Browning, Petrenko, Brasseur & Eisler and Manley Headline the 1996 Toyota Canadian Professional Figure Skating Championship At The Corel Centre in Ottawa

TORONTO, Oct. 15 /CNW/ - Four-time World Champion Kurt Browning and Olympic Gold Medalist Victor Petrenko will lead the way as an impressive field of some of the world's best professional figure skaters compete in Ottawa at the third annual Toyota Canadian Professional Figure Skating Championship.

Scheduled for December 6 & 7 at the Corel Centre in Ottawa, the 1996 Toyota Canadian Pro will offer $440,000 in prize money and feature Men's, Ladies and Pairs competition.

The event has attracted an international field that includes some of the sport's most accomplished skaters. In pairs competition, two-time Olympic Bronze Medalists Isabelle Brasseur & Lloyd Eisler will join Olympic Silver Medalists Elena Bechke & Denis Petrov and 1988 National Pairs Champions Christine Hough & Doug Ladret.

Adding to the exciting match up of four-time World Champion Kurt Browning and Olympic Gold Medalist Victor Petrenko, Ottawa skating fans will also see two-time Olympic Silver Medalist Brian Orser, 1984 Olympic Bronze Medalist Jozef Sabovcik, 1993 U.S. Silver Medalist Mark Mitchell and 1989 World Professional Champion Gary Beacom.

In the ladies category, Ottawa's own 1988 Olympic Silver Medalist Elizabeth Manley and three-time Canadian Champion Josee Chouinard will go head to head for the title. 1981 World Champion Denise Biellmann, 1987 World Bronze Medalist Caryn Kadavy, two-time Canadian Champion Karen Preston and 1984 Olympic Silver Medalist Rosalynn Sumners will also be vying for the championship.

Toyota Canada Inc. has committed to be the title sponsor of this event for the third consecutive year. ``Toyota Canada and its associates strongly identify with the goals and aspirations of these world class athletes who will be competing for the Toyota Canadian Pro Championship'', commented Yoshio Nakatani, President of Toyota Canada Inc. ``Their years of dedication and hard work have resulted in the achievement of the highest level of artistic and athletic performance.'' Kellogg's Special K is returning as an associate sponsor for the third year.

The competition is open to professional skaters who have declared themselves ineligible for International Skating Union (ISU) sanctioned amateur competitions such as the Olympics and the Canadian Figure Skating Championships. In all, six countries are represented at the event including, Canada, Russia, the Slovak Republic, Switzerland, Ukraine and the United States.

The CTV and TVA networks have each committed to six hours of television coverage for this year's event. The event will also be seen on CBS in the United States, where four hours of coverage will be shown. Last year's event attracted over two million viewers across North America.