McAnuff and O’Brien Get Season Under Way

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Irish short trackers Liam O’Brien (Co. Cavan) and Sean McAnuff (Co. Antrim) got their seasons under way this weekend respectively at Shanghai Trophy in Shanghai, China and Dutch Open Short Track in Heerenveen, The Netherlands.

O’Brien was first off the mark in Shanghai where he raced over the course of three days with his best finish coming in the 1500 metres where he advanced to the final and came fifth. He also raced as part of Team Ireland in a Mixed Team Relay with three skaters from other federations. The team ended up fourth in the final.

Meanwhile McAnuff made his comeback to international competition at the Dutch Open after being forced to sit last season out through injury. It was a busy return as he competed in 11 races over the course of the three days. He ended up classified 29th in the 500 metres, 34th in the 1000 metres and 40th in the 1500 metres with the highlight coming when he won his 500 metre quarterfinals. He took 36th place in the overall classification.

Introducing The Irish Wolfhounds

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The Ice Skating Association of Ireland is pleased to introduce the Irish Wolfhounds, our new Team Ireland identity for this season’s inaugural ISU Short Track World Tour.

In collaboration with the International Skating Union and a team of designers, each national federation competing on the tour was charged with the task of coming up with a symbol that encapsulates the spirit of their nation’s skaters. Steeped in our ancient history and mythology, the bold and brave Irish Wolfhound is a perfect embodiment of the ambition and drive our short trackers bring to the ice in competition.

“We are thrilled to be a part of this striking and innovative initiative by the ISU and our colleagues worldwide for this year’s ISU Short Track World Tour,” ISAI President  Seán Gillis said. “We look forward to the new team identities bringing even stronger engagement with the public and attracting new fans to our incredibly exciting sport.”

This season’s ISU Short Track World Tour launces in Montreal, Canada and will stop in the United States of America, China, Republic of Korea and the Netherlands before culminating in Milan, Italy for the test event of the 2026 Milano-Cortina Winter Olympic Games.

To keep up to date with the ISU Short Track World Tour visit https://short-track.com/

Annual General Meeting 2024

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The Ice Skating Association of Ireland (ISAI) will hold its Annual General Meeting (AGM) on 25 September 2024 in person in Dublin. Current members will have received a notice via e-mail with the AGM Agenda attached.

2024/2025 National Team Members Named

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The Ice Skating Association of Ireland has selected the following athletes to represent Ireland in international competitions during the 2024/2025 season:

Figure Skating

Senior Men – Dillon Judge* (County Armagh)

Senior Ice Dance – Carolane Soucisse/Shane Firus (County Wexford)

Junior Women – Saoirse O’Sullivan (County Tipperary), Allie Peterson (County Galway), Sophia Tkacheva* (County Wexford)

*Selected under Section 800 Paragraph 801.6

Short Track Speed Skating

Senior Men – Ryan McAnuff (County Antrim), Sean McAnuff (County Antrim), Liam O’Brien (County Cavan)

New ISAI Child Safety Officer Appointed

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The Ice Skating Association of Ireland (ISAI) is pleased to announce the appointment of Deirdre Costello as ISAI Child Safety Officer.

The ISAI is committed to promoting and protecting the safety and wellbeing of all children and young people who participate in ISAI activities through fostering a culture where children and young people feel safe and welcome. Contact details for the ISAI Child Safety Officer and further information on the ISAI’s safeguarding policies and measures can be found at here.

O’Brien Sets Two National Record To Close Out Season At Worlds

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Liam O’Brien rounded out his season this weekend at the ISU World Short Track Speed Skating Championships in Rotterdam, The Netherlands.

On the opening day of competition, O’Brien lined up in the qualification rounds in all three distances. He first tackled the 1500m quarterfinals where he was drawn in Heat 5. In a cagey race, he was in contention right up until the final lap, but had to settle for fourth in a time of 2:27.896. In Heat 2 of the 500m preliminaries, he managed to stay out of trouble coming home in third in 42.522 which was good enough to advance him to the 500m heats. Drawn in Heat 6 in the outside lane, he was never really in contention from the start and finished fifth in a time of 42.978. The final distance of Day One was the 1000m and O’Brien found himself racing in Heat 1 of the preliminaries. In a tight contest, he sneaked into third place in a new national record of 1:26.013 and advanced to the heats on time. He concluded a busy day of racing in Heat 3 starting off strongly before coming into contact with another skater which threw O’Brien off course. He valiantly tried to catch up to the rest of the field, but had to be content with 5th place in a time of 1:29.815.

Day Two saw O’Brien race in the repechage rounds of the 1500m and 500m. In Heat 4 of the 1500m repechage quarterfinals, the opening pace was quite slow and did not heat up until seven laps were left. O’Brien fought hard, but fell behind with two laps to go finishing fifth in 2:38.563. In the classification for the distance, he stood 43rd overall. He was back on the ice shortly afterwards for the 500m repechage quarterfinals. With just the winner of Heat 1 gaining automatic qualification and only two spots available for the fastest second place finishers on time across the eight heats, it was always going to be a tall order to advance. However, O’Brien put his best foot forward and was just inches away from securing second in his heat. He had to make do with third place with the consolation of a new Irish record of 42.145. His overall ranking for the distance was 35th.

