Soucisse And Firus 20th At World Championships
“We wanted to be very patient and calm and enjoy the experience,” Firus said. “It was great to skate here in Montreal.”
“We wanted to be very patient and calm and enjoy the experience,” Firus said. “It was great to skate here in Montreal.”
A big week lies ahead for Irish ice skating as Carolane Soucisse and Shane Firus become the first ice dancers to represent Ireland at an ISU World Figure Skating Championships.
This year the event is being held in Montreal, Canada with the competition beginning on 20 March. Soucisse and Firus will appear in the rhythm dance on Friday, 22 March where they will be aiming to be among the top 20 teams to qualify to the following day’s free dance on Saturday, 20 March.
In January, Soucisse and Firus competed at the ISU European Figure Skating Championships in Kaunas, Lithuania where they finished in 13th place. Since their impressive performance at Europeans, they have gained new fans and are looking forward this week to competing in a city with very strong links to Ireland and a vibrant Irish community.
“We’re very excited to be competing again at another championship event,” Firus said. “We had a great time at Europeans and we are hoping to carry that through to this competition and lay down two solid performances and really represent Ireland well.”
“Since we’ve arrived we have felt the support already,” Soucisse said. “We weren’t expecting that much support. People have been coming up to us and sending us messages. Everybody likes Ireland and we are really proud to be here representing the country. It’s an honour.”
Worlds were first held in 1896. 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.
In order to earn entry to the championships, eligible skaters must attain a minimum technical element score in both of their programmes during the current or preceding season. The championships are held annually and this is the first time they take place in Montreal since 1932.
The ISU World 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 #WorldFigure and #FigureSkating hashtags.
Dillon Judge and Sophia Tkacheva have finished fourth and 27th in their respective events at the Sonja Henie Trophy in Oslo, Norway this weekend.
In the Senior Men’s short programme, Judge got off to a solid start with a triple Salchow-double toe loop jump combination. Unfortunately, he fell on a triple Lutz and the change foot combination spin that followed received no value as it did not meet the requirements to be counted. A change foot combination spin was deemed to be Level 2. He had another fall on a double Axel before rounding out with a Level 2 flying sit spin and a Level 3 step sequence. He scored 37.29 points to put himself in fourth place overnight.
Judge returned the following day for the free skating. he began with a triple toe loop. He stood up this time on a triple Lutz even if it was over rotated. He then nailed a double Axel-double Axel sequence, a Level 4 flying sit spin and a triple Salchow. He then performed a Level 3 change foot camel spin and a choreographic step sequence. He followed with two jump combinations – a triple Salchow-double toe loop and a double Lutz-double toe loop. He concluded with a Level 2 step sequence, a double loop and a Level 3 change foot combination spin. He scored 90.32 points which placed him third in the free and gave him a total of 127.61 to remain in fourth place overall.
In the Junior Women’s short programme, Tkacheva got off to a shaky start with falls on a double Axel and a double flip, the latter of which was supposed to be in combination. She recovered with a Level 3 flying sit spin and a Level 2 layback spin. She landed a double Lutz and brought her routine to a close with a Level 3 step sequence and a Level 4 change foot combination spin. She earned 28.15 points to sit in 27th midway through the event.
Tkacheva began the free skating with an attempted double Axel which was downgraded. She next landed a double Salchow and singled a planned double Lutz. Her layback spin was graded Level 3 and she followed with a double loop. Another double loop immediately after resulted in a fall and the second part of a double flip-double toe loop combination was downgraded. She concluded her routine with a double flip, a choreographic step sequence, a Level 2 flying change foot sit spin and a Level 2change foot combination spin. She scored 46.90 points for her free and remained in 27th place overall with a total of 75.05 points.
The Ice Skating Association of Ireland (ISAI) is pleased to announce that the Irish National Figure Skating Championships 2024 will take place between 8-10 June at the Dundee Ice Arena in Dundee, Scotland.
This will be the third time the Dundee Ice Arena has hosted the event. Entries are open to competitors in Advanced Novice singles and Junior and Senior singles and ice dance.
“We are thrilled to be returning to the Dundee Ice Arena and I would like to thank our hosts for their hospitality for a third year in a row,” ISAI President Seán Gillis said. “We keenly anticipate seeing the cream of Irish figure skating vying for those coveted national titles.”
The Championship Announcement and Entry Form can be found on the dedicated event page. The entry deadline is 5pm, 10 May 2024.
Carolane Soucisse and Shane Firus have been selected to represent Ireland at next month’s ISU World Figure Skating Championships in Montreal, Canada (18-24 March). They will be the first ice dance duo to represent Ireland at the event.
Soucisse and Firus have had a productive 2023/2024 season. In January, they finished 13th at their debut ISU European Figure Skating Championships in Kaunas, Lithuania and earlier this month they picked up a bronze medal at Egna Dance Trophy in Italy.
“Carolane and I feel so privileged to represent Ireland at this coming World Championships,” Firus said. “We really want to make Ireland proud and skate to the best of our abilities.”
“We are aiming for a top 20 finish with the possibility to be as close as possible to the top 15,” Soucisse added. “Hopefully the luck of the Irish will be with us as it is on the same week as Saint Patrick’s Day!”
