McAllister And Stakelum Ready For Denkova-Staviski Cup

/in , /by

The senior Irish national figure skating team head to Sofia, Bulgaria this week (28-29 November) to participate in the Denkova-Staviski Cup.

Sam McAllister (20) and Conor Stakelum (25) are both entered in the senior men’s category at the competition. At last month’s Halloween Cup in Budapest, Hungary, Stakelum finished 6th and McAllister came 8th. This is the second year in a row both skaters will compete at the Denkova-Staviski Cup. Last season McAllister won the junior title at the event, while Stakelum finished 10th in seniors.

Both athletes will skate their short programmes on Wednesday 28 November. They will conclude their competition with the free skating on Thursday 29 November.

Denkova-Staviski Cup Official Website: http://www.clubdenkovastaviski.com/cup_denkova_staviski.html

Sam McAllister ISU bio: http://www.isuresults.com/bios/isufs00101056.htm

Conor Stakelum ISU bio: http://www.isuresults.com/bios/isufs00054307.htm

Tara Donoghue Smashes Another Irish Record At Junior World Cup

/in , /by

Tara Donoghue broke new ground this weekend as she participated in her first International Skating Union (ISU) Junior World Cup Speed Skating of this season in Tomaszów Mazowiecki, Poland.

Donoghue began her racing with the 1000 metres where she placed 36th in a time of 1:27.03, just 0.33 outside her personal best.

The Irish skater proceeded to the 3000 metres where she demolished her previous Irish record of 4:46.37 by almost eight seconds. Her clocking of 4:38.55 put her in 15th place for the distance and also earned her the qualifying time for the Junior World Cup Final in February 2019.

Donoghue was back on the ice for the 500 metres earlier today where she put in another solid showing. Her time of 43.46 was only 0.09 seconds outside her personal best and gave her a ranking of 33rd. She made the qualifying time for the 1500 metres in Germany last month.

Her final event of the competition was the Mass Start and she finished 16th overall in a time of 6:10.96.

Detailed results for the competition can be found here.

Sean McAnuff Wraps Up Second World Cup

/in , /by

For the second consecutive week, Sean McAnuff participated in a World Cup Short Track Speed Skating competition when he travelled to Salt Lake City in the United States.

McAnuff began the event with the preliminaries of the 1000 metres (1) race where he was drawn in Heat 4 and came fourth in a time of 1:29.067.

Next up were the preliminaries of the 500 metres in which McAnuff was placed in Heat 9. He finished fourth in a time of 43.461.

He was back in action in the 1000 metres (1) repechage quarterfinal where he came fifth with a time of 1:28.962. He was classified 35th overall for the distance.

The final race for McAnuff of the tournament was the 500 metres repechage quarterfinal. He came very close to breaking the Irish national record that he set last weekend clocking 42.401 and finishing in third in Heat 2. His distance classification was 32nd.

“There are a lot of positives to take from this weekend,” McAnuff said. “In particular, in my final 500 metre race I set a new record for my fastest lap time ever.”

Sam McAllister 17th At Volvo Open Cup

/in , /by

Sam McAllister participated at the Volvo Open Cup in Riga, Latvia this week in his third competition of the season.

McAllister began with his short programme where he recorded a season best score of 53.60 points. He included a triple Lutz-double toe loop combination, a triple flip and a double Axel as well as a Level 4 flying sit spin in his routine to put himself in 12th place at the interim stage of the event.

The Ballymoney, Co. Antrim native attempted four triple jumps in his free skating programme and the technical panel graded his change foot combination spin Level 4. He scored 89.18 points to give himself an overall total of 142.78 and 17th place.

“I am pleased with the new season’s best in the short,” McAllister said. “I am looking forward to an even better performance at my next event in a few weeks time.”

Sean McAnuff In Second World Cup At Salt Lake City

/in , /by

For the second week in a row, Sean McAnuff will compete at an International Skating Union (ISU) World Cup Short Track Speed Skating event this weekend (9-11 November) when he races at the Utah Olympic Oval in Salt Lake City, United States of America.

The Irish short track speed skater is coming off the back of setting two new national records in Calgary, Canada last week over the 500 and 1000 metres in what was his season opener. He will step on to the ice for the preliminary rounds on Friday 9 November with racing opportunities also over the course of the following two days.

“I am feeling really positive for this World Cup after setting those new Irish records in Calgary,” McAnuff said. “I hope to have an even better set of races this weekend.”

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

Sam McAllister Competing At Volvo Open

/in , /by

In his third competition of the season, Sam McAllister will be representing Ireland at the Volvo Open Cup in Riga, Latvia this Thursday and Friday (8-9 November).

This season has seen the Ballymoney, Co. Antrim native take a big step up to compete fully in the senior ranks. September saw him participate in the Autumn Classic International in Oakville, Canada where he finished 17th. At the Halloween Cup in Budapest, Hungary last month, he broke into the top 10 at the event by coming 8th.

