Irish National Figure Skating Championships 2025

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The Ice Skating Association of Ireland (ISAI) is pleased to announce that the Irish National Figure Skating Championships 2025 will take place between 7-8 June at the Dundee Ice Arena in Dundee, Scotland.

This will be the fourth 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.

The Championship Announcement and Entry Form can be found on the dedicated event page. The entry deadline is 5pm, 2 May 2025.

McAnuff Wraps Up Season In Style At Short Track Worlds

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Sean McAnuff (27) concluded his season this weekend at the ISU World Short Track Speed Skating Championships in Beijing, China

McAnuff got his Worlds under way in Heat 7 of the 1500m quarterfinals. He was in the hunt to advance right up until two laps to go when he found himself unable to go with the pace. He came home in a time of 2:25.402 for fifth place. In Heat 6 of the 500m preliminaries he continued his fine form in the distance with a new Irish record of 41.928 which him in fourth place. By the time Heat 10 of the 1000m preliminaries rolled around, he was firing on all cylinders. He placed third in a time of 1:29.737 and missed out by just one place going through to the Heats later in the day.

McAnuff began the second day of racing in Heat 4 of the 1500m repechage quarterfinals. He kept in contact with the leaders until the final few laps and crossed the line in seventh place with a time of 2:21.571. He ranked 48th for the distance. Next up was the 500m repechage quarterfinals and he was drawn in Heat 6. He showed some great strategic racing making a pass on the final lap that propelled him into second at the finish and lowering the Irish record once more to 41.836. He came 33rd in the overall distance classification.

On the final day of racing for the season McAnuff lined up in Heat 2 of the 1000m repechage quarterfinals. He kept himself in the thick of things until the penultimate lap when two athletes ahead of him collided. He took the opportunity to avoid getting caught up and swerved around to come home in first place with a time of  1:26.853. He advanced to the repechage semifinals and raced in Heat 1 where he finished fourth in a time of 1:27.252.

“Finishing in the 1000m with my best ever ranking in an ISU World Championships is a great feeling,” McAnuff said. “To finish strongly in the 1000m and set another new Irish record in the 500m is the culmination of this season’s dedication, sacrifice and of course the support from my wife, training partners, family and friends, as well as the Irish federation. I have felt my understanding and confidence grow this season more than ever before. I took away from this competition that I have more work to do on my starts and the set up of my first half lap strategy. Overall, I must say this weekend’s experience has been an absolute motivation for me to keep pushing my limits going into this off season and into the Olympic season to come!”

McAnuff Eyes Up Short Track Worlds

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Sean McAnuff (27) will make his third appearance at an ISU World Short Track Speed Skating Championships when he takes to the ice this weekend (14-16 March) in Beijing, China.

McAnuff has enjoyed the best season of his career so far and just last month brought the Irish 500 metres record under the 42 second barrier and set a new personal lifetime best in the 1000 metres. He will be hoping the luck of the Irish will be with him this St. Patrick’s weekend as he will Ireland’s sole representative racing inside the Capital Indoor Stadium. Short Track Worlds were first held back in 1976. Ireland has been represented at every edition since 2017.

McAnuff starts racing on Friday, 14 March with the qualification rounds of the 500, 1000 and 1500 metre distances. Subsequent rounds, quarterfinals, semifinals and finals will take place on Saturday, 15 March and Sunday, 16 March.

“It is so exciting to be back in Beijing for the World Championships,” McAnuff said. “I think so far this season, more than any other, I have demonstrated a realistic understanding of my skills and growth capabilities as an athlete. I set many goals this season and I have been able to push myself to new lengths in order to achieve them. This weekend is no different, but as it marks the end of my season, I hope to display several of the various areas I have grown in. Perhaps I’ll manage to achieve one or all of the following: break another Irish record, finish with my best overall ranking in a distance, and skate as tactically as possible in order to make the afternoon session.”

The ISU World Short Track Speed Skating Championships will be broadcast online 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 #WorldShortTrack and #ShortTrackSkating hashtags.

Membership Renewal

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Annual memberships are now up for renewal!

As per ISAI Communication 11, there will be an extended term of 16 month membership for 2025/2026 running from 1 March 2025 till 30 June 2026.

Reflecting the longer membership year, the 2025/2026 membership fee will be €130. Membership can be renewed via the Sportlomo website registration portal.