The ISU World Figure Skating Championships will be streamed live on the Skating ISU YouTube channel.
The Ice Skating Association of Ireland (ISAI) is pleased to announce that the Irish National Figure Skating Championships 2024 will take place between 8-10 June at the Dundee Ice Arena in Dundee, Scotland.
This will be the third time the Dundee Ice Arena has hosted the event. Entries are open to competitors in Advanced Novice singles and Junior and Senior singles and ice dance.
“We are thrilled to be returning to the Dundee Ice Arena and I would like to thank our hosts for their hospitality for a third year in a row,” ISAI President Seán Gillis said. “We keenly anticipate seeing the cream of Irish figure skating vying for those coveted national titles.”
The Championship Announcement and Entry Form can be found on the dedicated event page. The entry deadline is 5pm, 10 May 2024.
Dillon Judge has finished ninth at this weekend’s Challenge Cup in Tilburg, The Netherlands.
In the short programme, Judge executed a triple Salchow-double toe loop combination to start. He then attempted a triple Lutz which he over rotated before performing a Level 3 change foot camel spin. A Level 2 change foot combination spin had some missing requirements which reduced its value. He cleanly landed a double Axel and closed out his routine with a Level 3 flying sit spin and a Level 2 step sequence. He scored 47.34 points to put himself in ninth place overnight.
Judge got his free skating off to a flying start with a triple toe loop and a triple Lutz with both jumps garnering positives grades of execution. He went for a double Axel-double Axel jump sequence to follow, but could not hold the landing on the second Axel. A Level 2 flying sit spin preceded a triple Salchow which he fell on. He continued with a Level 2 change foot camel spin and a choreographic step sequence. He attempted triple Salchow again, but the jump was not his friend today and it resulted in another fall. He concluded his free with a double Lutz, a Level 2 step sequence, a double loop and a Level 2 change foot combination spin. His free score of 79.63 points gave him a combined total of 126,97 points.
Carolane Soucisse and Shane Firus have finished third at the Egna Dance Trophy in Egna, Italy, the first medal for an Irish ice dance team in international competition.
In the rhythm dance, Soucisse and Firus opened with a Level 3 midline step sequence for both skaters. They received Level 4 for their sequential twizzles and Level 2 for their pattern dance type step sequence. They wrapped up their 1980s themed routine with a choreographic rhythm sequence and a Level 4 rotational lift. They scored 68.45 points for the segment, a new season best, placing themselves in second place at the halfway mark of the competition.
Soucisse and Firus commenced their free dance with a choreographic character step sequence. They next launched into a straightline and rotational lift combination before Soucisse and Firus earned Level 3 and Level 2 respectively for their diagonal step sequence. They continued with Level 2 one foot turns and Level 3 synchronised twizzles. A Level 4 dance spin preceded choreographic sliding and spinning movements before rounding out with a Level 4 stationary lift. For the free, they garnered 99.70 points to give them an overall score of 168.15 points and a bronze medal.
Dillon Judge has finished seventh at the Dragon Trophy in Ljubljana, Slovenia this weekend notching up his top combined score so far this season.
In the short programme, Judge began with a triple Salchow on which he had to save the landing and was therefore unable to add a jump for a combination as he normally would. He then fell on an attempted triple Lutz. He regained his composure and performed a Level 2 change foot camel spin. He subsequently executed a Level 4 change foot combination spin, a double Axel and a Level 4 flying sit spin in succession all of which garnered positive marks from the judging panel. He concluded with a Level 2 step sequence and received a segment score of 48.09 points which had him in eighth place overnight.
Judge opened the free skating with a triple toe loop and a triple Lutz, the latter on which he had a step out. He went to land a single Axel-double Axel jump sequence and reeled off a Level 4 flying sit spin. As in the short, a planned triple Salchow-double toe loop combination caused him difficulty and this time he was only able to add a single toe loop. Later on in the routine, he landed a clean triple Salchow. His change foot camel spin, step sequence and change foot combination spin all were awarded Level 3. His free score of 90.39 points gave him a season best total of 138.48 points and moved him up one place in the standings.
Dillon Judge has finished seventh at the Volvo Open in Riga, Latvia.
On the first day of competition, Judge performed in the short programme. He opened with a triple Salchow-double toe loop jump combination, although a triple Lutz attempt that followed was not clean. He next included a Level 3 change foot camel spin and a Level 4 change foot combination spin, both receiving positive grades of execution from the judging panel. A double Axel went slightly awry and he just about managed to pull off a Level 3 flying sit spin. He closed out with a Level 2 step sequence to score 49.25 points.
In the free skating, the Irish champion began with a pristine triple toe loop. A triple Lutz and a double Axel-double Axel sequence that ensued were not as successful, but Judge fought hard and came back to execute a Level 4 flying sit spin. Unfortunately, he then fell on an underrotated triple Salchow. However, he rallied with a good Level 3 change foot camel spin and a choreographic step sequence. The triple Salchow again was not his friend as he fell on a second attempt as well as on a double Lutz-Euler-double Salchow jump sequence. He wrapped up his routine with a Level 2 step sequence, a double loop and a Level 2 change foot combination spin. He scored 77.61 points for the free giving him a total of 126.86 points.