Sean McAnuff Back On World Cup Circuit In Dresden

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Irish skater Sean McAnuff races in his third ISU (International Skating Union) World Cup Short Track Speed Skating of the 2019/2020 season in Dresden, Germany  over the weekend (7-9 February).

McAnuff has had a busy season so far with World Cups in the United States and Canada as well as last month’s European Championships in Hungary. He will step on to the ice for the preliminary rounds at the EnergieVerbund Arena on Friday 7 February with racing opportunities also over the course of the following two days.

You can follow the ISU World Cup Short Track Speed Skating live on the ISU’s YouTube channel, the results page and on social media using the #WCShortTrack #ShortTrackSkating and #UpAgain hashtags.

Ryan Sets Three National Records At Short Track World Juniors Debut

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Ava Ryan (18) made a successful debut at the ISU (International Skating Union) World Junior Short Track Speed Skating Championships as she set three new Irish national records in Bormio, Italy over the weekend.

Ryan began the championships with the qualifying rounds of the 500, 1000 and 1500 metres on Day One. In Heat 3 of the 1500 metres quarterfinals, she placed fifth in a time of 2:33.047. She followed that up a 47.657 clocking in Heat 4 of the 500 metres preliminaries to finish in fifth again with her first new national record of the competition. She ended the first day of the event with the 1000 metres preliminaries where she raced in Heat 5 and raced to fourth place in another national record of 1:36.734.

Day Two saw her line up for the ranking finals of the 1500 and 500 metres. In the 1500, Ryan broke her third national record of the weekend with a time 2:32.183 in Heat 2 for a third place. She finished 38th overall for the distance. She was back on the ice for Heat 2 of the 500 in which she clocked 48.387 to come second and place 45th overall.

On the final day of competition, Ryan competed in the 1000 metres ranking final. She participated in Heat 3 where she posted a time of 1:38.320 to come in fourth place. She was classified as 37th overall for the distance.

“Though I got personal records in all the distances, I feel I could have raced better this weekend,” Ryan said. “I made a lot of my mistakes due to my lack of experience competing at this level. Since I’ve only been racing for three years at local competitions, I hope with more international racing experience my results will improve in the future.”

Tkacheva 28th At Dragon Trophy

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Sophia Tkacheva has concluded competing at the Dragon Trophy in Ljubljana, Slovenia (1-2 February) with a 28th place finish in the Advanced Novice category.

On the first day of competition, Tkacheva performed her short programme. She attempted a single Axel, a double Lutz-double toe loop combination and a double loop. Both of her spins were graded Level 3. She received a score of 22.94 which left her in 26th place.

The following day saw the Gorey, County Wexford native appear in the free skating. She tried six jumping passes, including a triple Salchow attempt. A flying sit spin was awarded a Level 3 by the technical panel. She scored 34.52 which gave her an overall total of 57.46.

Full detailed results for the Dragon Trophy can be found here.

Tkacheva Takes On Dragon Trophy

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This weekend sees Sophia Tkacheva participate in the Dragon Trophy in Ljubljana, Slovenia (1-2 February).

The figure skater from Gorey, County Wexford will compete in the Advanced Novice category and she will perform her short programme on Saturday, 1 February with the free skating taking place on Sunday, 2 February at the Hala Tivoli ice rink.

You can follow Tkacheva’s progress via the event live stream or the results page.

Ryan First Irish Female Short Track Skater To Compete At World Juniors

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This weekend Ava Ryan (18) becomes the first female skater from Ireland to compete at the ISU (International Skating Union) World Junior Short Track Speed Skating Championships in Bormio, Italy (31 January – 2 February).

Ryan will be lining up among 190 skaters from 37 countries who will be vying for top honours in the Italian alpine resort. The competition will begin with the qualifying rounds for the 500, 1000 and 1500 metre distances on Friday, 31 January. The subsequent rounds will take place on Saturday, 1 February and Sunday, 2 February.

Ryan’s father hails from Cork and she trains under Simon Cho, 2010 Olympic medallist, at the Potomac Speed Skating Club in Maryland, United States of America.

“I am very excited for the opportunity to race here in Bormio and represent Ireland,” Ryan said. “My goals for this weekend are to skate my best races and set personal bests. I’ve already hit personal bests in practice and hope those will continue during the races.”

You can follow the ISU World Junior Short Track Speed Skating Championships on the ISU YouTube Channel and by using the #ShortTrackSkating hashtag on social media. Competition results will be updated here.

McAnuff Brothers Wrap Up Short Track Euros

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Ryan McAnuff (25) and Sean McAnuff (22) raced this weekend at the ISU (International Skating Union) European Short Track Speed Skating Championships in Debrecen, Hungary to an overall classification of 34th and 35th respectively.

The brothers competed over the course of three days in the 500, 1000 and 1500 metre distances. The first day of the event saw them begin with the quarterfinals of the 1500 where Sean finished fourth in Heat 1 and Ryan fifth in Heat 4. They then participated in the 500 heats where Ryan placed fifth in Heat 1 and Sean fourth in Heat 3. They ended their opening day of action with 1000 heats where Ryan came third in Heat 1 and Sean fifth in Heat 3.

