2019 Review: Another Exciting Year For Irish Ice Skating

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The year kicked off with Ryan and Sean McAnuff becoming the first skaters from Ireland to participate in the same International Skating Union (ISU) Championships in January when they competed at the European Short Track Speed Skating Championships in Dordrecht, Netherlands. They retained two spots for Ireland for 2020.

At the end of January, Conor Stakelum took part in the European Figure Skating Championships in Minsk, Belarus. The Dubliner posted an ISU personal best in the short programme to place 33rd.

In February, Tara Donoghue became the first Irish skater to race at the World Junior Speed Skating Championships which were held in Balsega di Pine, Italy. Her 23rd place in the 3000 metres was the highest finish yet by an Irish competitor at an ISU Championships.

The month also saw an introductory seminar for short track speed skating officials held in Dublin.

March saw Tara Donoghue  conclude her season by setting national records over the 1000 and 1500 metres at the Viking Race in Heerenveen, Netherlands. Sean McAnuff also closed out his season with a 38th place at the World Short Track Speed Skating Championships in Sofia, Bulgaria.

In July, a figure skating technical specialist seminar took place in Dublin.

In her second season competing on the ISU Junior Grand Prix circuit, Elizabeth Golding set Irish junior records for free skating and total scores in October at her second assignment in Egna, Italy.

Tara Donoghue competed in the ISU Junior World Cup Speed Skating event in Enschede, Netherlands and earned a spot for Ireland at the 2020 Youth Olympics becoming the first Irish skater to accomplish this feat.

At the Canadian International Invitational in Montreal, Canada in December, Ava Ryan booked her place at the 2020 World Junior Short Track Speed Skating Championships. She will be the first female short track speed skater from Ireland to participate at an ISU Championships.

Irish Figure And Short Track Teams Selected For 2020 Europeans

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The Ice Skating Association of Ireland (ISAI) has selected the skaters who will represent Ireland at the 2020 European Figure Skating Championships in Graz, Austria (20-26 January) and the 2020 European Short Track Speed Skating Championships in Debrecen, Hungary (24-26 January).

Conor Stakelum will compete in the men’s singles category at the European Figure Skating Championships alongside the cream of European skating talent. In order to qualify for the championships, each competitor had to obtain a set of minimum technical scores at International Skating Union (ISU) international competitions during the previous and/or current seasons.

This is the third consecutive year that the Dundee-based athlete will make an appearance at the European Championships. In January 2018, he became the first Irish male skater to participate in the prestigious championships which were first held in 1891.

“I am very happy to have been selected for my third European Championships and I hope to build on my experience from the previous two championships in Austria,” Stakelum said.

Ryan and Sean McAnuff will also be flying the flag for Ireland later on the same week at the European Short Track Speed Skating Championships in Hungary. The brothers were the first Irish speed skaters to compete internationally. At the last edition of Europeans in Dordrecht, Netherlands, two spots for Ireland were secured for the second consecutive year. Ryan is currently a medical student at the University of Limerick, while Sean is based in Canada.

“I am extremely excited to be representing Ireland alongside my brother at another European Championships,” Ryan said. “I can’t wait to take on some of the top skaters in the world!”

“This season I have been working a lot on making the most out of each race, each competition and each practice I do,” Sean said. “I have been trying out new strategies and working on and improving my technique a lot. I am really looking forward to applying all these lessons I have learned at the European Championships in January.”

McAllister 9th At Bosphorus Cup

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Sam McAllister (21) competed this weekend at the Bosphorus Cup in Istanbul, Turkey where he represented Ireland in the Senior Men’s event.

The Irish senior champion began with the short programme on Friday, 29 November. Skating to “Take Five” by Dave Brubeck, he attempted a triple Lutz combination and landed a double Axel. He garnered a Level 4 for his closing change foot combination spin and scored 43.33 points which put him in 11th place.

McAllister was back on the ice on Saturday, 30 November for the free skating. In his “Pirates of the Caribbean” routine, he included four triple jumps and received Level 4 for a change foot combination spin. He was awarded a free score of 95.14 giving him a total of 138.47 and 9th place overall.

Full results for the Bosphorus Cup can be found here.

McAllister Flies Flag For Ireland At Bosphorus Cup

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Irish figure skater Sam McAllister will be competing this weekend at the Bosphorus Cup (29-30 November) in Istanbul, Turkey.

