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Canadian Ice Dance Duo Skips 2026-27 Grand Prix Season
Olympic bronze medallists Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier will not compete in the 2026-27 Grand Prix series. The International Skating Union assigned 19 Canadian skaters to the six-event circuit.
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Olympic ice dance bronze medallists Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier will not compete during the 2026-27 Grand Prix season. The International Skating Union released assignments for figure skating's top circuit on Tuesday, with 19 Canadian skaters selected to compete in the six-stop series.
"Over the last few years, we've poured so much into this sport and into chasing dreams together, and right now we're choosing to give our bodies and minds time to rest and reset," Gilles said in an Instagram post.
World pairs bronze medallists Lia Pereira and Trennt Michaud, and Canadian men's champion Stephen Gogolev will headline the field at Skate Canada International from Oct. 30 to Nov. 1 in Kelowna, B.C. Four-time national champion Madeline Schizas also returns this season after representing Canada at the 2022 and 2026 Winter Games.
Skaters can compete in up to two of the six Grand Prix events in an effort to qualify for the Grand Prix Final in Chongqing, China, in December.
Notable omissions beyond Gilles and Poirier include former world pairs champions Deanna Stellato-Dudek and Maxime Deschamps, as well as two-time Canadian men's champion Roman Sadovsky. None of the skaters have officially announced their retirements.
Gilles and Poirier, both 34, are four-time world medallists and reached their first Olympic podium with their "Starry, Starry Night" free dance in Milan.
