Alexandra Paul Narrative
In 1996, at five years of age, Alexandra commenced the early years of her successful skating career. She and two sisters joined the highly successful “CanSkate Program” that Skate Canada had developed to help guide and encourage young Canadian skaters.
Through these early years Alexandra was fortunate to reside close to the Mariposa School of Skating, an international training centre in Barrie, Ontario. Here she was able to take advantage of both valuable ice time and exceptional coaching. With this foundation Alexandra successfully undertook and completed all of Skate Canada’s competitive test programs.
For the first eleven years (1996-2007) she skated and competed as a singles skater up to the novice level. In 2007, at the age of 16, Alexandra made the decision to focus on ice dancing fulltime and started her ice dancing career with Jason Cheperdak as her dance partner. It was an easy choice for Alexandra and Jason to team up with coach David Islam, a former ice dancer and Director of Ice Dancing at the previously mentioned Mariposa School of Skating in Barrie, Ontario.
Following a relatively brief period together and a Bronze Medal at the 2009 Canadian Junior Ice Dancing Championship with Jason a decision to move to a new dance partner was made. Alexandra and Mitchell Islam began their partnership in February 2009 and just over one year later claimed the silver medal at the 2010 World Junior Championships in The Hague, Netherlands
In the fall of 2010, they made their ISU Grand Prix debut at Skate Canada in Kingston, Ontario where they finished fourth overall, thanks to a second-place finish in the free dance that earned them a standing ovation. They went on to win the bronze medal at the 2011 Canadian Senior Championships.
Following a fifth-place finish at the 2012 Canadian championships, Alexandra and Mitchell moved to the Detroit area to train with renowned coaches Angelika Krylova and Pasquale Camerlengo. They made their first appearance at a senior International Skating Union Championship in 2012 when they finished sixth at the ISU Four Continents Championship in Colorado Springs, USA.
A bronze medal at the 2014 Canadian championships earned them a spot on their first Olympic team and they finished 18th at 2014 Olympic Games in Sochi, Russia. One month later they cracked the top 10 at their first world championships.
Their Olympic Games in Sochi would stand as their most outstanding achievement. To skate with the best in the world and represent your country on the biggest stage is the goal and dream of many athletes.
Alexandra and Mitchell decided to retire in 2016 after a very successful ice dancing career. Throughout their eight-year skating partnership they were outstanding competitors and always set a high bar for others to follow. Canadians can be proud of their achievements on and off the ice.
Alexandra over the next five years returned to her academic studies fulltime to become a lawyer. She was called to the bar in May 2021.
In September 2021 Alexandra and Mitchell formed another partnership when they became a married couple.
Alexanda's Brief Summary:
♦ Skated 20 years
♦ Coached skating throughout her competitive career
♦ Represented Canada at 20 International competitions
♦ Six-time national team member
♦ Represented Canada at the 2014 Olympic Games in Sochi, Russia
♦ Attended University throughout her Senior career
♦ Attended Law School after retiring from competitive career
♦ Trained in Detroit, Michigan for two years as well as Montreal for two years
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