Nadiia Bashynska

After starting to learn to skate in 2006, Bashynska's first ice dance partnership while in Ukraine was with Andrei Kapran. After moving to Canada, she began skating with English dancer Peter Beaumont in June of 2017.[1]

Bashynska and Beaumont began competing together domestically, winning the silver medal at the 2018 Skate Canada Challege's novice division. This qualified them to the 2022 Canadian Novice Championships, where they won the gold medal.[3] Based on this, they were given their first international assignment to the advanced novice competition at the Egna Trophy in Val Gardena. Third after the short dance, they rose to second overall in the free dance. Beaumont said that they were both "really thankful for the opportunity to skate abroad."[4]

Moving up to the junior level, Bashynska/Beaumont were fifth at the Lake Placid Ice Dance International in New York. They were assigned to make their Junior Grand Prix debut at the 2018 JGP Slovakia in Bratislava. Placing ninth in the rhythm dance, they were fifth in the free dance despite an audience member throwing a stuffed toy onto the ice midway through the program, requiring them to adjust where they were going. They remained ninth overall.[5]

Thirteenth at Skate Canada Challenge, they finished the season competing at the 2019 Canadian Junior Championships, where they were tenth.[3]

Bashynska/Beaumont returned to Lake Placid Ice Dance International to start the season, winning the gold medal. They were assigned to two events on the Junior Grand Prix, beginning with the 2019 JGP Russia in Chelyabinsk. They set personal bests in all three programs, finishing third in the rhythm dance, fifth in the free dance, and taking the bronze medal overall. Bashysnka and Beaumont were the only non-Russian medalists in any discipline in Chelyabinsk.[6] Bashynska noted that the well-attended Russian event was the largest audience they had ever performed in front of.[7] They were fourth at their second event, the 2019 JGP Croatia.[8]

Winning silver medals at both Skate Canada Challenge and the 2020 Canadian Junior Championships, Bashynska Beaumont were next assigned to the Bavarian Open along with the other three top Canadian junior dance teams to determine which would attend the 2020 World Junior Championships. They performed poorly at the event, finishing ninth overall and last among the Canadian teams, and as such their season concluded.[9]

With the COVID-19 pandemic severely constraining competitions, both the ISU Junior Grand Prix and the 2021 World Junior Championships were cancelled. As well, in-person domestic competition was limited, as a result of which Bashynska/Beaumont competed only once during the season, at a virtually-held 2021 Skate Canada Challenge. They won the bronze medal. The 2021 Canadian Junior Championships were subsequently cancelled.[10][11]

With the resumption of the Junior Grand Prix, Bashynska/Beaumont returned to international competition at the 2021 JGP Russia in Krasnoyarsk. They finished fourth, less than three points back of third. Bashynska said that they were satisfied with their performance overall, but needed to address some technical issues.[12] Weeks later at their second event, the 2021 JGP Austria in Linz, they initially placed fourth in the rhythm dance. Third in the free dance, they rose to third overall to win their second JGP bronze medal.[13] Beaumont said that going into the free dance they "had the mindset that we've moved up in the standings before and we can do it again."[14]

Bashynska/Beaumont won the gold medal at the 2021 Skate Canada Challenge.[15] Entering the 2022 Canadian Junior Championships in Ottawa, they were second in both programs to take their second consecutive national silver medal.[16]

Due to the pandemic, the 2022 World Junior Championships could not be held as scheduled in Sofia in early March, and as a result were rescheduled for Tallinn in mid-April.[17] The event was further upended when Bashynska's birth country of Ukraine was invaded by Russia. Bashynska and Beaumont's free program for the season had been a medley of Russian folk songs, including the military-themed "Katyusha", which Bashynska would later say "was very close to me" as she felt "it unites our two Nations to show nothing but love." In light of the invasion, she said "now I don't think I'll be able to forgive or ever compare these two countries ever again. I'm Ukrainian and will always be."[18] The team revived their previous seasons' free dance to "Caruso" and "And the Waltz Goes On" for the rest of the season.[19]

As a result of the invasion, the International Skating Union banned all Russian and Belarusian athletes from participating in competitions, which had a significant impact on the junior dance field.[20] The North American dance teams were viewed as favourites to dominate the podium, though Bashynska/Beaumont were not considered among the very top contenders going in compared to their compatriots D'Alessandro/Waddell and Americans Wolfkostin/Chen and Brown/Brown.[21] In the rhythm dance, they scored 63.45 points, finishing narrowly in third place, 0.15 points behind D'Alessandro/Waddell in second, while the Browns were solidly in first place with 66.98. Wolfkostin/Chen were distantly in ninth after she fell on her twizzle sequence. Beaumont said that "coming to this competition, we didn't have any expectations as a team. We just wanted to enjoy it and let our skating speak for itself."[22] In the free dance they lost points when their rotational lift was graded as only level 1, placing fifth in that segment, but remained in third place overall, 0.37 points ahead of Wolfkostin/Chen. They won the bronze medal, saying they were "overjoyed" with the result.[23]