ISAI Communication No. 15
Please see below ISAI Communication No. 15 regarding the Irish National Figure Skating Championships 2026.
National Team Selection Criteria Pool 2026/2027 (Figure Skating)
ISU Fan Survey 2026
Irish skating fans – here is your opportunity to have your voices heard to shape the future of the ice skating disciplines!
The ISU Fan Survey 2026 is now open – inviting fans and audiences worldwide to share their views on how ice skating sports are experienced and enjoyed. Conducted in partnership with Two Circles, the survey forms a core part of the ISU’s commitment under ISU Vision 2030 to place fans at the heart of the sport’s development. It covers four key themes: fan interest and engagement, how audiences watch and follow ISU events, digital and media consumption habits, and perceptions of the sports and areas for development. The survey is available in seven languages – English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, and Mandarin – and is open from 20 March to 17 April 2026.
Participants who submit their email address will be entered into a draw to win signed memorabilia from Olympic champions including Laurence Fournier-Beaudry & Guillaume Cizeron, Nathan Chen, and Xandra Velzeboer.
You can take the survey here!
Soucisse And Firus Call Time On Competitive Career
Carolane Soucisse and Shane Firus have announced their decision to retire from competition.
Soucisse and Firus teamed up in 2016 and took the first of their three Irish national titles in 2023. It was only the beginning of many milestones for Irish ice skating. Later that same year they became the first senior ice dance team to represent Ireland internationally. In January 2024, they made the first of their three appearances at the European Figure Skating Championships and were the first Irish ice dancers to compete at an ISU Championships. In 2024, they qualified and were selected for the World Figure Skating Championships making them the first Irish athletes to do so since 2012. They were also the first Irish figure skaters to qualify for the free segment of their event at an ISU Championship which they did three times at Europeans and once at Worlds. In addition, they collected three international medals for Ireland since 2024. Their achievements and the attention they have brought to ice dance will act as an inspiration for the next generation of Irish ice skaters.
“The early morning practices and competitions have completely shaped who we are today. We could never have reached our goals without our amazing coaches teammates, friends, family and the ISAI,” Firus said. “To the fans and the entire skating community: your constant support means the absolute world to us. We are leaving competitive skating behind, but Caro and I are taking all the memories and lifelong friendships with us. Thank you for everything.”
“Carolane and Shane have been wonderful ambassadors for Irish ice skating,” Ice Skating Association of Ireland President Seán Gillis said. “It is always a difficult decision for any athlete to know when the time is right to call it a day. They can both be very proud of their legacy and hopefully they know how much it has meant to all us in Ireland to see them represent us. I wish them every success for the next stage of their lives together.”
ISAI Communication #14 – Test Score Revision
Test Score Revision
The Ice Skating Association of Ireland announces an update to test passing requirements for Advanced Novice, Junior and Senior in Singles, Pairs, and Ice Dance.
From 1 July 2026, skaters must achieve a minimum Combined Total Elements Score (CTES) from both programme segments (SP/RD + FS/FD) to pass a test.
Transition period:
• Now – 30 June 2026: Skaters may test under the existing system or the CTES structure
• From 1 July 2026: CTES will be required to pass all tests
To pass a test, skaters must submit competition protocols from both segments (current or preceding season) along with the relevant fee.
Full CTES requirements are detailed in ISAI Communication #14.
Judge 11th At Skate Berlin International
Dillon Judge has finished in 11th place in the Senior Men’s event at this weekend’s Skate Berlin International in Berlin. Germany.
Judge opened his competition with his short programme where he scored 40.65 points putting him in 12th place overnight.
In the free skating, he racked up 90.38 points for his routine giving him a final total of 131.03 points.
Ice Skating Association of Ireland Confirms Official Endorsement of Prime Arena Holdings’ Cherrywood Ice Facility
The Ice Skating Association of Ireland (ISAI) confirms its full endorsement of the proposed Olympic-standard ice facility at Cherrywood, Co. Dublin, being developed by Prime Arena Holdings. The project represents a necessary opportunity to address Ireland’s long-standing deficit in permanent, high-quality ice infrastructure and to deliver a national multisport facility aligned with Government objectives across sport, health, tourism and regional development.
For many years, the Ice Skating Association of Ireland has sought permanent Olympic-standard ice facilities for skaters and athletes in Ireland. Despite consistent international participation and explosive grassroots demand, Irish skaters have been required to accept a start-stop approach to their physical activity or train and compete abroad due to the absence of suitable domestic infrastructure. It is an embarrassment to Ireland that the Irish National Championships have to be held outside of the island of Ireland.
The Cherrywood proposal directly addresses this gap by delivering:
● Olympic-standard ice provision capable of supporting elite performance, international competition and athlete development;
● Dedicated training capacity for figure skating, speed skating and short track disciplines;
● A permanent national base for coaching, officiating, talent pathways and programme development.
The ISAI believes the scale, quality and configuration of the Cherrywood facility are essential to ensuring Ireland can sustainably support ice skating and winter sports over the long term.
The ISAI confirms that the project aligns strongly with national and regional policy priorities, including, but not limited to:
● National Sports Policy, by expanding access to high-quality indoor sporting infrastructure;
● High Performance Sport objectives, by enabling Irish athletes to train and prepare at home rather than overseas; develop grassroots participation with multiple diverse groups
● Health and wellbeing goals, through year-round, inclusive access to indoor sport for communities, retain women in sport, particularly teenagers, encourage physical activity at all ages
● Regional and urban development strategies, supporting the planned growth of Cherrywood as a Strategic Development Zone;
● Tourism and international engagement, through the ability to host international championships, competitions, conferences and training workshops and camps.
