No Emerald Skate Courses For 2020/2021 Season

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Due to the current public health restrictions on indoor sport in Ireland, the Ice Skating Association of Ireland (ISAI) will not be running our Emerald Skate learn to skate courses during the 2020/2021 winter season.

We look forward to hopefully being able to run Emerald Skate again in 2021/2022. In the meantime, we ask that everyone continues to follow public health guidelines to stay safe and healthy.

You can find out more about the Level 5 restrictions here.

Seven Speed Skaters Selected To 2020/2021 ISAI National Team

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The Board of Directors of the Ice Skating Association of Ireland (ISAI) have selected seven speed skaters to the ISAI National Team for the 2020/2021 season.

The following ISAI members have been chosen to represent Ireland on the international stage at International Skating Union (ISU) events::

Short Track Speed Skating

Ryan McAnuff
Sean McAnuff
Liam O’Brien
Ava Ryan

Speed Skating

Tara Donoghue
Rory McCarthy
Siún Ní Dhúgáin

 

Ryan McAnuff has been selected to the National Team for the fifth consecutive season. At the 2020 European Short Track Speed Skating Championships in Debrecen, Hungary, he finished in 34th place overall with a career best individual placing of 24th in the 1000 metres. He is currently studying medicine at the University of Limerick.

Sean McAnuff joins his brother Ryan on the National Team for the fifth time in a row. He placed 35th at the 2020 European Short Track Speed Skating Championships with a personal best individual finish of 25th in the 1500 metres.

Liam O’Brien has been selected for the Irish national team for the second time. He currently trains in Seongnam, Republic of Korea under the tutelage of Lee Kwang Soo.

Ava Ryan became the first female short track speed skater to be named to represent Ireland at an ISU Championships in January 2020. She set three national records in her World Junior Short Track Speed Skating Championships debut. She trains under Simon Cho, 2010 Olympic medallist, at the Potomac Speed Skating Club in Maryland, United States of America.

Tara Donoghue placed 11th in the Mass Start and 18th in the 3000 metres at the 2020 World Junior Speed Skating Championships in Tomaszów Mazowiecki, Poland, the best results ever by an Irish ice skater at an ISU Championships. Earlier in the season, she also became the first ice skater to earn a spot for Ireland at the Winter Youth Olympic Games.

Rory McCarthy is the first male long track speed skater to be named to the National Team. Based in the Netherlands, his favourite distance is the 500 metres.

Siún Ní Dhúgáin has also been selected to the National Team for the first time. In July 2019, she participated in the “Road to Ice” training camp at Thialf Academy in Heerenveen, Netherlands.

You can find out more about our national team members here.

Tara Donoghue Awarded ISU Scholarship

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Irish speed skater Tara Donoghue is to receive an ISU (International Skating Union) Development Programme Junior Scholarship.

The scholarship is given to young skaters of outstanding talent from developing members federations. Athletes are deemed eligible to be considered for the scholarship based on their participation in international competition. The number of scholarships dispensed each year is limited. Donoghue is set to be awarded a scholarship worth 4,500 Swiss Francs.

Donoghue trains under Baanselectie Haarlem coaches Peter van der Rol Brouwer, Manon Spruit and Bart Vreugdehil at the Ijsclub Haarlem in the Netherlands. In February 2020, she became the first skater representing Ireland to finish in the Top 15 at an ISU Championships event when she placed 11th in the Mass Start race at the Junior World Championships in Tomaszów Mazowiecki, Poland. She is only the second athlete from Ireland to be awarded an ISU Junior Scholarship.

“I am extremely honoured to be granted the funding,” Donoghue said. “It shows that my progress and hard work over the past few years as well as my potential for the coming seasons have been recognised. It is also great that the ISU supports skaters from a small country like Ireland.

“I will be able to use the funding for additional training camps, equipment and further competitive opportunities abroad over the course of the next two seasons. This should hopefully increase my performance levels and put me in a position to qualify to represent Ireland at a future Winter Olympics.

