Irish Figure Skaters Compete At Denkova-Staviski Cup

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In what is shaping up to being its most successful season ever, the Irish figure skating national team take to the ice this week at the Denkova-Staviski Cup in Sofia, Bulgaria.

Conor Stakelum is entered in the Senior Men’s event. At last month’s Nebelhorn Trophy, he attained the technical minimum free skating score required for the European Figure Skating Championships to be held in Moscow, Russia in January. Stakelum is the first skater to achieve this standard since 2012.

Sam McAllister is participating in the Junior Men’s category. The two-time Irish Junior champion secured the technical minimum free skating score for the World Junior Figure Skating Championships which will be held next March at the same rink as this week’s competition. The last time an Irish skater took part in the championships was in 2010.

Elizabeth Golding is making her debut as a member of the national team in the Advanced Novice Girls event. She is already the two-time Irish Advanced Novice champion.

The Denkova-Staviski Cup is an annual international figure skating competition named after two-time World champion ice dancers Albena Denkova & Maxim Staviski of Bulgaria. It is held annually in November and December.

Denkova-Staviski Cup Competition Schedule & Results

Figure Skating National Team 2017-2018

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The selection of the Irish Figure Skating National Team for the 2017-2018 season has been made by the Board of Directors of the Ice Skating Association of Ireland (ISAI).

The following ISAI members have been chosen to represent Ireland on the international stage at International Skating Union (ISU) events:

Senior Men – Conor Stakelum

Junior Men – Sam McAllister

Advanced Novice Ladies – Elizabeth Golding

 

Conor Stakelum is a four-time Senior National champion. A native of Dublin, he trains in Dundee, Scotland with Simon and Debi Briggs.

Sam McAllister claimed his second Junior title this year at the Irish Figure Skating Championships. From Ballymoney, Northern Ireland, he is coached by Margaret O’Neill in Nottingham and Sheffield, England.

Elizabeth Golding has taken the Advanced Novice title at the Irish Figure Skating Championships for the past two years. This is the first time that she has been selected for the National Team.

Junior Figure Skaters Compete At Triglav Trophy

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Irish Junior figure skating national champions Ciara Hoey and Sam McAllister closed out their international season this weekend when they competed at Triglav Trophy in Jesenice, Slovenia.

McAllister was the first in action in the Junior Men’s short programme. He attempted a triple Lutz combination and also cleanly landed a double Axel, as well as receiving a Level 4 for his change foot sit spin from the technical panel. He extended his own Irish junior record to 40.62 points which put him second place.

In the free skating, McAllister landed a triple Lutz at the start of his “Sherlock Holmes” routine and executed a double Axel and a triple Salchow in succession before attempting a second triple Lutz. He posted another new personal best of 76.17 and won the silver medal with a total of 116.79.

Following her fourth consecutive title at the Irish Figure Skating Championships last month, Hoey skated in the Junior Ladies short. Among the elements she attempted in her programme, there was a double flip-double toe loop combination and double loop. She was also awarded a Level 3 for her change foot combination spin. She scored 21.36 points which put her in 18th place after the short.

Skating to Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov’s “Scheherazade”, Hoey included seven jumping passes in her free routine. She also performed a flying camel spin, a sit spin, a step sequence and rounded things off with another Level 3 change foot combination spin. She earned a score of 42.91 which saw her move up to 16th overall with a total of 64.27.

2017 Irish Figure Skating National Champions Crowned

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The Irish Figure Skating Championships were held over the course of two days at the Lee Valley Ice Arena in London with champions decided in seven categories.

Conor Stakelum began his journey to a fourth Senior Men’s national title with a final outing of his “East of Eden” short programme. He landed a triple toe loop-triple toe loop combination, a triple Salchow and a double Axel to earn a best ever score in competition of 52.02 points.

In the free skating, he executed triple Salchow-double toe and triple toe-double toe combinations, as well as a triple toe and two double Axels. He closed out his “Chasing Cars” routine with a Level 4 change foot combination spin and received a free score 87.71 for an overall total of 139.73.

Sam McAllister took home the Junior Men’s title for the second year in a row. In the short, he attempted a triple Lutz combination and performed one Level 4 and two Level 3 spins to “The Mask” soundtrack. He received 43.73 points.

His free routine to the “Sherlock Holmes” soundtrack included attempts at a triple Lutz, two triple Salchows and two double Axels. The technical panel also graded his flying change foot sit spin Level 4. He netted 75.12 points for his free which left him with a total of 118.85.

Ciara Hoey added a fourth Junior Ladies national title at the championships. In her short, she attempted a double flip-double toe, a double Axel and a double loop. Two of her spins merited Level 3 and she scored 22.44 points.

Skating to “Samson and Delilah” for her free, Hoey went for two jumps combinations and a double Axel out of her seven jumping passes. She closed out with a strong Level 3 change foot combination spin to wind up with a score of 43.32 for a total of 65.76.

Elizabeth Golding reclaimed her Advanced Novice Ladies title. In her short, she inserted a single Axel, a double Lutz-double toe combination and a double flip and was also awarded Level 2 for a layback spin. She posted a score of 20.25.

For her free routine to “Carmen”, Golding opened with a double flip and double Salchow. She also went for a double Axel in the course of her programme and finished up with a Level 3 flying camel spin. She scored 40.48 which gave her a total of 60.73.

The Basic Novice Ladies gold went to Sophia Tkacheva for the third year in a row. She scored 28.53 points. Grace Hegarty finished in second place with a score of 10.81.

The closest competition of the day was the National Gold Girls event. Aoibhe Hennigan emerged the winner scoring 17.36 points with Laura Hegarty taking silver just narrowly behind on 16.64.

Kevin Hegarty took the National Silver Boys title with a score of 11.29 for his free.

Irish Figure Skating Championships 2017 Forms

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Irish Figure Skating Championships 2017 documentation is now available on the Ice Skating Association of Ireland (ISAI) website.

Within this document the following forms/information is contained:

ISAI Irish Figure Skating Championships 2017 Announcement

ISAI Irish Figure Skating Championships 2017 Technical Criteria

ISAI Irish Figure Skating Championships 2017 Entry Form

ISAI Planned Programme Content Sheet

Please be sure to read all of the information contained and to fully complete your forms and return them by the entry deadline of the 3 March 2017.  No late or incomplete entries will be accepted.