween as they posed for photos destined for Skate Canada’s social media feeds.

“We had some fun out there,” Elizarov said of their 40-minute on-ice session. “It was really nice to see the (school) kids. When we did a double twist, they freaked out which was really cute.”

Not only will Skate Canada International mark Kemp and Elizarov’s first test in the elite Grand Prix ranks, it also presents the rare opportunity to compete in an international event on home soil. Only once before has the couple had that experience — back in 2023 when Calgary hosted the world junior championships.

Since joining forces in 2021, the duo has showcased their talents almost exclusively in arenas across Asia and Europe. They’ve competed in 11 countries outside Canada (in three of them twice), although Kemp and Elizarov had to go through the list to confirm that total: Japan, China, Taiwan, Poland, Turkey, Latvia, Estonia, Hungary, Austria, Scotland and Germany.

Compared to their usual day-long travel abroad, Elizarov noted it was an easy, five-hour trip from their training base in Toronto to Kelowna, B.C. That, combined with all the Canadian volunteers, was giving them national championship vibes, despite the international field.

When Kemp, 18, and Elizarov, 22, take the ice for Friday’s opener, their families will be occupying several seats at Prospera Place, including Kemp’s uncle and cousins who live in Kelowna.

“We want to enjoy the experience and take it in. We’re never going to have a first senior Grand Prix again,” Kemp said.

The couple got a taste of competing at the senior level last season at the Canadian and Four Continents championships. In September, they opened their 2026-27 campaign in Germany and then headed to Scotland where they won their first senior international gold.

Kemp and Elizarov collected six medals over three seasons on the junior Grand Prix circuit and have a legitimate chance to add a senior medal to their stash this weekend.

In recent weeks, they focused on fine-tuning their program choreography based on notes from their choreographers — Sandra Bezic, David Wilson and Jeff Buttle — who felt their performances in Germany were too technical element-oriented.

“We’re lucky to have them. They have a lot of input into our training. They all have great experience,” Kemp said of the renowned Canadian trio.

On Friday night, Kemp and Elizarov will perform their short program set to Not About Angels by Birdy from The Fault In Our Stars soundtrack. The 1980s INXS rock ballad Never Tear Us Apart is the musical backdrop for the finale on Saturday.

Eight pairs from six countries are slated to compete in Kelowna. Canada’s Lia Pereira and Trennt Michaud — the 2026 world bronze medallists — and Americans Alisa Efimova and Misha Mitrofanov — sixth at the worlds — are the top seeds.

Before the pairs hit the ice, the men open the three-day Skate Canada competition with their short program round.

Team Canada’s hopes rest with Stephen Gogolev who arrived in Kelowna as the top-ranked contestant in the 12-man field thanks to his fourth-place finish at the 2026 world championship.

Also challenging for the podium will be the mercurial crowd favourite Kévin Aymoz of France, reigning two-time world junior champion Rio Nakata of Japan in his senior Grand Prix debut, and his teammate Kazuki Tomono.

Skate Canada is the second of six events in the Grand Prix series that unfolds over consecutive weeks in France, Canada, China, the U.S., Finland and Japan. The world’s elite figure skaters each compete twice on the circuit with top performers advancing to the Grand Prix Final in China in December.

Fans can catch all the action on CBC and online streaming platforms.

winnipegfreepress.com/laurienealin