By Sport Nova Scotia Communications
Pairs figure skaters Addison Riley and Connell Meagher have brought national hardware back to Nova Scotia with their 2026 pre-novice pairs bronze medals at the 2026 Skate Canada Trophy held in Dartmouth this past February.
“To have the event in our home province and be able to win a medal and be the only Nova Scotians to win a medal at the nationals was really nice,” says Connell. The last time a Skate Nova Scotia athlete medaled at a national competition was in 2022.
This was the pair’s second time at a national level competition and while last year they were still finding their bearings, they knew this year they would be contenders. At the event they came second in the short program before advancing to the long program and finishing with a combined score of 97.76 points, putting them behind the second-place team by less than 2.50 points.
Connell and Addison have been a team for three and a half years and skate out of the St. Margaret’s Bay Skating Club. Before these past nationals they earned pre-novice pairs silver medals at the 2024 Atlantic Canada Skating Championships and at the 2025 Quebec Summer Championships this past August.
The duo says it is a lot of work getting ready for competitions. Because Nova Scotia does not have as many pairs teams as some other provinces, they often travel to compete against other pairs teams. They also sometimes bring in coaches from outside of Nova Scotia to help with lifts. But all the extra work is worth it.
“It’s just so much fun and performing is really exciting and we have a lot of support too. It would just be a completely different sport if we didn’t have any support in it,” says Addison.
Skating five to six times a week, the pair says they feel very supported by their parents, coaches, choreographers and fellow skaters. They note that at competitions as soon as Team Nova Scotia realizes that one of their own is skating, they all gather to watch and cheer each other on.
For Connell, he started figure skating after seeing his sister and her friends participate in CanSkate, which is a national learn-to-skate program. Similarly, Addison got the chance to watch figure skating while at a local rink and told her dad that is what she wanted to do.
The pair first skated together at one of their club’s ice shows and since it went well, and they both had pairs experience, it was the natural conclusion to become a team. While they joke that Addison sometimes has a little bit more attitude than Connell, and that Connell often likes to be right, they always want what is best for the team.
“I would say we bring a lot of personality to the ice when we skate and perform compared to other pair teams,” says Addison. “And in time we’ve gotten stronger, becoming faster and the elements are improving.”
When it comes to routines, the pair like very fast, upbeat music with a focus on lifts. “Not too long ago we tried our first ever triple throw in a harness, so that was really fun to experience,” says Addison, with Connell adding, “We have fairly good lifts and I think we’ll be experimenting with more one arm lifts and changing positions in the air on the ice.”
Looking ahead to the future, the pair hopes to compete at the 2027 Canada Games with Team Nova Scotia.
