Winnipeg pair wins first senior international ahead of Skate Canada debut

For athletes heading into a milestone competition, nothing delivers a jolt of confidence quite like recording a first international win and personal-best scores mere weeks before the big event.

That scenario played out for figure skaters Ava Kemp and Yohnatan Elizarov over the Thanksgiving weekend at the Tayside Trophy in Dundee, Scotland, where they dominated the nine-pair field from start to finish. The Winnipeg duo tallied career-best short program, long program and total scores.

“There were some teams there that had been to the Olympics, so it was cool beating them,” Elizarov said.

As the 2026 world junior champions counted down the days before their debut in senior Grand Prix competition at Skate Canada International next week (Oct. 30-Nov. 1), Elizarov explained how many more points they could score in Kelowna, B.C., by avoiding deductions incurred in Dundee.

“The short program, we had a clean skate, (bonus points for quality) on everything, but we clicked blades and I fell, so we got a one-point deduction for me falling on nothing. Then we were late for our ending position so we got a (one-point) time violation,” Elizarov said, the amused disbelief still evident in his voice.

Reflecting on their 182.72 total in Scotland, Elizarov said, “We still have points to get which is really nice. We’re aiming at 67, maybe 68 in the short. In the long with a level 4 lift compared to a base lift, we’re looking at above 120.”

“We’re really excited, especially for our first Grand Prix to be on home soil. I think it will be really special.”

Realistically, Kemp and Elizarov have a shot at a medal at the International Skating Union event which begins next Thursday, although Kemp suggested they “don’t have too many expectations” as to how they will fare considering their rookie status.

“We have our own personal goals and what we want to achieve. We want to keep building on what we’ve already put out this season. I think we’re really excited, especially for our first Grand Prix to be on home soil. I think it will be really special,” she said.

A few weeks prior to their win in Scotland, the seasoned junior-level competitors launched their first full season in senior company with a fourth-place finish at Nebelhorn Trophy in Germany. Had each of them not doubled an intended triple jump, the bronze medal could well have been theirs.

“Nebelhorn was cool. It was a strong event and we were able to skate with a lot of the top teams during the final warm-up group. We weren’t expecting to be in the final warm-up,” Kemp recalled.

“It wasn’t our best free program. We were pretty happy with the short. We got a ton of feedback from our coaches and choreographers, what they thought happened and what led us to that point. We had a week and half, we worked, then we went to Tayside and the programs were a bit better.”

Kemp and Elizarov said they feel “very trained” for their Skate Canada debut.

“After Nebelhorn and Tayside, I feel like we have some experience with senior programs under stress and in competition. We’re pretty happy we did those two competitions,” Elizarov said.

“We’re going into Skate Canada with confidence and not any kind of doubt with our ability.”

“I think we’re going into Skate Canada with confidence and not any kind of doubt with our ability on how to do things. We’re just hoping to show up with two good skates.”

Preparation for their 2026-27 campaign included a week-long training session with renowned international pairs coach Dmitri Savin in Budapest in July.

“We went there for help with lifts and throws,” Elizarov said. “We were able to train with three Olympic pair teams — the Armenians, the Japanese and Hungarians. It was really good to see how they warm-up, how their practice sessions are run. It was a very, very good experience.”

“We were super excited to train with other teams. We don’t train with other teams here (at Toronto’s Granite Club). The only time we have trained with other teams is on competition (practice) ice,” Kemp added.

Off ice, Kemp, 18, and Elizarov, 22, were recruited to model the merch for Skate Canada International. For the photoshoot, she sported a long-sleeve, crewneck in a muted teal colour dubbed “blue spruce,” while he rocked a T-shirt in “pepper.” A mountain peaks graphic and KELOWNA 2026 are emblazoned on the gear marketed to figure skating fans at home and abroad.

Skate Canada is the second of six events in the Grand Prix series. Canadians Lia Pereira and Trennt Michaud, the reigning world bronze medallists, are the top seeds among the eight pairs.

The world’s elite singles skaters, pairs and ice dancers each compete twice on the Grand Prix circuit. At events in France, Canada, China, the U.S., Finland and Japan, competitors earn points based on their results. The top six finishers in each discipline qualify for the Grand Prix Final in December.

Kemp and Elizarov’s second assignment is Skate America in Everett, Wash., in mid-November. There, they will compete alongside world champions and Olympic bronze medallists Minerva Hase and Nikita Volodin of Germany.

winnipegfreepress.com/laurienealin