The ISAI further recognises that facilities of this scale and complexity are delivered internationally through public-private partnership models, combining State investment with private capital, delivery expertise and operational sustainability. This reflects established global best practice in the delivery of national sports and event infrastructure.
Statement from Karen O’Sullivan, CEO, Ice Skating Association of Ireland
“This project represents a transformational step for ice skating and winter sports in Ireland. For the first time, Irish athletes would have access to a permanent, Olympic-standard home facility in Ireland. The Cherrywood development directly addresses a long-standing infrastructure gap and aligns strongly with Government objectives around sport, health, regional development and international engagement. We fully support the project and welcome the proposed public-private partnership approach as the appropriate and proven model to deliver a lasting national legacy for Irish sport.”
The ISAI strongly supports the proposed Cherrywood ice facility and views it as a critical national sports infrastructure. The ISAI encourages continued constructive engagement between Government and Prime Arena Holdings to progress the project and realise its full sporting, social and economic benefits for Ireland.
Judge Fourth At Edge Cup
Dillon Judge has placed in fourth at this weekend’s Edge Cup in Katowice, Poland.
Judge began the event yesterday’s short programme. A fall on his opening triple Lutz jump combination had him in fourth place place overnight on 45.90 points. He started his free skating with a triple flip and cleanly landed a triple Lutz-double toe loop jump combination. The rest of his routine was a mixed bag scoring him 84.54 points for a total of 130.44 points.
Bronze For Judge At Dragon Trophy
Dillon Judge has finished in third place at this weekend’s Dragon Trophy in Ljubljana, Slovenia.
Judge opened his first competition of 2026 auspiciously by setting a new personal best score of 56.69 points in yesterday’s short programme putting him second place overnight. In his free skating, he began with a triple flip on which he had to step out, but recovered to cleanly land a triple Lutz-double toe loop jump combination. Unlike the short, he did struggle with a number of subsequent jumping passes with a pristine triple Salchow a highlight of his routine. He closed out with a Level 4 change foot combination spin and earned a free score of 94.83 points for a total of 151.52 points.
Soucisse And Firus 19th At Sheffield Euros
Irish ice dancers Carolane Soucisse and Shane Firus have finished in 19th place at the ISU European Figure Skating Championships earlier this evening in Sheffield.
In yesterday’s Rhythm Dance, Soucisse and Firus had a mishap on their opening sequential twizzle sequence that saw them on 62.71 points, just under six points off their season best for the segment qualifying 18th out of 20 teams that advanced. The duo performed third in the Free Dance and from the first strains of Bill Whelan’s iconic “Riverdance” score they had the Utilita Arena in the palm of their hands. After executing most of their difficult technical elements, Soucisse tumbled at the beginning of the choreographic step sequence. The couple closed out the routine to rapturous applause. They received a free dance score of 88.28 points for a total of 150.99 points and dropped one place to finish 19th overall.
“Up until the last 45 seconds, it felt great,” Soucisse said. “It’s not a mistake we make often. I feel better telling myself this happened because I gave it all. I gave everything I had. The crowd were amazing.”
“They were with us from the beginning,” Firus said. “It definitely helped us get all the way till the end. Maybe we let it envelop us too much towards the end, but we had a really good time and really enjoyed it.”
Soucisse And Firus Steel Themselves For Sheffield Europeans
Carolane Soucisse (30) and Shane Firus (31) make their third consecutive ISU European Figure Skating Championships appearance this week in Sheffield, United Kingdom (14-18 January).
The Irish ice dancers finished 18th at last year’s championships in Tallinn, Estonia and will be aiming to improve on that ranking this time round. This will be the fifth competition of what has been a hectic season which has included a silver medal at International Ice Dance Dordrecht in the Netherlands in August and representing Ireland at the ISU Skate to Milano Figure Skating Qualifier in Beijing, China back in September. The three-time Irish national champions train in Toronto, Canada with their coaches Carol Lane and Juris Razgulajevs.
Soucisse and Firus take to competition ice for the 1990s themed rhythm dance starting at 12:30pm (Irish time) on Friday, 16 January. The Irish duo will skate to a New Kids On The Block medley. Thirty teams from 21 nations will battle for the 20 spots available in the free dance on Saturday, 17 January where Soucisse and Firus hope to showcase their routine to music from “Riverdance” that evening.
“We are super excited to perform in Sheffield this week,” Soucisse said. “We really enjoy performing both our programmes this season and we hope we can bring the crowd in and give them a great show!”
“We are really looking forward to this event and want to take in the whole experience,” Firus said. “We made some small changes since our last competitions and are excited to showcase them here!”
Europeans are the oldest ISU championship event having first been contested in 1891. Ireland made its debut at the championships in 2009 when Clara Peters skated in the women’s event. Peters also participated in the 2010, 2011 and 2012 editions (the latter also in Sheffield). In 2018, Conor Stakelum became the first Irish male figure skater to perform at the championships and he subsequently made appearances in 2019, 2020 and 2022. Sam McAllister represented Ireland at the 2023 Europeans. In 2024 Soucisse and Firus became the first ice dance team from Ireland to compete at Europeans.
In order to earn entry to the championships, eligible skaters must attain a combined minimum technical element score of both their programmes during the current or preceding season. The championships are held annually and this is the second time Sheffield plays host.
The ISU European Figure Skating Championships will be broadcast on the Skating ISU YouTube channel. Geographical restrictions may apply. The results of the championships can be followed on the event results page and on social media via the #EuroFigure and #FigureSkating hashtags.