Four Titles Decided At 2022 Irish Figure Skating Championships

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Four titles were decided at this weekend’s Irish National Figure Skating Championships which were held at the Dundee Ice Arena in Dundee, Scotland. The Championships took place for the first time since 2020.

The Senior Men’s event was a tightly fought battle between Sam McAllister and Conor Stakelum. In the short programme, Stakelum nailed a triple Salchow, a triple toe loop-triple toe loop combination and a double Axel in his routine with two spins graded Level 4. He received a score of 59.11 points to lead overnight.

McAllister was close behind Stakelum after including a triple toe loop-triple toe loop combination, a triple Lutz and a double Axel in his programme. He also had a flying sit spin graded Level 4 by the technical panel to earn 58.45 points and second place at the halfway point of the event.

The free skating took place earlier today and McAllister was first to take to the ice. Skating to the “Pirates of the Caribbean” film soundtrack, he began with a triple Lutz-double toe loop combination and followed that with a triple toe loop. He then attempted a triple flip and a triple Lutz one after the other and also landed a triple toe loop and two double Axels with one in combination. He scored 98.65 points in the free to give him a total of 157.10 and a third consecutive national title.

“I am really pleased with my performances this weekend at the National Championships,” McAllister said. “After a hard season, having to withdraw from Europeans due to getting Covid, it was nice to finish the season off on a high.”

Stakelum performed in the free to the “Riverdance” musical soundtrack and he came very close to denying McAllister gold. He commenced with a triple Salchow-double toe loop combination and then attempted a triple flip. He also succeeded in landing a triple toe loop-double toe loop combination, a triple Salchow, a triple toe loop and a double Axel. A free score of 97.48 points was not quite enough to hold off McAllister and he claimed silver with a total of 156.59 points.

“I was happy with my short programme and enjoyed skating at my home rink in front of my friends even though I did not have the performance I wanted in the free,” Stakelum said.

The Junior Women’s event turned into another nail biter. Reigning champion Sophia Tkacheva opened her short programme with a double Axel attempt and went on to land a double Lutz-double toe loop combination and a double flip. She was awarded a Level 4 for her flying sit spin and earned 35.10 points to put herself in pole position going into the free skating.

Robyn Foster was first to skate in the whole championships and her short contained double Axel and triple Salchow combination attempts as well as a double flip. A change foot combination spin got her a Level 3 and she came second in the short with a score of 30.58 points.

Foster was again the first of all the championship skaters onto the ice this afternoon. She started with a double Axel-double toe loop combination and then attempted a solo double Axel. She also inserted a double Lutz and two double flips into her “Scheherazade” routine as well as a double loop-Euler-double Salchow combination. A Level 3 flying sit spin was a highlight of her programme. She scored 60.28 points in the free to wind up with a total 90.86 points and a first national title.

“It didn’t all go to plan, but there were lots of good things to take away from this competition, like landing my Axels in the free,” Foster said. “It was great seeing the rest of the team and I can’t wait to compete again and make improvements.”

Tkacheva narrowly missed out on retaining her title. She went for a triple Salchow at the beginning of her free to “Voila” by Barbara Pravi and also attempted a double Axel in addition to a double loop, a double flip, a double flip-double toe loop combination and a double Lutz-single Axel sequence. She garnered Level 4 for two spins to give her a free score of 54.71 and a total of 89.82 for second place in the standings.

“I was very happy with how I skated my short,” Tkacheva said. “It was my new personal best for that programme and the last time I was skating to that music so I really poured my heart and soul into that performance. Maybe a little too much because my free skating didn’t go so well. I made several silly mistakes that I had worked on before and were easily preventable. This was my last competition of the season and I’m excited to train and work on both of my programmes this summer.”

Dillon Judge retained his Junior Men’s title. In the short programme, he attempted a triple Salchow-double toe loop combination and a double Axel and landed a double flip. He completed a Level 4 flying sit spin and scored 35.46 points.

Judge opened his free programme with a clean triple Salchow and double Axel. He also included another triple Salchow attempt, double Lutz on its own and in combination with a double toe loop, a double flip-double toe loop and a double flip-Euler-double Salchow sequence. A free score of 70.32 points gave him a total of 105.78 points.

