ISAI AGM 2018
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
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.
Golding Set for Junior Grand Prix Debut
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
Ryan McAnuff 35th At World Short Track
Ryan McAnuff has finished 35th overall at the ISU World Short Track Speed Skating Championships in Montreal, Canada this weekend.
McAnuff opened his competition on the first day with the heats and preliminaries of his three distances. In Heat 5 of the 1500 metres, he clocked a time of 2:22.170 to finish fifth. The 500 metres saw him come third in Heat 7 in a time of 43.228. His final race on the opening session was the 1000 metres and he finished fourth in Heat 2 with a time of 1:32.011.
On the second day of competition, McAnuff appeared in two ranking finals. Heat 3 of the 1500 metres was a closely fought affair and he ended up in fourth place in a time of 2:34.988. He also finished fourth in the 500 metres in Heat 6 with a time of 44.205.
The final race of the championships for McAnuff was the 1000 metres ranking final on the third day of action. He closed out his campaign in a time of 1:30.650 in Heat 3 in which he placed second.
McAnuff improved on his 36th place finish at last year’s World to end up 35th overall at this year’s event. This means that he will wear the number 35 on his helmet at his races next season.
“I am happy that I was able to improve on my placing from last year,” McAnuff said. “I am looking forward to finishing even stronger next season.”