McAllister 44th At World Junior Figure Skating Championships

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Irish figure skater Sam McAllister has finished 44th at the ISU World Junior Figure Skating Championships in Sofia, Bulgaria.

The two-time Irish Junior champion became the first Irish skater since Viv Parnell-Murphy in 2010 to participate at the event when he took to the ice at the Arena Armeec earlier today in the men’s short programme.

Skating to “Nothing The Same” by Gary Moore, McAllister opened with a triple Lutz jump preceded by intricate steps. He fell on a triple flip jump combination, but regrouped to execute a Level 2 change foot camel spin and a Level 3 flying sit spin that garnered a positive grade of execution from the judging panel. His step sequence was awarded a Level 2 and then he went on to attempt a double Axel. He closed his routine out strongly with a Level 4 change foot combination spin.

The Ballymoney, Northern Ireland native earned an ISU season best score of 39.97 points to finish 44th overall.

“I am a little bit disappointed that I was not able to show my absolute best skating today,” McAllister said. “However, I am very proud to have represented Ireland here in Bulgaria this week and what I have learned at this competition will help me a lot as I move up to senior international competitions next season.”

Donoghue 12th At Viking Race

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Irish speed skater Tara Donoghue has finished 12th overall in the 15 Years Ladies All-Round event at the Viking Race in Heerenveen, Netherlands.

On the first day of the competition, Donoghue clocked 43.90 for 13th place in the 500 metres and 1:27.15 for 11th place in the 1000 metres.

The following day she raced again in the 500 metres where she 17th in a time of 44.23. Her final distance was the 1500 metres in which she posted a time of 2:14.53 to come 14th.

Over the course of her four races, Donoghue accumulated 176.548 points which gave her a final classification of 12th out of the 25 skaters from 10 countries in her category.

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.