“The skates weren’t the skates I was looking for,” Judge said. “However, under the circumstances of being injured, I was content with the programmes. I am looking forward to next season when I have made a full recovery.”

Laura Hegarty and Kevin Hegarty made history this weekend when they became the first ice dance team to participate at an Irish championship. Their blues rhythm dance featured five elements – two patterns, a twizzle sequence, midline steps and a rotational lift. The siblings achieved a new Irish record score of 25.33 points.

The Hegartys closed out the competition at these Irish Championships with their “Lord of the Dance” free dance. They commenced with a combination spin and then attempted synchronised twizzles. A one foot step sequence followed and they also performed a rotational lift, diagonal steps, choreographic twizzles and a choreographic step sequence. They set two more Irish records for their free (31.67) and total (57.00).

“Although our performance was flawed, the competition was fun and it was great to have the opportunity to show ice dance at Irish Nationals for the first time,” Kevin said. “My sister and I have a lot to work on before our next competition, where we hope to deliver a better performance.”

“The sense of support from the fellow competitors was especially apparent during this time,” Laura said. “Our mistakes motivate us to work hard and thrive to improve.”

Full detailed results for the Championships are available here.

Irish Figure Skating Championships Back On Ice After Pandemic Break

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The Irish Figure Skating Championships take place this weekend (21-22 May) at the Dundee Ice Arena in Dundee, Scotland. The Championships were last held in February 2020 prior to the Covid-19 pandemic. Eligible skaters will compete in four separate categories.

In the Senior Men’s event, Sam McAllister is aiming to pick up his third consecutive national title. After the disappointment of not being able to compete at this season’s European Championships, McAllister bounced back with two new Irish records and a silver medal at Triglav Trophy in Slovenia last month.

The Dundee Ice Arena is where Conor Stakelum trains and is looking to take a fifth Senior Men’s title. In January, Stakelum was called up to skate at the European Championships at short notice and finished 30th, the highest he has ever placed at the event.

This is the second time Robyn Foster participates in the Junior Women’s event at the Irish Championships. Foster had to withdraw after the short programme in 2020 due to injury. She ranked seventh at the Tayside Trophy back in November which was held at the same venue and was also seventh at last month’s Kurbada Cup in Latvia.

Sophia Tkacheva is the reigning Junior Women’s national champion. In September 2021, she made her ISU Junior Grand Prix debut this season when she placed 25th in Kosice, Slovakia. She also finished tenth at the Tayside Trophy and eighth at the Kurbada Cup.

Dillon Judge is set to retain the Junior Men’s title he won at the 2020 Championships. Judge has had a successful season so far with a silver medal at the Tayside Trophy and bronze at Kurbada Cup. He also participated on the ISU Junior Grand Prix for the first time at events in Latvia and Austria.

History will be made by Laura Hegarty and Kevin Hegarty who will become the first ice dance team to compete at the Irish Championships. The sister/brother duo are entered in the Junior Ice Dance category.

Regular updates from the Irish Figure Skating Championships will be posted on the Ice Skating Association of Ireland’s social media accounts.

Provisional schedule

McAllister Scores Career High At Triglav Trophy

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Sam McAllister (23) has capped off his international season with a silver medal and two new personal bests at the Triglav Trophy in Jesenice, Slovenia.

McAllister opened the senior men’s event yesterday in the short programme where he attempted a triple Lutz-triple toe loop combination and a triple flip right out of the gate. He landed a double Axel and his final two spins were graded Level 4 by the technical panel. He received a score of 56.23 points to place third halfway through the competition.

Earlier today he performed in the free skating and reeled off a triple Lutz-double toe loop combination, a triple Salchow, a triple flip and a triple Lutz in quick succession. He also included two double Axels and a triple toe loop in his routine with all three of his spins awarded Level 4. He racked up a free score of 120.72 points to give him a total of 176.95 points and moved up to second place overall. Both scores represent new Irish national records.

“It has been a successful trip to Slovenia,” McAllister said. “Still some hard work to be done, but I will enjoy what I have achieved here this weekend.”

Irish Winter Sports Strategy Launch

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On 12 April, the Irish Winter Sports National Governing Bodies, including the Ice Skating Association of Ireland, together with the Olympic Federation of Ireland launched the Irish Winter Sports Strategy. This is a significant strategy which aims to overhaul and energise the winter sports environment in Ireland, and calls for a strategic approach to be taken in supporting and developing Winter Olympians, winter athletes and winter sports in Ireland.

