McAllister and Stakelum to make season debut at Autumn Classic

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This weekend (21-22 September) sees Irish figure skaters Sam McAllister (19) and Conor Stakelum (25) take to the ice at the Autumn Classic International in Oakville, Canada for their first international competition of the 2018/2019 season.

Both athletes are coming off the back of the greatest successes of their skating careers yet. In January, Stakelum became the first Irish male skate to participate in the European Figure Skating Championships which were held in Moscow, Russia. In March, McAllister represented Ireland at the World Junior Figure Skating Championships in Sofia, Bulgaria. He was the first Irish skater to do so since 2010.

As McAllister has aged out of the junior ranks, this will be the first time that two Irish figure skaters are entered into the senior category at the same international competition. They will also compete alongside a high calibre field that includes two-time Olympic gold medallist Yuzuru Hanyu from Japan and 2015 U.S. champion Jason Brown.

“I am excited to have made the move up to seniors this season and to be skating at an event with so many amazing skaters,” McAllister said.

“I am looking forward to building on my accomplishments from last season and bringing my skating up another level,” Stakelum said.

The two Irish skaters begin the competition with the short programme begins at 6:13pm on Friday 21 September and finish with the free skating at 5:28pm on Saturday 22 September (all Irish time and subject to change). You can follow their progress live and with full detailed results here or through the #ACI18 hashtag on social media.

ISAI AGM 2018

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The Ice Skating Association of Ireland (ISAI) Annual General Meeting (AGM) will take place on 28 September 2018.

Current members will have received an e-mail with further details on this year’s AGM.

Sam McAllister Making Season Debut In Latvia

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This week sees Irish figure skater Sam McAllister make his season debut at the International Skating Union (ISU) Junior Grand Prix of Figure Skating in Riga, Latvia.

The two-time Irish Junior national champion will skate his short programme on the evening of Thursday, 7 September and his free skating routine on the afternoon of Saturday, 9 September. He will be one of 26 competitors from 21 countries at the event in Latvia.

This is McAllister’s second season competing on the ISU Junior Grand Prix circuit. During the summer, McAllister participated in a training camp in Madrid with Spain’s two-time world champion Javier Fernandez.

The ISU Junior Grand Prix of Figure Skating Series started in 1997 and has become one of the most prestigious events to which young figure skaters can be invited. There are seven Grand Prixs annually and each skater will normally compete at two of these to accumulate points in order to qualify for the Grand Prix Final in December.

The Junior Grand Prix in Latvia will be broadcast entirely live online on the ISU’s YouTube channel from Thursday, 7 September.

Sam McAllister ISU Bio

ISU YouTube Channel

Entries/Results

Golding Set for Junior Grand Prix Debut

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Elizabeth Golding (13) will become the youngest Irish figure skater to ever compete in an International Skating Union (ISU) Junior Grand Prix of Figure Skating series event this weekend in Linz, Austria.

Golding, who turns 14 next month, took up figure skating at the relatively late age of seven. Born in Moscow, Russia to Irish father Gerard and Russian mother Olga, her first steps on the ice were in the United Arab Emirates where her parents now work. She still trains part-time in the UAE.

At the age of 9, she was accepted into a skating school in the south of Moscow. For four years she has been under the tutelage of Alexandra Chistiakova, a former ice dancer who represented Russia and Bulgaria internationally. Golding travels to Russia for lessons and spends four to five months a year there while maintaining a healthy balance between her training and school work. She has also participated in summer training camps led by Olympic champions, such Alexei Urmanov (1994 Lillehammer) and Oksana Kazakova (1998 Nagano).

This year she was named the best female athlete in the snow and ice sports category at the UAE Teen Sports and Fitness Awards.

“My goal for this competition and the season in general is to put triple jumps into my programmes, do them confidently and still enjoy skating,” Golding said.

2018 marks the 10th anniversary of Ireland’s first participation in the ISU Junior Grand Prix of Figure Skating. The series started in 1997 and includes seven events and the ISU Junior Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final. It features some of the up and coming skaters of the world and provides young skaters aged 13 to 19 with the opportunity to compete at a high international level.

Golding will compete on Friday 31 August in the short programme and Saturday 1 September in the free skating. Her performances will be broadcast live on the ISU’s YouTube channel. The event can also be followed by using the #JGPFigure hashtag across various social media platforms.

Event Page: http://www.isuresults.com/events/fsevent03111598.htm

2018-2019 Irish Speed Skating Team Announced

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The selection of the Irish Speed Skating National Team for the 2018-2019 season has been made by the Board of Directors of the Ice Skating Association of Ireland (ISAI).

The ISAI has selected the following members to compete in International Skating Union (ISU) speed skating events for the 2018-2019 season:

Speed Skating

Tara Donoghue

Short Track Speed Skating

Ryan McAnuff

Sean McAnuff

Tara Donoghue made history last season by becoming the first long track and first female speed skater to represent Ireland in international competition. She made her debut for Ireland in November 2017 at the Junior World Cup in Inzell, Germany.

