Press Box

MADISON CHOCK AND GREG ZUERLEIN WIN DANCE TITLE AT 2009 WORLD JUNIOR CHAMPIONSHIPS

CANTON MICHIGAN-The 2009 World Junior Ice Dance championships concluded this past weekend in Sofia, Bulgaria and 2 teams from the Arctic Edge of Canton won the gold and silver medals. The United States' Madison Chock and Greg Zuerlein led in all three dances to win the gold medal with 172.55 points. They are having a great season, having also won the U.S. junior title in Cleveland as well as the Junior Grand Prix Final in Korea back in December. Their teammates Maia Shibutani and Alex Shibutani took the silver with 162.15 points. Both teams train at the Arctic Edge of Canton under world-renowned ice dancing coaches Igor Shpilband and Marina Zoueva.
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ARCTIC EDGE SKATERS WIN GOLD AND SILVER AT THE FOUR CONTINENTS FIGURE SKATING CHAMPIONSHIPS

CANTON MICHIGAN- Once again the Arctic Edge Ice Arena
of Canton skaters shined at the ISU Four Continents Figure Skating Championships in Vancouver British Columbia last week in preparation for the 2010 Olympic Games. United States Ice Dancers Meryl Davis and Charlie White took home the gold medal while the Canadian dance team of Tess Virtue and Scott Moir took home the silver medal. Both dance teams train at the Arctic Edge Ice Arena in Canton under the supervision of ice dancing coaches Igor Shpilband and Marina Zoueva.
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FREE PUBLIC OPEN SKATE AT THE ARCTIC EDGE IN CANTON TO CELEBRATE HOCKEY DAY IN MICHIGAN

CANTON MICHIGAN- In celebration of the 4th annual Hockey Day in Michigan, the Arctic Edge Ice Arena of Canton will be offering a free public open skate on Saturday February 14, 2009 from 1:00-2:50 p.m. Skate rentals will be available for $3.00 a pair based on availability.

Declan's at the Edge concession stand will be offering a Hot Dog, Bag of Chips, and small fountain drink for just $3 during the open skate.

Hockey Day in Michigan is a statewide initiative to celebrate the game of hockey and all those involved at all levels and expose hockey to new audiences.

For more information please call the Arctic Edge front office
at 734-487-7777
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CANTON MICHIGAN- In build up for the 2010 Olympic winter games in Vancouver, The Arctic Edge Ice Arena of Canton skaters made quite an impression at the United States and Canadian skating championships this past week. Ice Dancers Meryl Davis and Charlie White took home the gold medal at the United States Skating Championships in Cleveland, Ohio, and last week in Saskatoon Saskatchewan, Tess Virtue and Scott Moir won gold medals in ice dance at the Canadian national skating championships for the second year in a row. The Arctic Edge skaters also dominated the U.S. junior ice dance championships with Madison Chock and Greg Zuerlein taking home the gold and the team of Maia Shibutani and Alex Shibutani taking the silver. Shannon Wingle and Timothy McKernan took fourth place. In the pair competition 2007 Senior pairs champions Brooke Castile and Ben Okolski took fifth place and the team of Chloe Katz and Joseph Lynch finished sixth.

The Canton Hockey Association coaches defeated the Canton Fire Fighters 7-3 in the 4th annual Coaches vs Fire Fighters Charity Hockey game Saturday December 13th. Close to 1000 fans packed the Arctic Edge to watch the contest and the game raised $1,500 for the Canton Fire Department Charity "No Child Without a Christmas." Thanks to all those who made the event a success for a great cause.

Arctic Figure Skating Club Skaters Impress at
Eastern Great Lakes Regionals

The Arctic Figure Skating Club had several of its skaters
place at the Eastern Great Lakes Regionals in Midland Last week. Check out the link below for competition results and details from this months issue of the Arctic Blast!

Gothenburg Sweden. When the World Ice Dancing Championships ended, three teams that
train at the Arctic Edge Ice Arena in Canton, Michigan had placed among the 10 best in the world. One of those teams, Canadian National Champions Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir, earned the
World Silver Medal in only their second appearance at the event. At ages 18 and 20 respectively, they are the youngest team ever to win a medal at the World Championships. "We were just excited to go to the Senior World Championships as the Canadian Champions. Being the Silver Medallists here is a great accomplishment that caps off a wonderful season for us" said an effusive Tessa Virture. "We were well prepared by our coaches Igor Sphilband and Marina Zoueva so we were ready to compete." said partner Scott Moir. "Relaxing, enjoying our skating and skating our best was our goal. Winning the Free Dance portion and the Silver Medal at the World Championships is a dream come true for us." The free dance program Virture and Moir skated was choreographed by Zoueva and Sphilband and was called "..brilliant" by commentators. Coaches Marina Zoueva and Igor Sphilband were enthusiastic about Tessa and Scott's performance. "They handled themselves extremely well throughout the competition.", said coach Marina Zoueva.
"They are mature beyond their years" she said. "We are proud of their performance here, and
proud of their training habits at home", said Sphilband.

Tanith Belbin and Benjamin Agosto, five time United States Ice Dancing Champions, two time
World Bronze Medallists and Olympic Silver Medallists were slated to be the champions of the world this year, but due to an unfortunate and unexpected fall in the first portion of the competition, the compulsory dance, they had a lower placement than expected to start out with and had a lot
of points to make up. With the difficult competition they faced here in Sweden, they could not
catch up to the leaders in spite of skating well in the next two segments. Tanith and Ben ended in fourth position overall. " We are proud of ourselves for not giving up and were especially pleased
with our free dance tonight" said Belbin. "The free dance was good" said Agosto, "and we only missed being Bronze medallists by .26, less than half a point. We were....sooo close!" he said. "Tanith and Ben were very good in the free dance especially." said coach Sphilband. "We will all work hard next year to help them get back on the podium."

US Silver Medalists Meryl Davis and Charlie White skate fast and close together with great unison which was noticed and rewarded by the judges at worlds. Davis and White started out in seventh place and ended in sixth place after the free dance portion of the competition."This is a great finish for us in only our second year at the Senior World Championships" said White. Meryl and Charlie are both students at the University of Michigan and will return home to catch up on their schoolwork and train their show and exhibition programs in Canton. All three of these teams are very, very good, and they are all different in spite of, or perhaps because of sharing the same training facility and having the same coaches. "We encourage their individuality", said Zoueva.

The 2006 National Champions and 2007 US Pair Skating Bronze Medallists Brooke Castile and Ben Okolski train with coach Johnny Johns at the Arctic Edge in Canton, Michigan also. They placed 11th in the hotly contested pair skating event in Sweden. Brooke and Ben have been fighting injuries all season and were unable to compete in most of their international competitions prior to the World Championships. However, they were third in the 4 Continents Competition just prior to the World Championships. Their dramatic lifts and high throws in Sweden were exciting to watch! Their teammates Rena Inoue and John Baldwin placed 10th in the event and so the United States will be able to take two pairs to the world championships next year.

Skaters of various nationalities and ages currently train at the Arctic Edge Arena in Canton, Michigan in dance, pair and single skating. Most are not as far along in their careers as the eight skaters mentioned above who competed in the World Championships. However, they are devoted to their sport and dream about going to the world championships themselves someday.
The Arctic Edge Arena hosts classes and other instruction for skaters at all levels. There is
skating for the general public also. Just call (734) 487-777, or go to the arena website at www.ArcticArenas.com for information on events, programs and classes.