2022/2023 Irish Figure Skating Team Includes Ice Dancers For First Time
Seven figure skaters have been selected to represent Ireland in international competitions for the 2022/2023 season, including an ice dance team for the first time.
Sam McAllister won his third consecutive senior title in May this year. Coached by Margaret O’Neill in Nottingham and Sheffield, England, this will be his seventh season as a national team member.
“My goals for this season are to qualify for the World Championships and finally land a triple Axel,” McAllister said.
Conor Stakelum is a five-time senior national champion. He trains in Dundee, Scotland with Simon and Debi Briggs. He represented Ireland at four European Championships (2018-2020 and 2022).
“My goals for the upcoming season are to compete the way I train and to achieve new personal best scores,” Stakelum said.
Robyn Foster claimed her first national title at the Irish Championships back in May. She trains in Coventry, England under Marina Serova and this will be her third season on the Irish national team.
“I am aiming to achieve the senior test pass in the short programme and improve the consistency of my jumps in competition,” Foster said.
Sophia Tkacheva is the 2020 Irish Figure Skating Championships Junior Women’s champion. She includes eleven-time British champion Jenna McCorkell and two-time European bronze medallist Kevin van der Perren in her coaching team. This is her fourth season on the national team.
“In the upcoming season, I would like to work on my triple jumps, including more in my programmes and work on the levels of my spins since the regulation changes,” Tkacheva said. “I just got a new short programme so I’m really excited to skate it at my next competition and improve my confidence in performing.”
Dillon Judge retained the Junior Men’s national title at the Irish Figure Skating Championships this year. He trains in Sheffield, England with Margaret O’Neill. He made his ISU Junior Grand Prix debut in the 2021-2022 season.
“This season will see me perform new routines and my aim is to better my performances and results from last year,” Judge said. “I will also be working to achieve the test passes to allow me to move up to senior level next season. Being selected to represent Ireland and a member of the team is a great motivator which pushes me to train hard and do my best hopefully elevating the reputation of Irish skaters.”
Laura Hegarty and Kevin Hegarty are the first ice dancers to ever be selected for the national team. The siblings won their first national title at the Irish Championships this year.
“I am very happy to be part of the national team,” Laura Hegarty said. “It is nice that we can skate with and encourage other teammates.”
“I want to do my best in each competition,” Kevin Hegarty added.
National Team Members (Figure Skating):
Senior Men – Sam McAllister (County Antrim), Conor Stakelum (County Dublin)
Junior Women – Robyn Foster (County Mayo), Sophia Tkacheva (County Wexford)
Junior Men – Dillon Judge (County Antrim)
Junior Ice Dance – Kevin Hegarty (County Dublin), Laura Hegarty (County Dublin)
You can learn more about our national team members here.
