Stakelum Second Up In European Short

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Irish figure skater Conor Stakelum has drawn to skate second out of the thirty-seven competitors in the men’s short programme at the ISU European Figure Skating Championships in Moscow, Russia tomorrow morning.

He will be the first male skater representing Ireland to participate in the event since the championships began 117 years ago. Stakelum qualified for Europeans by achieving minimum technical scores over the course of the past two seasons.

The Dubliner will start his short programme at 11:59am (8:59am Irish time) tomorrow Wednesday 17 January. He will need to finish in the top 24 after the short to advance to the final free skating segment of the competition.

“I am so excited to finally be here,” Stakelum said. “Making it to Europeans has been my goal ever since I began skating and it is an honour to be the first man from Ireland to do so.”

The results for the championships will be available here. There will be live streaming of the championships online on the Eurosport Player (paid subscription service). On social media, you can follow the event through the #EuroFigure hashtag.

Sean McAnuff Top 30 At Short Track Europeans

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Irish short track speed skater Sean McAnuff (20) has finished in 28th place overall on his debut at the European Short Track Speed Skating Championships in Dresden, Germany.

McAnuff raced six times over the course of the three days of the championships inside the EnergieVerbund Arena. On Day One, he was in Heat 4 of the 1500 metres and came fourth in a time of 2:22.530. He also came fourth in Heat 3 of the 1500 metres ranking final the following day with a time of 2:23.560 to finish 27th for the distance.

The 500 metres saw him come fourth in his opening heat for that event in a time of 43.507. He won Heat 3 in the ranking finals with a time of 43.540 which put him in 33rd place out of all the skaters in the event.

The final discipline for McAnuff was the 1000 metres and he came third in Heat 7 with a time of 1:35.193. In Heat 4 of the 1000 metres ranking final, he took another first in a time of 1:34.319 leaving him in 27th place.

His overall ranking well inside the Top 32 means that he has secured two spots for Ireland in the men’s category at the 2019 European Short Track Speed Skating Championships which will be held in Dordrecht, Netherlands.

Sean McAnuff Makes European Short Track Debut

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Irish speed skater Sean McAnuff (20) will participate for the first time at the International Skating Union (ISU) European Short Track Speed Skating Championships in Dresden, Germany this weekend (12-14 January 2018).

In January 2017, McAnuff was the first skater to represent Ireland at the World Junior Short Track Speed Skating Championships in Innsbruck, Austria. In the summer of 2017, he was awarded an ISU Development Programme Junior Scholarship. He was the first Irish skater to receive the scholarship.

McAnuff moved up to the senior ranks this season and competed in the four legs of the Audi ISU World Cup Short Track Speed Skating in the latter part of 2017. He also has been involved in nurturing the next generation of Irish short trackers through coaching at the Ice Skating Association of Ireland (ISAI) learn to short track speed skate course in Dublin this winter.

“I am excited to be at Europeans for the first time,” McAnuff said. “I am looking forward to going out there and racing against the best short track speed skaters that Europe has to offer.”

McAnuff will the second Irish short track speed skater to take part in a European Championships. His older brother Ryan competed last year when the event was held in Turin, Italy.

Over 130 athletes from 27 countries are scheduled to race at the EnergieVerbund Arena in Dresden. For only the second time in its 22 year history, the ISU European Short Track Speed Skating Championships will have a single distance and all-round character. Skaters will compete over 500, 1000 and 1500 metre distances with a 3000 metre Super Final determining the all-round European champions.

Results for the championships can be found here. You can stay up to date with the championships by using the #EuroShortTrack and #ShortTrackSkating hashtags on social media. There will also be a live stream of the event on the ISU’s Skating Channel from lunchtime on 13 January.

Team Ireland Bag Two Medals At FBMA Trophy

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All three members of Ireland’s national figure skating team were in action this weekend at the FBMA Trophy in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

Elizabeth Golding was the first to compete when she took to the ice for the Advanced Novice Ladies short programme. She included a single Axel, a double Lutz-double toe loop combination and a double loop in her routine to garner 26.61 points. This improved on her Irish national record and left her in second place midway through the competition.

Golding was the penultimate skater in the free skating and ended up posting the highest score of the day. She attempted a triple Salchow and two jump combinations, a double flip-double toe loop and a double Lutz-double toe loop. She posted a segment score of 46.15 and a total of 72.76 put her on the highest step of podium.

Conor Stakelum participated in the senior men’s event. He executed a triple toe loop-triple toe loop combination, a double Axel and two Level 4 spins in the short programme. He scored 48.91 points to sit in second place overnight.

The Dubliner laid down a free programme that contained two triple Salchows, two triple toe loops, a triple loop and two Level 4 spins. He earned a score of 96.14 to give him a total of 145.05 and second place. This was his first international podium finish.

Sam McAllister attempted a triple Lutz, a triple flip and a double Axel in his short programme in the junior men’s category which also saw him being awarded a Level 4 for his change foot camel spin. A score of 45.35 saw him provisionally in second place.