O’Brien was dressed more than appropriately in green for the final day of racing on Saint Patrick’s Day. Shortly after the start of the Heat 5 of the 100om repechage quarterfinals, contact from another skater sent O’Brien off course. He trailed home in third place with a time of 2:08.690, but was advanced to the next round. In Heat 1 of the repechage semi-finals, he began positively taking the lead with seven laps to go. However, with three laps remaining he lost contact and came third in a time of 1:30.194. With a 25th placing, he earned his best classification for the championships.

“I’m glad I could show everything I have worked on this season,” O’Brien said. “While I may not have progressed through to the main event, I think it was my best showing and I will carry the experience through to next season and build on the result.”

O’Brien On Track For Rotterdam Worlds

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Liam O’Brien (25) makes his fourth consecutive appearance at the ISU World Short Track Speed Skating Championships which this year are being held in Rotterdam, The Netherlands (15-17 March).

O’Brien will be flying the flag for Ireland this St. Patrick’s weekend as one of over 90 athletes from 36 countries vying for glory in the men’s category inside the Ahoy Rotterdam ice rink. The World Short Track Championships were first held back in 1976. Ireland has been represented at every edition held since 2017.

O’Brien starts racing on Friday, 15 March with the qualification rounds of the 500, 1000 and 1500 metre distances. Subsequent rounds, quarterfinals, semifinals and finals will take place on Saturday, 16 March and Sunday, 17 March.

“I’m excited to race here in Rotterdam this weekend, especially on Paddy’s Day,” O’Brien said. “The venue looks amazing and there will be a great atmosphere. I hope to improve on my results throughout the season and push towards the main event in both the 1000 and 1500 metres.

The ISU World Short Track Speed Skating Championships will be broadcast online on the Skating ISU YouTube channel. Geographical restrictions may apply. The results of the championships can be followed on the event results page and on social media via the #ShortTrackSkating hashtag.

O’Brien Selected For Short Track Worlds

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Liam O’Brien (25) will fly the flag for Ireland at next month’s ISU World Short Track Speed Skating Championships in Rotterdam, The Netherlands (15-17 March).This will be the fourth consecutive time that O’Brien competes at Short Track Worlds. Racing at last month’s European Championships in Gdansk, Poland, he reached the quarterfinals and placed 19th in the 1000 metres.“I am honoured to be able to represent Ireland again at the World Championships for the fourth year running now,” O’Brien said. “I had a good start to 2024 with the European Championships and I am looking forward to finishing the season strongly at Worlds.”The ISU World Short Track Speed Skating Championships will be streamed live on the Skating ISU YouTube channel.

O’Brien Rounds Out Euros With Quarterfinals Appearance

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Liam O’Brien made his third appearance at the ISU European Short Track Speed Skating Championships this weekend in Gdansk, Poland as Ireland’s sole participant on this occasion.

On the opening day of the qualification rounds, O’Brien raced over three distances. First up was the 1500 metres where he was drawn in Heat 5 of the quarterfinals. He kept in contention throughout most of the race, but fell just out of contact in the closing laps and finished fourth in a time of 2:30.801. Shortly afterwards he was back for the 500 metres heats lining up in Heat 6. He raced hard to a time of 42.280 and narrowly failed to advance as he came third. He concluded Day One with another third place in Heat 1 of the 1000 metres heats in a time of 1:30.877.

The second day of the championships saw O’Brien compete in the 1500 and 500 metres repechage quarterfinals. He raced in Heat 2 of the 1500 metres and with five laps to go was already out of contention when he crashed out of the race and ended up with no time. He was classified 34th for the distance. In Heat 5 of the 500 metres, he set up himself up to potentially advance by time as a second place finisher, but was overtaken on the penultimate lap. He posted a time of 42.576 and came 29th for the distance.

All that was left for O’Brien on the final day of the championships was the 1000 metres repechage quarterfinals. With seven laps left in Heat 2, he was disrupted by a fellow competitor, veered off track and came home in fourth with a time of 1:51.968. However, he was advanced to the repechage semifinals due to being impeded. During the repechage semifinal, he once again came off worse for wear from contact with another skater with four laps to go and crossed the line in fifth place in 2:04.946. Ultimately, he was advanced to the main session quarterfinals drawing Heat 1. He finished in 5th place in a time of 1:29.018 concluding his participation at this season’s Europeans with a 19th place classification for the distance.

“It was a weekend with a lot of up and downs,” O’Brien said. I was disappointed I couldn’t show more in the 1500m, but relieved the decisions went my way in the 1000m repechage and came out of it with a quarterfinal.”

O’Brien Kicks Off 2024 At Short Track Euros

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Liam O’Brien (25) lines up this weekend at the ISU European Short Track Speed Skating Championships in Gdansk, Poland (12-14 January).

The ice at the Hala Olivia is familiar territory for O’Brien with both his two previous appearances in 2021 and 2023 having taken place at the same venue. At last season’s Europeans, he became the first Irish skater to qualify for a semi-final and he will be aiming to do even better this time round. He will be among a field of over 130 athletes from 25 countries racing for top honours at an event that was first held in 1997. Skaters race against each other over 500, 1000 and 1500 metre distances.

“It’s good to be back here in Poland again for the European Championships,” O’Brien said. “I’m looking forward to racing for Ireland this weekend and hope to improve on last year’s semifinal performance and be up there amongst my competitors.”

The ISU European Short Track Speed Skating Championships will be broadcast on the Skating ISU YouTube channel. Geographical restrictions may apply. The results of the championships can be followed on the event results page and on social media via the #ShortTrackSkating hashtag.