On the second day of competition, the McAnuffs took part in the ranking finals for the 1500 and 500. Ryan was a close second in Heat 1 of the 1500 to finish overall in 35th place. Sean took to the ice in Heat 3 and placed fourth which gave him an overall classification of 25th, his best ever at an individual distance at an ISU Championships. The 500 ranking finals followed and the brothers faced each other in Heat 2 with Sean placing third and Ryan fourth. They were classified as 33rd and 34th respectively for the distance.

The final day saw them conclude their racing with the 1000 metre ranking finals. Sean won Heat 1 and Ryan came fourth in Heat 4. Ryan stood 24th in the overall classification for the distance which was his best at an ISU Championship. Sean placed 35th. The overall championships classification saw Ryan finish 34th and Sean 35th.

“Ryan and I are both very happy with our individual races and the progres we made even throughout the competition,” Sean McAnuff said. “We both got our best individual finishes ever in a distance and we both got our best combined points for the three distances for any European Championships we have competed in!”

Ryan And Sean McAnuff Ready For Short Track Europeans

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Ryan and Sean McAnuff will be flying the flag for Ireland at the ISU (International Skating Union) European Short Track Speed Skating Championships in Debrecen, Hungary (24-26 January).

For the second year in a row at the European Championships, Ireland will have two representatives in the men’s category as the McAnuffs secured the spots with their overall placement at last year’s Europeans in Dordrecht, Netherlands.

The brothers will be lining up among 141 skaters from 23 countries who will be vying for top honours in Debrecen. The competition will begin with the qualifying rounds for the 500, 1000 and 1500 metre distances on Friday, 24 January. The subsequent rounds will take place on Saturday, 25 January and Sunday, 26 January.

Ryan is now in the second year of his degree in medicine at the University of Limerick and has been continuing his studies with training. Sean has already participated in two World Cups in Salt Lake City, United States of America and Montreal, Canada.

“I am excited to be racing and representing Ireland once again,” Ryan McAnuff said. “I find it very rewarding balancing full-time medical school as well as training for international competition.”

“This weekend is going to be lots of fun,” Sean McAnuff said. “I will focus on improving each race and implementing the specifics I have been working on in training. I’m very excited to see how it goes.”

You can follow the European Short Track Speed Skating Championships on the ISU YouTube Channel and by using the #EuroShortTrack #UpAgain and #ShortTrackSkating hashtags on social media. Competition results will be updated here.

Conor Stakelum 34th At Europeans

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Conor Stakelum (26) competed this afternoon in the short programme men’s event at the ISU (International Skating Union) European Figure Skating Championships in Graz, Austria where he placed 34th.

Stakelum skated 16th out of the 35 competitors and began his programme to “Nightshade” by The Lumineers with an attempted triple loop and followed it with a triple toe loop-triple toe loop jump combination which unfortunately resulted in a fall. However, he steadied himself as the routine progressed and his final four elements all received a positive grade of execution from the judging panel. He was awarded a score of 48.28.

As only the top 24 skaters advance to tomorrow’s free skating, the five-time senior champion has concluded his third successive participation at the European Championships today.

“I’m disappointed, but these things happen,” Stakelum said. “I’m going to go home and work on putting more difficult elements into my programmes.”

 

Conor Stakelum Skates For Ireland At European Figure Skating Championships

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Conor Stakelum (26) competes at the ISU (International Skating Union) European Figure Skating Championships this week in Graz, Austria (22-26 January). This is the five-time Irish champion’s third consecutive participation at the event following his debut two years ago in Moscow, Russia where he became the first Irish male figure skater to compete in the history of the championships since they began in 1891.

Stakelum will first take part in the short programme which will be held on the morning of Wednesday, 22 January from 11:30am local time (10:30am Irish time). The day prior to the competition a draw will be held to determine his starting order of the 35 men entered. He will perform seven required elements and if his scores place him in the top 24 skaters he will advance to the free skating on Thursday, 23 January.

“I am proud to be representing Ireland at Europeans again,” Stakelum said. “I am looking forward to building on my previous two championship experiences this week in Graz.”

You will be able to follow Stakelum’s progress in Graz live on the ISU YouTube channel, the competition event page and on social media using the #EuroFigure and #FigureSkating hashtags.

The European Figure Skating Championships are being held in Graz for the first time ever, but Austria has hosted on 11 previous occasions. Stakelum will be one of 165 skaters from 33 countries who will participate in the event. Skaters have had to obtain a minimum total technical score in the short programme and free skating in an ISU competition in order to compete at the ISU European Figure Skating Championships.

Emerald Skate Test Session January 2020

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All test applicants for the Emerald Skate Test Session on the morning of 18 January 2020 at South Dublin On Ice should have received an email showing their test group and time. There will be three test starting times (08:10/08:45/09:10). Each test group will also be posted in the ice rink on the morning of the test session.

If you have not received an email regarding the test session, please check your email junk/spam folder in the first instance. If you still have not received an email, please contact info@isai.ie for further assistance.