With four main pillars, the mission of the strategy is to amplify the voice of winter sports in Ireland to achieve a shared vision of long-term sustainability and success, and to achieve equality of support for high performance winter athletes.

The pillars are as follows:

  1. Facility Development – the strategy calls for the development of a permanent ice facility in Ireland, a project which has a track record globally of being commercially viable, would be achievable through private funding at little or no cost to the tax payer provided government and local authorities can assist in securing land.
  2. Athlete Carding, Participation and Talent Development – the strategy calls for state funding support through the Sport Ireland high performance carding scheme for Winter Olympic athletes. Similar to their summer counterparts, the commitment of Winter Olympians is significant both from a financial and emotional perspective. State support would significantly assist the winter athletes when the majority of their peers nationally and internationally have some of their costs funded by the State.
  3. Visibility – the aim is to enhance the relevance and voice of winter sports in Ireland, and will be supported by commercial and marketing plans.
  4. Governance – A commitment to good governance and actions to establish a pathway towards compliance with the governance code of sport for any organisations where it is not yet in place.

Speaking at the official launch, President of the OFI, Sarah Keane said,

“The Olympic Games, winter, or summer is arguably the biggest sporting event in the world. For an athlete to represent their country on this stage is a huge honour. We call for equality within the sporting sector for our Winter Olympians to have access to the carding scheme and support in the same way as other high performance athletes do.

“We need to understand that winter sports athletes and federations need our support. Sustainable success doesn’t happen by chance, it doesn’t happen without support. We have high performing athletes across our sports, if we want to bring sport to the next level, if we want more than six athletes competing at the Olympic games, and if we want medals, we need to support our sports. We were very grateful for Minister Chambers on behalf of the government and representatives of the Federation of Irish Sport and Sport Ireland to meet with us and the winter federations and athletes to discuss this strategy and how we can bring it forward.”

CEO for the OFI, Peter Sherrard, added,

“The winter sports federations have put in a significant amount of work to establish a clear framework for improvement and success over the next four year period. The OFI is committed to supporting the journey with €50,000 funding to help the Federations fulfil the actions that it contains. Ahead of us, we have a very exciting project which has the potential to transform participation opportunities, while ensuring that the winter sports federations, by working together, are better recognised and supported, along with their athletes who represent us on the Winter Olympic stage.”

At the launch, Minister Jack Chambers met with the athletes and member federations to discuss the strategy and how the winter sport agenda can be advanced.

The full Irish Winter Sports Strategy can be viewed here.

Irish Trio All Finish Inside Top Ten At Kurbada Cup

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There were three Irish entries at this weekend’s Kurbada Cup in Riga, Latvia and all of them finished inside the top ten in their respective events.

Dillon Judge was the sole representative from Ireland in the Junior Men’s category. He opened yesterday’s short programme with triple Salchow combination and double Axel attempts. He also included a double flip and garnered Level 3 for a step sequence and two spins. He posted a score of 36.22 points to sit in fourth place overnight.

This afternoon Judge was back on the ice for the free skating. He successfully landed cleanly a triple Salchow-double toe loop combination, a triple Salchow on its own and a double Axel in his routine. He racked up new personal best scores for his free (73.56) and total (109.78) which was good enough for him to pick up a bronze medal.

There were two Irish skaters in the Junior Women’s event. Robyn Foster was the first to perform in yesterday’s short programme. She attempted a double Axel and a triple Salchow-double toe loop combination and landed a double flip. She earned a score of 33.36 points to stand in 10th after the segment.

Sophia Tkacheva began her short with a double Axel attempt and followed that with a double Lutz-double toe loop combination. She also included two Level 3 spins and a double flip in her programme and finished ahead of Foster by the closest of margins with a score of 33.37 points to put herself in 9th place midway through the competition.

Foster was again the first of the Irish Junior Women to take to the ice for today’s free skating. She commenced with a double Axel and then nailed a double Axel-double toe loop combination. She received Level 3 for a flying sit spin and scored 61.22 for her free. This gave her a final total of 94.58 points and she moved up to 7th overall.