Ryan McAnuff participated at World Short Track Speed Skating Championships last season for the second time. He finished 35th overall at the event.

Sean McAnuff appeared at the European Short Track Speed Skating Championships in January 2018 for the first time. By finishing 28th, he secured two spots for Ireland at the 2019 edition.

2018-2019 Irish Figure Skating Team Named

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The selection of the Irish Figure Skating National Team for the 2018-2019 season has been made by the Board of Directors of the Ice Skating Association of Ireland (ISAI).

The following ISAI members have been chosen to represent Ireland on the international stage at International Skating Union (ISU) events:

Senior Men – Sam McAllister

Senior Men – Conor Stakelum

Junior Ladies – Elizabeth Golding

Conor Stakelum is a five-time Senior National champion. A native of Dublin, he trains in Dundee, Scotland with Simon and Debi Briggs. In January 2018, he became the first male skater to represent Ireland at the European Figure Skating Championships in Moscow, Russia

Sam McAllister is moving up to the senior ranks this season. From Ballymoney, Northern Ireland, he is coached by Margaret O’Neill in Nottingham and Sheffield, England. In March 2018, he competed at the 2018 World Junior Figure Skating Championships in Sofia, Bulgaria, the first Irish skater to participate in the event since 2010.

Elizabeth Golding picked up her third Advanced Novice title at the Irish Figure Skating Championships in March 2018 and from this season will compete at the junior level internationally. In January 2018, she won the Advanced Novice event at the FBMA Trophy in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

Golding 17th And McAllister 10th At Egna Spring Trophy

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The selection of the Irish Figure Skating National Team for the 2018-2019 season has been made by the Board of Directors of the Ice Skating Association of Ireland (ISAI).

The following ISAI members have been chosen to represent Ireland on the international stage at International Skating Union (ISU) events:

Senior Men – Sam McAllister

Senior Men – Conor Stakelum

Junior Ladies – Elizabeth Golding

Conor Stakelum is a five-time Senior National champion. A native of Dublin, he trains in Dundee, Scotland with Simon and Debi Briggs. In January 2018, he became the first male skater to represent Ireland at the European Figure Skating Championships in Moscow, Russia

Sam McAllister is moving up to the senior ranks this season. From Ballymoney, Northern Ireland, he is coached by Margaret O’Neill in Nottingham and Sheffield, England. In March 2018, he competed at the 2018 World Junior Figure Skating Championships in Sofia, Bulgaria, the first Irish skater to participate in the event since 2010.

Elizabeth Golding picked up her third Advanced Novice title at the Irish Figure Skating Championships in March 2018 and from this season will compete at the junior level internationally. In January 2018, she won the Advanced Novice event at the FBMA Trophy in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

Golding And McAllister Finish Season At Egna Spring Trophy

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National team members Elizabeth Golding and Sam McAllister will this weekend close out a very successful season for Irish figure skating at the Egna Spring Trophy in Egna, Italy.

Golding will compete in the Advanced Novice Girls event in a field of 27 skaters from 12 countries. This year already the Irish champion has won gold at the FBMA Trophy in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates and retained her national title last month at the Irish Figure Skating Championships.

McAllister bagged the Denkova-Staviski Trophy title in Sofia, Bulgaria last November and he was back in the same city last month where he became the first Irish skater in eight years to participate in the ISU World Junior Figure Skating Championships. He finished in 44th place. At the Irish Championships, he moved up to the senior level and he will be competing as a senior again in Italy this weekend.

You can follow the progress of Golding and McAllister via the competition results page and live stream.

Sean McAnuff Sixth Overall At Short Track AmCup 3

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Irish short track speed skater Sean McAnuff competed at the Short Track AmCup 3 in Sarasota Springs, New York and finished sixth overall.

In his first distance of the competition, McAnuff clinched first place in the B Final of the 1500 metres in a closely fought race in a time of 2:31.928.

He then participated in the 500 metres where he battled his way through the quarterfinals and semifinals to make it to the A Final where he came fourth with a time of 43.647.

The last race of the competition for McAnuff was the 1000 metres where he qualified for the B Final and ended up third in a time of 1:47.938.

A total points score of 1036 over the three distances secured him an overall finish of sixth place, an improvement on his 13th position from last year.

Irish Skaters Take To The Ice At Skate Southern

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Irish figure skaters were in action on each of the four days of Skate Southern this week across a number of categories .

Justina Tkacheva was the youngest skater from Ireland to compete and she skated in the Beginner Ladies. She finished in 25th place with a score of 8.87.

Fineas Nedelea participated in the Beginner Men’s event in his first ever international club competition. He came 11th and earned a score of 8.60.

Elizabeth Golding skated in three different categories at Skate Southern. She took a silver medal in the Basic Novice A Ladies (Under 13) with a score of 35.50. She finished 8th in the Advanced Novice Ladies (Under 15) Short Programme (27.04) and 7th in the Advanced Novice Ladies (Under 15) Free Skating (44.99).

Aoibhe Hennigan was the last skater from Ireland to begin competing this week and she was entered into the Level 3 ladies event. She placed 14th with and received a score of 17.87