The Irish senior champion will be on the ice tomorrow (Friday, 29 November) for his short programme with the competition beginning at 11:40hrs Irish time.  The following day he will return to compete in the free skating which starts at 10:00hrs.

The event will be streamed live online on YouTube and further information is available on the competition results page.

2020 Irish Figure Skating Championships

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The 2020 Irish Figure Skating Championships will be held from 24-27 February 2020 at the Lee Valley Ice Centre, London. The Championships will include Senior, Junior, Advanced Novice, Intermediate Novice and Basic Novice events in Ladies and Men’s categories.

Further information on the Championships can be found in the Announcement and Technical Criteria.

Stakelum 10th, McAllister 13th At Denkova-Staviski Cup

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Irish figure skaters Sam McAllister and Conor Stakelum have completed their participation in the Senior Men’s event at the Denkova-Staviski Cup in Sofia, Bulgaria earlier today (14 November).

The first of the Irish entries to take to the ice for the short programme was Stakelum. He rotated a triple loop and went on to land a triple toe loop-triple toe loop combination and a double Axel. He also executed three Level 4 spins and scored 59.44 points to place seventh at the interim stage.

In the following warm-up group, McAllister skated his short. He singled a triple Lutz and attempted a triple flip combination, while later on in his routine he landed a double Axel and had two of his spins graded Level 4. He received 47.89 points for the segment to place 14th.

In the free skating, McAllister was the first of the Irish competitors to perform. He opened with a triple Lutz-double toe loop combination and went on to attempt three more triples. He also landed two double Axels and was awarded Level 4 for two of his spins. With a free score of 92.51 and a total of 140.40, the Irish senior champion finished in 13th place overall.

Stakelum began his free by doubling a planned triple loop and included four other triple jumps, two double Axels and three Level 4 spins in his programme. The five-time Irish senior champion scored 104.58 points for his free giving him a total of 164.02 for 10th place in the final standings.

Full detailed results for the Denkova-Staviski Cup can be viewed here.

McAllister and Stakelum Compete At Denkova-Staviski Cup

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Irish figure skaters Sam McAllister and Conor Stakelum are in Sofia, Bulgaria this week to participate in the Denkova-Staviski Cup (13-14 November).

Sam McAllister (20) and Conor Stakelum (25) are both entered in the senior men’s category at the competition.  This is the third year in a row both skaters will compete at the Denkova-Staviski Cup.

Both athletes will skate their short programmes on Wednesday 13 November. They will conclude their competition with the free skating on Thursday 14 November.

There is no live stream for the competition. Starting orders and results can be found here.

Golding 20th At Prague Ice Cup

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Elizabeth Golding competed this weekend in the Junior Ladies event at the Prague Ice Cup in Prague, Czech Republic.

The Irish junior champion first of all took on the short programme. She attempted a double Axel, a triple Salchow-double toe loop combination and a double loop and had both a change foot combination spin and a layback spin graded Level 3. She scored 32.23 points and sat in 22nd place midway through the event.

Golding was back on the ice the following morning for the free skating. She included attempts at two double Axels and a triple Salchow as well as two double jump combinations in the routine. She received a free score of 54.13 points to give her a total of 86.36. She moved up to finish the event in 20th place.

Golding Set For Prague Ice Cup

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Elizabeth Golding competes again this weekend (9-10 November) in her third competition of the season at the Prague Ice Cup in Prague, Czech Republic.

The Irish Junior champion will first take to the ice in the junior ladies short programme on Saturday, 9 November. She has drawn to skate second in Warm-up Group 5.

On Sunday, 10 November, she will finish the event with her free skating.

The Prague Ice Cup can be followed via a live stream and results page.

McAllister 12th At Golden Bear

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Sam McAllister participated in the Golden Bear in Zagreb, Croatia over the October Bank Holiday weekend.

McAllister began the event with his short programme. He attempted a triple Lutz-triple toe loop combination, a triple flip and a double Axel. His flying sit spin was also graded Level 4. He received 52.94 points for the segment to put him in 13th overnight.

The Irish senior champion returned to the ice two days later for the free skating. He opened his routine with a triple Lutz-double toe loop combination and attempted three other triple jumps. Both a flying sit spin and a change-foot combination spin were Level 4 and he earned 89.75 for his free. With a total score of 142.69 points, McAllister moved up to finish in 12th place overall.

You can view full results of the competition here.