Tkacheva attempted a triple Salchow off the bat in her free. She also had six other jumping passes and other highlights from her skate were two Level 4 spins. She was rewarded with a new personal best free score of 58.37 and her total of 91.74 was also a lifetime best. She climbed up to 8th place in the final standings.

 

Golding 26th At European Youth Olympic Festival

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Elizabeth Golding has finished 26th in the Junior Women’s event at the European Youth Olympic Festival in Vuokatti, Finland. This was the first time an Irish ice skater has competed at an EYOF.

Golding took part in the short programme on the first day of the competition. She attempted a triple Salchow-double toe loop jump combination, a double flip and a double Axel. Two of her spins were rewarded with Level 4 by the technical panel. She scored a new season best of 32.41 points to place 26th overnight.

Golding was back on the ice earlier today for the free skating. In her routine, she attempted two triple Salchows one of which was in a sequence with a double Salchow as well as two jump combinations. She received a Level 4 for a flying camel spin and earned a free score of 61.50 points, another season best, giving her a combined total of 93.91 points.

“I’m definitely going to remember this competition for the rest of my life, because this is probably the peak of my career right now,” Golding said. As a junior to be able to participate in such a big competition, I’m really thankful to the Ice Skating Association of Ireland, and Karen (O’ Sullivan – President) and everyone who really believed in me and helped me get to this competition and chose me to represent Ireland at such a big multisport event.”

Golding Set For Irish Ice Skating EYOF Debut

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Elizabeth Golding makes history for Irish ice skating this week as she becomes the first Irish ice skater to compete at the European Youth Olympic Festival which takes place this year in Vuokatti, Finland.

Golding will line up against skaters from 31 other European countries. She will skate in the short programme tomorrow (23 March) where she has drawn starting position 18 in Warm-Up Group 4. She performs at 17:00 (Irish time).

The short programme result determines the timing at which Golding skates in the free skating which begins at 13:45 (Irish time) on Thursday (24 March).

“It’s so nice to know that you are the first person to ever do this,” Golding said. “I’m hoping to do everything cleanly and just go out and have fun.”

Golding’s progress at the European Youth Olympic Festival can be followed live on the official EYOF channel.

Golding Named To Irish Team For Winter EYOF

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In a first for Irish ice skating, figure skater Elizabeth Golding has been selected by the Olympic Federation of Ireland to participate in the European Youth Olympic Festival in Vuokatti, Finland later this month (20-25 March). Golding will be one of just four athletes representing Ireland at the event which was originally scheduled to take place in February 2021, but was postponed twice due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

“It feels amazing to have been selected – dreams really do come true,” Golding said. “I am very excited to be representing Ireland on a brand new and even bigger international stage.”

Golding will be in action on 23 March (short programme) and 24 March (free skating).

OFI Press Release

 

Golding 10th At Bellu Memorial

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Elizabeth Golding has finished tenth at the Bellu Memorial in Otopeni, Romania this weekend.

Golding began the competition with the short programme. She singled her opening triple Salchow jump combination, but went on to attempt a double flip and a double Axel. She earned Level 4 for a change foot combination spin to score 33.94 points which left her in 13th place overnight.

For the free skating, Golding began with a double Lutz that garnered a good grade of execution. She attempted a triple Salchow and a double Axel and was awarded Level 4 for both a change foot combination spin and a flying camel spin. She received a score of 63.19 points in the free which gave her a combined total of 97.13 and tenth place overall in the final standings.

McAllister Fourth At Dragon Trophy

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Sam McAllister has placed fourth at this weekend’s Dragon Trophy in Ljubljana, Slovenia.

McAllister opened the competition with the short programme where he attempted a triple Lutz-triple toe loop combination as his first element. He went on to land a triple flip and a double Axel and secured Level 4 for all three of his spins. He was awarded a new personal best score of 60.73 points to place third midway through the event.

In the free skating earlier today, McAllister commenced his routine with a triple Lutz attempt and followed that up with a cleanly landed triple Salchow and a triple flip. He also included a triple toe loop in his programme and a flying sit spin was graded Level 4 by the technical panel. He posted another personal best score of 105.88 points which gave him a total of 166.61 points.

“I am happy with my new personal bests in the short and the long,” McAllister said. “Both programmes were definitely not my best showings, but it’s sport.”