“This has been my first season competing entirely as a senior and I have already learned so much,” McAllister said. “I am looking forward to building on that in Latvia this week.”

McAllister will skate in the short programme (from 18:20 Irish time) on Thursday 8 November and in the free skating (from 19:30 Irish time) on Friday 9 November. The competition will be streamed live at http://tv.istream.ee/ and you can follow the results here.

Stakelum And McAllister Top Ten At Halloween Cup

/in , /by

This weekend saw Ireland’s national figure skating team compete at the Halloween Cup in Budapest, Hungary with Conor Stakelum and Sam McAllister both earning top ten finishes in the senior men’s event.

Stakelum was the first to take to the ice in the short programme on the first day of competition. The Dubliner included a triple loop, triple toe loop-triple toe loop combination and double Axel in his “Clair de Lune” routine and also executed three Level 4 spins. He received 51.80 points to put himself in sixth place.

McAllister was the final skater to compete in the short. Skating to “Take Five” by the Dave Brubeck Quartet, the Ballymoney, County Antrim native opted for a triple Lutz, triple flip-double toe loop combination and a double Axel for his jumps. He was also awarded a Level 4 for his flying sit spin and accrued 52.17 points to slot himself in fifth place midway through the competition.

In the free skating, Stakelum performed to “The Show Must Go On” and rotated five triple jumps as well as two double Axels. His change foot combination spin was also graded Level 4. He scored 100.85 points for his free to accumulate a total of 152.65. This left him in sixth place at the conclusion of the event.

McAllister skated in the final group for the free to “The Young Lady and the Hooligan”. He attempted three triple jumps and two double Axels. The technical panel deemed his change foot combination spin to be Level 4. A free score of 94.30 points gave him a total of 146.47 points and eighth place.

In only her second competition since moving up to the junior ranks, Elizabeth Golding finished in 14th place in both segments of her event. She scored a total of 85.00 points for 14th overall.

You can view the full and detailed results for the Halloween Cup here.

Figure Skating National Team Take On Halloween Cup

/in , /by

The Irish national figure skating team head to Budapest this weekend (19-20 October) to participate in the Halloween Cup in Budapest, Hungary.

Sam McAllister (19) and Conor Stakelum (25) are both entered in the senior men’s category at the competition. At last month’s Autumn Classic International in Oakville, Canada, Stakelum finished 11th and McAllister came 17th and they will be aiming to improve on the personal best scores that they set there.

Elizabeth Golding (14) made her ISU Junior Grand Prix debut at the end of August in Linz, Austria. The youngest member of the Irish national team will be back on the ice again in Budapest this weekend in the junior ladies event.

All athletes will skate their respectives short programmes on Friday 19 October. They will conclude their competition with the free skating on Saturday 20 October.

Halloween Cup Official Website:

Sam McAllister ISU bio:

Conor Stakelum ISU bio:M

Elizabeth Golding ISU bio:

Emerald Skate Test Session (4 November)

/in /by

The Ice Skating Association of Ireland (ISAI) is holding an Emerald Skate test session at Dundrum On Ice on 4 November 2018.

Tests will be held for Learn To Skate Levels 1-6 and Freestyle 1-5.

Test applications should be sent to info@isai.ie no later than Monday 29 October 2018.

Emerald Skate Test Application Form

Stakelum 11th and McAllister 17th At Autumn Classic

/in , /by

Conor Stakelum (25) and Sam McAllister (19) competed in the Autumn Classic International in Oakville, Canada where they finished 11th and 17th respectively.

In the short programme, Stakelum included a triple loop, a triple toe loop-triple toe loop combination in his routine to “Clair de lune” by Claude Debussy. He also had all three of his spins graded Level 4 and he earned 54.71, a new International Skating Union (ISU) personal best, to position himself in 10th midway through the event.

McAllister skated his short to “Take Five” by the Dave Brubeck Quartet. He attempted a triple Lutz-double toe loop combination, a triple flip and a double Axel in his programme. Two of his spins received Level 4 from the technical panel. His score of 47.89 was also a new ISU PB and it put him in 13th going into the free skating.

Stakelum began his free to “The Show Must Go On” with a triple Salchow-double toe loop combination and he attempted a triple flip, a triple toe loop-double toe loop combination and a solo triple toe loop among other jumps during the course of his skate. He posted a free score of 99.19 to give himself a total of 153.90 and two more new ISU PBs to end the event in 11th place.

McAllister performed his free to “The Young Lady and the Hooligan” and attempted a triple Lutz on its own and in sequence, as well as a triple flip and a double Axel. He received a Level 3 and positive grade of execution for his flying sit spin. He scored 78.42 for his free which gave him a total of 126.31. The latter mark was a new ISU PB and meant he finished 17th overall.