McAllister Bringing Ireland Back To Junior Worlds

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Sam McAllister will next week become the first skater to represent Ireland at the World Junior Figure Skating Championships since 2010.

The two-time Irish junior champion will be one of 49 skaters from 39 countries competing in the men’s singles category at the event which takes place in Sofia, Bulgaria from 5-11 March 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. Skaters who have appeared at the event in the past have gone on to represent their countries at European, World and Olympic level.

The Ballymoney, Northern Ireland native is the second skater from Ireland to make an appearance at the World Junior Championships. Viv Parnell-Murphy participated at the event in 2010 when it was held in The Hague, Netherlands.

“My main goal for this season was to make it to Junior Worlds and I am so excited to finally go to Bulgaria and compete for Ireland,” McAllister said. “I am ready to skate my best and make everyone who has supported me proud.”

McAllister will begin his competition in the men’s short programme on 8 March.

Stakelum Nabs Two Personal Bests At Challenge Cup

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Conor Stakelum participated in the Challenge Cup in The Hague Netherlands this weekend and picked up two new personal bests on his way to a 12th place finish.

In the short programme, Stakelum performed to “Red Violin” by John Corigliano. He included a triple toe loop-triple toe loop combination, a triple loop and a double Axel in his routine and had two of his spins graded Level 4 by the technical panel. His score of 54.77 was a new personal best and put him in 10th place after the short.

Skating to “Chasing Cars” by Snow Patrol, the Dubliner attempted five triple jumps in the free skating and landed two double Axels. All three of his spins were awarded Level 4. He received a free score of 103.56 which left him in 12th place overall on a total of 158.33. The latter mark was also a new personal best.

Last month, the four-time Irish champion became the first male skater to represent Ireland at the European Figure Skating Championships in Moscow, Russia.

Donoghue Sets Three National Records At Junior World Cup

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Irish speed skater Tara Donoghue competed this weekend at the ISU Junior World Cup Speed Skating in Innsbruck, Austria and set new Irish records in three of her races.

On the first day of competition, Donoghue skated in Pair 3 of the 1,000 metres and laid down a new Irish record of 1:29.22 for the distance. She finished in 31st place.

Her second race of Day 1 was the 3,000 metres for which she was also drawn in Pair 3. She posted a time of 4:50.59 which was another Irish record and good enough for 17th place overall.

Donoghue had three races on Day 2. First up was the 500 metres which saw her start in Pair 6. She set yet another Irish record of 44.86 which put her in 32nd.

In the 1,500 metres, she recorded a time of 2;16.67 to finish in 27th place overall.

Her final race was the mass start where she raced against 24 other skaters and came 12th in a time of 5:58.75.

Detailed results for the event are available here.

Donoghue Competes At Second ISU Junior World Cup

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Irish speed skater Tara Donoghue will race this weekend (27-28 January) at the International Skating Union (ISU) Junior World Cup Speed Skating in Innsbruck, Austria.

This will be Donoghue’s second competition of her debut season representing Ireland. In November 2017, she became the first Irish athlete to participate in a speed skating event when she took to the ice for the ISU Junior World Cup in Inzell, Germany.

Donoghue, who trains in the Netherlands, is entered in the 500 metres, 1000 metres, 1500 metres, 3000 metres and mass start events at the outdoor Olympiaworld Ice Rink oval in the city that hosted the 1964 and 1976 Winter Olympic Games.

You can follow Donoghue’s progress in Austria on the Ice Skating Association of Ireland’s social media accounts and by using the #JWCSpeed and #SpeedSkating hashtags. Live streaming of the competition will be available here and schedule and results here.

Stakelum 36th At First Europeans

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Irish figure skater Conor Stakelum has finished in 36th place at the ISU European Figure Skating Championships in Moscow, Russia.

Stakelum was the second competitor of the event to take to the ice for his short programme which he skated to “The Red Violin” by John Corigliano. He began positively with a triple toe loop/triple toe loop jump combination that was evaluated positively by the judging panel. However, he then only made a single rotation on his planned triple loop jump and received no score for the element. He recovered with a double Axel jump and continued with a Level 3 flying sit spin. Unfortunately, he went off balance on a change foot camel spin and the element did not count. His step sequence was graded Level 2 by the technical panel and he was awarded Level 4 for his closing change foot combination spin.

The Dubliner scored 43.07 points and, as he did not finish in the Top 24 in the short programme, was not able to advance to Friday’s free skating.

“I am disappointed that I was not able to skate my best today,” Stakelum said. “On the other hand, I am extremely honoured to have represented Ireland on such a big stage and I am going to work even harder to perform better next time.”

Stakelum was the first male skater from Ireland to participate in an ISU European Figure Skating Championships.

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.