Judge 12th At Road To 26 Trophy Olympic Test Event

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Dillon Judge (Co. Down) has finished 12th at the Road to 26 Trophy, the figure skating test event for next year’s Milano Cortina Olympic Games, in Milan, Italy.

Judge opened the men’s event in the short programme yesterday evening with a triple Lutz that he unfortunately stepped out of the landing. He landed a triple Salchow-double toe loop combination and performed a Level 3 change foot camel spin and a Level 3 change foot combination spin. He came unstuck on a double Axel having to put a hand down to save the landing. He closed out the routine with a Level 4 flying sit spin and a Level 2 step sequence. He scored 46.37 points which put him in 12th place overnight.

The 2023 Irish champion was back this evening to take on the free skating inside the Unipol Forum. He got off to an excellent start nailing a triple flip and a triple Lutz with both receiving postive grades of execution from the judging panel. He popped a second triple Lutz into a single before completing a Level 3 flying sit spin and  clean triple Salchow. The programme then began to unravel for him after that and he had issues on all three of his final jumping passes. He ended with a Level 3 change foot combination spin. He earned 79.98 points for his free which gave him a combined total of 126.35 points.

Irish Wolfhounds Wrap Up World Tour At Olympic Test Event

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After six events in five different countries across three continents, this weekend the Irish Wolfhounds closed out the ISU Short Track World Tour in Milan, Italy at the Unipol Forum, the short track speed skating and figure skating venue for next year’s Winter Olympic Games.

As always. the Wolfhounds got things under way with qualification day where they raced across three distances. Liam O’Brien was first up in Heat 6 where he was deemed by the referee to have impeded another skater and received a penalty. Sean McAnuff raced immediately after in Heat 7 crossing the line in fourth place with a time of 2:26.259.

The 500m preliminaries were next. The Wolfhounds were again drawn in back to back heats with O’Brien once again the first to take to the track in Heat 8 where he came fourth in a time of 42.363. McAnuff has been on fire in the 500 this season and was looking on course to another swift result when there was contact from another skater on the final lap. He took second place with a time of 42.525 and was eventually advanced to the Heats later on in the afternoon.

Last up for the first morning session were the 1000m preliminaries. McAnuff came third in Heat 4 with a time of 1:28.004. O’Brien was having an unlucky day as he and another skater collided in Heat 9 sending him crashing into the barriers. He got back up and came home in fourth in 1:51.916.

McAnuff returned for the opening afternoon session lining up in Heat 8. It was a swift and competitive race and he had to be content with sixth, but he did improve on his time from the morning recording 42.142.

The Wolfhounds were back on the second day for the 500m repechage quarterfinals. O’Brien was in Heat 5 where he wound up finishing in fifth place in a time of 42.633. In Heat 7, McAnuff lowered his time from the previous day to 42.043, but it placed him in fourth and was not enough to advance any further. He did rank 33rd in the final World Tour standing for the distance.

The final day of competition had McAnuff representing the Wolfhounds in the 1000m repechage quarterfinals. Drawn in Heat 3, he was in contention from the start and it was just the final lap where he lost ground to his competitors finishing in fourth. Nevertheless, his time of 1:26.283 was a new personal best and it closed out the Short Track World Tour for the Wolfhounds on a high note.

“It’s been a great season with the new identity and it definitely supports a bigger fanbase,” O’Brien said. “It’s great representing Ireland as always and the Irish Wolfhounds so I really enjoyed on the World Tour.

“It’s been great here,” O’Brien said about trying out the ice for the Olympic test event. “The venue is brilliant and the volunteers have been very helpful along the whole event. Hopefully I’ll be back here in a year’s time and competing for Ireland once again.”

“It went by super quick all the way to here in Milan,” McAnuff said reflecting on the World Tour. “We started out in Montreal, Canada and it has been a whirlwind. I would say personally I am very happy with my progression over the World Tours. Also with the new team identities it’s been really exciting for friends and family to follow along and cheer on the Irish Wolfhounds specifically. Honestly, it’s been a really quick, but great season and I’m excited to finish it here in Milan on World Tour Six.

“I hope to be back here in twelve months,” McAnuff continued. “I’m going to be working really hard over this off season and I want to be back here representing the Irish Wolfhounds and representing Ireland on the Olympic stage in under twelve months now, I guess.”

 

 

 

 

Judge 14th; Tkacheva 23rd At Merano Ice Trophy

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Figure skaters in two different categories represented Ireland at this weekend’s Merano Ice Trophy in Merano, Italy.