The Ballymoney native went for two triple Lutzes, two triple Salchows and a triple flip in his free. He successfully landed two double Axels and received Level 4 for a flying sit spin from the technical panel. He was given a score of 72.09 for his free which gave him a total of 117.44 which put him in fourth place overall.

Conor Stakelum Approaches European Debut

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In January 2018, Conor Stakelum will become the first male skater to represent Ireland at the European Figure Skating Championships.

The four-time Irish senior champion will be one of 37 skaters from 29 countries competing in the men’s singles category at the event which takes place in Moscow, Russia from 15-21 January 2018. 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.

The Dubliner is the second skater from Ireland to make an appearance at the European Championships. Clara Peters participated for the fourth time at the event in 2012 when it was held in Sheffield, United Kingdom.

“I am delighted to be representing Ireland at such a prestigious competition,” Stakelum said. “I am glad that all my hard work has paid off and would like to thank my coaches in Dundee and the Ice Skating Association of Ireland for their support.”

Stakelum will tune-up for the European Championships when he takes part at the FBMA Trophy in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates next week.

ISAI Communication No.6

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The Ice Skating Association of Ireland (ISAI) wishes to inform its members of the venue for the Irish Figure Skating Championships 2018 as well as the deletion of Rule 702.3 para 3.

ISAI Communication No. 6 can be read in full at the link below.

Useful Downloads

ISAI Communication No.6 90 kb | pdf

2018 Irish Figure Skating Championship Announcement 857 kb | pdf

2018 Irish Figure Skating Championships Technical Criteria 678 kb | pdf

2018 Irish Figure Skating Championships Entry Form 406 kb | pdf

2018 Irish Figure Skating Championships Planned Programme Content 54 kb | pdf

 

 

2018 Winter’s End Challenge

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The 2018 Winter’s End Challenge competition will be held on 21 January 2018 at Ice Skating Blanchardstown in Dublin.

The event comprises a number of interpretive and exhibition categories across a range of skating abilities. The deadline for entries is 31 December 2017.

The competition announcement and entry form can be downloaded at the links below.

Useful Downloads

Winter’s End Challenge 2018 337 kb | pdf

2018 Winters End Challenge Entry Form 295 kb | pdf

Emerald Skate Test Session 2018

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An Emerald Skate test session will be held at Ice Skating Blanchardstown Dublin on 14 January 2018.

The test session is Emerald Skate Learn to Skate Levels 1-6 and Freestyle Levels 1-5. The closing date for applications is 31 December 2017.

You can download an application form at the link below.

Useful Downloads

Emerald Skate Test Application 2018 201 kb | pdf

ISU Junior World Cup Marks Irish Speed Skating Debut

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Tara Donoghue will make history for Ireland tomorrow when she races at the International Skating Union (ISU) Junior World Cup in Inzell, Germany.

The Irish national team member will make history as the first athlete to represent Ireland in an ISU speed skating event. She will also be the first female speed skater to compete for her country.

Donoghue will be one of 80 female skaters from 21 nations participating in the competition in Germany. Over the course of two days she will participate in the 500 metres, 1500 metres, 3000 metres and mass start events.

The ISU Junior World Cup Speed Skating will be staged over three legs this winter. After Inzell (25-26 November), Innsbruck, Austria will play host for the second stage on 27-28 January with the final being held in Salt Lake City, USA, on 2-4 March.

The results of this weekend’s Junior World Cup will be available here.

McAnuffs Have Seoul Focus On Final World Cup

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Tomorrow Ryan and Sean McAnuff will begin racing in their final Audi ISU Short Track Speed Skating World Cup event of the season in Seoul, South Korea in what is the final stage of the 2018 Olympics qualifying process.

The brothers began their Olympic qualifying campaign late September in Budapest, Hungary and raced the following week in Dordrecht, Netherlands. Last week they were in Shanghai, China.  This week they will race once more against athletes from 40 countries over three disciplines – 500 metres, 1000 metres and 1500 metres. Skaters will earn points for each distance they race at the four World Cups with their three best results counting towards their qualification ranking. The top ranked 32 skaters in the 500 and 1000 metres and 36 skaters in the 1500 metres will book their places in PyeongChang. A maximum total of 60 skaters across all distances will qualify for the Olympics.

In 2016, the brothers became the first Irish short track speed skaters to compete on the international circuit. Ryan represented Ireland at the 2017 European Championships in Italy and the 2017 World Championships in the Netherlands, while Sean flew the tricolour at the 2017 Junior World Championships in Austria all for the first time. During the summer of 2017, they moved from Canada to the Netherlands to train full-time with the Dutch national team.

You can follow the McAnuffs’ progress in South Korea via the Ice Skating Association of Ireland Facebook and Twitter accounts and, on 18 and 19 November, via the ISU Skating Channel.

ISU World Cup Results

ISU Skating Channel