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.

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.

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

McAnuff Brothers On Penultimate Lap For PyeongChang Qualification

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After a month’s hiatus, Irish short track speed skaters Ryan McAnuff (22) and Sean McAnuff (20) are back on the Audi International Skating Union (ISU) World Cup Short Track Speed Skating circuit this week in the qualification process to secure berths for Ireland at the 2018 Olympic Winter Games in PyeongChang, Republic of Korea.

The brothers began their Olympic qualifying campaign late September in Budapest, Hungary and raced the following week in Dordrecht, Netherlands. November sees them take on back-to-back World Cups in Asia – the first of which is in Shanghai, China (9-12 November).  They will race against athletes from 40 countries over three disciplines – 500 metres, 1000 metres and 1500 metres. The final World Cup meet will be in Seoul, Republic of Korea (16-19 November). 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 China via the Ice Skating Association of Ireland Facebook and Twitter accounts and, on 11 and 12 November, via the ISU Skating Channel.

ISAI Board and Speed Committee Nominees

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The Ice Skating Association of Ireland (ISAI) has received the following nominations for the vacant positions on the ISAI Board of Directors and Speed Skating Technical Committee:

Performance and Development Director

Alan Seabrook

Speed Skating Technical Committee

Michelle Hegarty

Raymond Hegarty

Elections for the above positions will take place at the ISAI Annual General Meeting (AGM) in Dublin on Wednesday 25 October 2017.

Full Members are also invited to submit any questions they may have relating to the accounts in advance of the AGM by email to info@isai.ie or finance@isai.ie, so that detailed responses and figures can be prepared.

Questions should be submitted no later than 5pm on the 24th of October 2017.

ISAI Board and Speed Committee Vacancies

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In advance of the Ice Skating Association of Ireland (ISAI) Annual General Meeting on 25 October 2017, ISAI members are invited to make nominations for the following positions:

Board of Directors (One Vacancy)

Performance and Development Director

Speed Skating Technical Committee (Two Vacancies)

Members

Nominations must be received in writing, as per the notice of AGM, no later than 5PM, 15 October 2017 by the Vice President, either via email or post.

 

McAnuffs At Second Stage of Olympic Qualification

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This week Irish short track speed skaters Ryan McAnuff (22) and Sean McAnuff take to the ice in Dordrecht, Netherlands for the second stop of the Audi International Skating Union (ISU) World Cup Short Track Speed Skating in the qualification process to secure berths for Ireland at the 2018 Olympic Winter Games in PyeongChang, Republic of Korea.

The McAnuffs kicked off their Olympic qualifying campaign last week in Budapest, Hungary. In the Netherlands, they will race against athletes from 40 countries over three disciplines – 500 metres, 1000 metres and 1500 metres. The subsequent two World Cup meets will be in Shanghai, China (9-12 November) and Seoul, Republic of Korea (16-19 November). 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.

“As we have been training in the Netherlands for the past few months, it’s going to be nice to race in a familiar atmosphere on such a big stage” Sean said.

“We are looking forward to building on what we did in Hungary last week and push ourselves up the rankings,” Ryan added.

You can follow the McAnuffs’ progress in the Netherlands via the Ice Skating Association of Ireland Facebook and Twitter accounts and, on 7 and 8 October, the ISU Skating Channel.

Ryan McAnuff ISAI Bio

Sean McAnuff ISAI Bio

ISU World Cup Results

ISU Skating Channel

McAnuff Brothers Embark On Olympic Odyssey

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This week sees brothers Ryan (22) and Sean McAnuff (20) begin their journey through four stops of the Audi International Skating Union (ISU) World Cup Short Track Speed Skating to secure berths for Ireland at the 2018 Olympic Winter Games in PyeongChang, Republic of Korea.

The McAnuffs will kick off their Olympic qualifying campaign  in Budapest, Hungary (28 September – 1 October). They will race against athletes from 40 countries over three disciplines – 500 metres, 1000 metres and 1500 metres. The subsequent three World Cup meets will be in Dordrecht, Netherlands (5-8 October), Shanghai, China (9-12 November) and Seoul, Republic of Korea (16-19 November). 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.
“We are excited to to start the World Cup events and race against the best short trackers in the world who all have the same goal as we have,” Ryan said.
“We really feel that making the move to the Netherlands has really added another dimension to our skating and we are ready to just get out there and race,” Sean added.
You can follow the McAnuffs’ progress in Hungary via the Ice Skating Association of Ireland Facebook and Twitter accounts and, on 30 September and 1 October, the ISU Skating Channel.