This was Dillon Judge’s 2025 debut and he took on the Senior Men’s short programme yesterday afternoon. He fell on an opening triple Lutz at the start of his routine to “Northern Attitude” by Noah Kahan and Gabe Simon. He was just about able to eke out the landing of the first part of a triple flip-double toe loop combination and then was given a base level for his change foot camel spin. He was awarded Level 3 for a subsequent change foot combination spin. He had to put a hand down to save a double Axel and closed out with a Level 2 flying sit spin and a Level 2 step sequence. He scored 40.50 points and was in 15th place overnight.

Earlier today the Irish champion was back for the free skating portion of the event. He started his programme to “My Homeland” by HAVASI and Peter Pejtsik with a fall on a triple flip. He hung on to the landings of both a triple Lutz-double toe loop combination and a solo triple Lutz. He achieved Level 3 on a flying sit spin and nailed a triple Salchow. A change foot camel spin was just as in the short adjudicated to be base level and he ended with elements that included a triple Salchow-double toe loop combination, a Level 2 step sequence and a Level 3 change foot combination spin. He came 14th in the free with a score of 85.44 points to finish with a total of 125.94 points in 14th place overall.

It was an early start for Sophia Tkacheva as she was entered in the Junior Women’s event. In her short programme, she put a hand down on a double Axel and fell out of a planned triple Salchow jump combination. She was earned a Level 4 for a layback spin and got Level 2 for a flying camel spin. She also landed on a double flip and picked up a Level 3 for her step sequence. She concluded with a Level 3 change foot combination spin. Her score of 31.88 points put her in 22nd overnight.

Tkacheva began her free skating this morning with an attempted double Axel-Euler-double Salchow jump sequence. She fell on a triple Salchow, but settled down with a double Lutz-double toe loop combination. She performed a Level 3 flying change foot sit spin, a double loop. She had a blip when she fell on a double Axel. She rounded out her programme with a Level 2 layback spin and a Level 3 change foot combination spin. With a score of 52.46 points she took 24th place in the free and was 23rd overall with a total of 84.34 points.

Peterson 19th At European Youth Olympic Festival

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Allie Peterson (Co. Galway) has finished 19th in the Junior Girls’ event at the 2025 European Youth Olympic Festival (EYOF) in Bakuriani, Georgia.

The Irish Junior champion opened her competition yesterday in the short programme. Skating to “Right Now” by The Pussycat Dolls (NBA Version), she began with a double flip and hung on to the landing of a double Axel. She next executed a Level 3 sit spin and a Level 2 step sequence. The first part of her triple Salchow-double toe loop jump combination was deemed to be under rotated by the technical panel. She closed out her routine with a Level 3 flying camel spin and a Level 3 change foot combination spin. Her score of 39.87 points left her in 22nd place overnight.

Peterson took to the ice earlier today for her free skating and skated last in Warm-Up Group Two. She started with a double Lutz and then stepped out on the landing of a triple Salchow. She fell on a double Axel that was downgraded. She fought back with a Level 4 flying change foot combination spin and put down a triple toe loop, but was only able to tack on a single toe loop in combination. She also went for a triple Salchow-double toe loop combination and a solo triple toe loop, falling on the latter. She earned a free score of 68.85 points which gave her a final total of 108.72 points and moved up to 19th place.

“It was not my best performance today, jump wise, but I think the overall performance was pretty strong,” Peterson said about her free. “I think I definitely have improved from my competitions in the beginning of the season, so I’m pretty happy overall.

“I really want to thank the Olympic Federation of Ireland, the Irish Skating Association of Ireland for supporting me. And also my coaches in Colorado, Tammy Gambill and her team, and of course my mom, for being here with me and supporting me.”

“Despite some obvious mistakes in today’s free programme, she maintained her presence of mind, fighting through each element and delivering a strong performance to the end,” EYOF Figure Skating Team Leader Andrew Smith said. “That resilience is a testament to her team in Colorado, who have prepared her well for these events and conditions.”

Irish Wolfhounds Look To Close Out World Tour With A Bang In Milan

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The ISU Short Track World Tour reaches its climax this weekend and eyes begin to look ahead to next season as the Irish Wolfhounds take on the 2026 Milano Cortina Olympic test event in Milan, Italy.

