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.”

2020 Winter Challenge Entry Forms Available

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Entry forms and competition announcement for the 2020 Winter Challenge at South Dublin On Ice, Tallaght on 25 January 2020 are now available. The deadline for receipt of entries by ISAI members is 17 January 2020. Members must register online via their Sportlomo account. Once payment has been made, the completed entry form must then be sent to info@isai.ie by the deadline.

Event Announcement

Entry Form

McAnuff And Ryan Race At Canadian International Invitational

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Over the weekend, Irish short track speed skating national team members Sean McAnuff and Ava Ryan competed in a series of races at the Canadian International Invitational (6-8 December) in Montreal, Canada.

Ryan made her debut for Ireland at the event and she participated in three individual distance categories, as well as part of an international team in the 3000 metres relay that won a silver medal. Her final overall ranking for the competition was 49th. She also recorded a qualification time for the next month’s International Skating Union (ISU) World Junior Short Track Speed Skating Championships in Bormio, Italy.

McAnuff also took part in 500, 1000 and 1500 metre races in Montreal. He was ranked 35th overall and January will also be a busy month for him with the 2020 ISU European Short Track Speed Skating Championships coming up in Debrecen, Hungary.

Results for the competition can be found here.

 

 

Donoghue Qualifies First Ever Skating Youth Olympics Spot For Ireland

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Tara Donoghue (17) has officially become the first ice skater to qualify a quota spot for Ireland at a Youth Olympic Games. This spot was obtained based solely on Donoghue’s performance at last weekend’s International Skating Union (ISU) Junior World Cup Speed Skating event in Enschede, Netherlands.

The Youth Olympic Games are an elite multi-sport event for young people from all over the world. The sports programme is based on that of the Olympic Games, with 7 sports featuring on the winter programme. The next edition are scheduled to take place in Lausanne, Switzerland in January 2020. For the speed skating events at next year’s Games, competitors must be born between 1 January 2002 and 31 December 2004. Unfortunately, Donoghue’s date of birth is 11 December 2001 meaning she will miss out on competing in Lausanne.

“It’s a huge honour to be the first ice skater to qualify a spot for Ireland at the Youth Olympics,” Donoghue said. “Although it’s bittersweet for me because I am too old by 20 days to participate, this disappointment is going to spur me on to work even harder.”

Ice Skating Association of Ireland (ISAI) President Karen O’Sullivan said, “This is an amazing achievement by Tara to earn the first ever ice skating spot for Ireland at the Winter Youth Olympic Games and is a testament to the bright future she has in the sport.”

Donoghue is already qualified for the ISU Junior World Cup Speed Skating Final in Minsk, Belarus and the ISU World Junior Speed Skating Championships in Tomaszów Mazowiecki, Poland. Both competitions will be held in February 2020.

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.

Donoghue Wraps Up Dutch Junior World Cup

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Irish speed skater Tara Donoghue competed this weekend in the International Skating Union (ISU) Junior World Cup Speed Skating in Enschede, Netherlands.

On the opening day of the event, Donoghue raced over two distances. In the 1000 metres, she opened with her series of races with a time of 1:27.298 to finish 45th. Later on in the day, she took to the Ijsbaan Twente oval once more for the 3000 metres where she clocked 4:41.852 to come 24th.

The second day began for Donoghue with the 500 metres and she posted a time of 43.642 to place 54th. She followed that up with 2:13.368 over 1500 metres to come in 33rd. She closed out her racing with the mass start and she finished in 18th overall in a time of 5:50.75.

Full results of the ISU Junior World Cup Speed Skating Enschede can be viewed here.

Donoghue Lines Up For ISU Junior World Cup

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Irish speed skater Tara Donoghue competes this weekend at the International Skating Union (ISU) Junior World Cup in Enschede, Netherlands (23-24 November).

Donoghue will race in the 500, 1000, 1500 and 3000 metres distances, as well as the mass start event, over the course of the two days. Starting times for her events are as follows (all Irish time):

Saturday, 23 November

08:00 1000m
11:45 3000m

Sunday, 24 November

08:00 500m
11:35 1500m
14:50 Mass Start

The ISU Junior World Cup will be streamed live on the KNSB YouTube Channel. Results can be found on the ISU Speed Skating Results page and you can also follow the event on social media via the #SpeedSkating hashtag.

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.