Sean McAnuff (Co. Antrim) and Liam O’Brien (Co. Cavan) are coming off the back of some great racing last weekend in Tilburg, The Netherlands. McAnuff brought the 500m Irish record under 42 seconds for the first time ever and O’Brien set a new season best for the 1500m. They will contest the 500, 1000 and 1500 metre distances over three days inside the Unipol Forum vying against the best skaters from in the world at the arena that will host the short track speed skating and figure skating events at next year’s Olympics. It will present an opportunity for the Wolfhounds to get a taste of Olympic ice and act as a motivation to try and secure spots for Ireland later this year in the designated qualifying competitions.

“I hope to take away all the positives from last week and correct the smaller details,” O’Brien said. “It’s a great venue here and I will soak it all up before Olympic qualifiers next season.”

“It’s really exciting to be racing in the Olympic test event here in Milan,” McAnuff said. “The venue is huge and the Olympic atmosphere is here! I look forward to breaking new barriers this weekend by lowering my personal best times and furthering my defensive skating tactics. And to be honest, I have to say I’m really looking forward to enjoying a big pizza on Sunday evening!”

The ISU Short Track World Tour can be followed live on the Skating ISU YouTube channel and via the #ShortTrackWorldTour and #ShortTrackSkating hashtags on social media.

Competition Schedule (Milan, Italy)

Friday, 14 February – Qualification Rounds

Saturday, 15 February – 500m/1500m

Sunday, 16 February – 1000m

Irish Wolfhounds Break New Ice In Tilburg

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The penultimate stop of the ISU Short Track World Tour in Tilburg, The Netherlands this weekend saw the Irish Wolfhounds move into new territory.

Qualification Day began with the 500m preliminaries. In Heat 1, Sean McAnuff fought hard throughout the race to cross the line in third in a time of 42.264 which was enough to put him through to the next round as just one of two fastest finishers. Liam O’Brien drew Heat 9 and raced hard ultimately having to settle for fourth place in a time of 42.804. In the 1000m prelimaries, McAnuff was again the first of the Wolfhounds in action in Heat 7. He was in contention for most of the race before finishing in fourth with a time of 1:30.852. O’Brien was up immediately after in Heat 8 and was holding his own until he had an unfortunate trip with four laps to go and placed fifth. The afternoon session began with the 1500m quarterfinals. In a highly competitive and swift Heat 1 O’Brien raced to a new season best time of 2:16.692 which left him in fifth place. For the 500m heats, McAnuff found himself in Heat 8 which turned out to be a dramatic and exciting affair. While others around him lost their heads, he kept his cool and was rewarded with first place in a time of 42.780 and spot in the quarterfinals the following day.

O’Brien was the first of Irish Wolfhounds to race on the second day of the competition in Heat 6 of the 1500m repechage quarterfinals. It was a cagey race and with five laps to go O’Brien crashed out to come fifth and 51st overall for the distance. His next shot was the 500m repechage quarterfinals to see if he could join McAnuff in the afternoon’s quarterfinals. The race had to be stopped and restarted twice due to collisions on the first corner. When the heat did get under way at the third time of asking, O’Brien slotted into third and remained there until the end in a time of 42.573 narrowly off his season best for 39th place in the overall distance classification. In his only race of the day, McAnuff was the first Irish Wolfhound this season to advance to a World Tour main session and the history making did not end there. In a high paced Heat 1, McAnuff gave it everything he had and came fifth with a new Irish record of 41.989, the first Irish skater to break 42 seconds for the 500m. He finished 16th in the distance.

The Irish Wolfhounds took on the 1000m repechage on the final day of the competition. O’Brien got things started for the Irish in Heat 2 of the repechage quarterfinals and returned home fifth in a time of 1:28.755 for 49th place overall in the distance. McAnuff appeared in Heat 5 and finished third in a time of 1:28.932 giving him a distance classification of 38th.

“I am very proud of this my racing this weekend in Tilburg,” McAnuff said. “I skated confidently in every race and kept skating until well over the line. It definitely paid off and I am pleased with my new 500m personal best time as well as a 16th overall finish in the 500m. I was able to put to the test my defence capabilities this weekend. This was significant to me as it was a prominent weakness I identified over the course of the season thus far and I have worked hard to improve it.”

There is no rest for the Irish Wolfhounds as they are back on the ice for the final stage of the ISU Short Track World Tour next weekend in Milan, Italy which will also serve as the test event for the 2026 Milano Cortina Olympic Games.