“Lastly, I would like to thank ISAI (Ice Skating Association of Ireland) President Karen O’Sullivan and the board for putting me forward for the scholarship and helping me with the funding application and to the ISU for the confidence they have shown in my abilities.”

 

 

Donoghue Shines Bright At Junior Worlds

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Tara Donoghue made history this weekend (21-23 February) at the ISU (International Skating Union) World Junior Speed Skating Championships in Tomaszów Mazowiecki, Poland as she raced to the highest placings ever by an Irish skater at an ISU Championships.

Donoghue qualified to compete in four events at the championships and began with the 1500 metres on the first day of racing where she recorded a time of 2:12.749 to finish 40th overall.

On the second day of competition, Donoghue started with the 1000 metres where she placed 38th in a time of 1:24.768 , just half a second off her own Irish record. The best was yet to come later on in the afternoon when she lined up for the 3000 metres. She smashed her own Irish record by a whopping nine seconds in posting a time of 4:29.549 to finish in 18th place, the best result ever by an Irish skater at an ISU Championships.

There was more to come on the final day of competition when Donoghue took to the oval for the mass start race. A collision involving a number of skaters meant a rescheduled start for the whole field and on the first points sprint Donoghue captured a point. It was to prove a decisive moment as the point helped her secure a remarkable 11th place to cap a successful weekend of racing.

“I’m really happy with my races in general, especially the 3000 metres and mass start,” Donoghue said. “I stuck to the plan I made with my coach and managed to show everyone what I’ve got. I’m not satisfied with all my performances. I would have hoped to have done better in the 1500 metres. However, I know what to work on for the coming season and I am really looking forward to training hard this summer so I can rise in the ranking next year.”

Donoghue All Set For World Juniors

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This weekend Irish speed skater Tara Donoghue (18) competes for the second time at the ISU (International Skating Union) World Junior Speed Skating Championships which are taking place this year in Tomaszów Mazowiecki, Poland (21-23 February).

Donoghue has attained the qualifying times for three individual distances at these World Junior Championships. She will race in the 1500 metres tomorrow afternoon (Friday 21 February) and in the 1000 and 3000 metres the following day (Saturday 22 February) in a field of athletes from 19 countries. She will also participate in the mass start race on Sunday 23 February.

“My goals for my races at these Junior Worlds are to set personal bests in all three distances, especially in the 3000 metres because I feel like I can definitely knock a chunk off that,” Donoghue said. “Furthermore, I want to go for as high as possible a classification in the mass start and just enjoy the experience in general.”

You can watch Donoghue race live on the ISU’s YouTube channel and also follow her progress via the event results page and the #WorldJSpeed and #SpeedSkating hashtags on social media.

Sean McAnuff Completes Races At Dresden World Cup

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At his third ISU (International Skating Union) World Cup Short Track Speed Skating event of the season, Irish skater Sean McAnuff raced this weekend at the EnergieVerbund Arena in Dresden, Germany.

McAnuff began the competition with the heats of the 1000 metres where he was drawn in Heat 9. He recorded a time of 1:29.247 to place fourth. The following day in the repechage quarterfinals he came joint fourth in Heat 4 with a time of 1:30.524 and was classified 43rd overall for the distance.

McAnuff also contested the 1500 metres (2) in Dresden. For the quarterfinals, he lined up in Heat 8 and posted a time of 2:26.554 for fourth place. In the repechage quarterfinals, he came fifth in Heat 3 in a time of 2:22.114. He was 41st in the overall classification for the distance.

Full results for the ISU World Cup Short Track are available here.

Sean McAnuff Back On World Cup Circuit In Dresden

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Irish skater Sean McAnuff races in his third ISU (International Skating Union) World Cup Short Track Speed Skating of the 2019/2020 season in Dresden, Germany  over the weekend (7-9 February).

McAnuff has had a busy season so far with World Cups in the United States and Canada as well as last month’s European Championships in Hungary. He will step on to the ice for the preliminary rounds at the EnergieVerbund Arena on Friday 7 February with racing opportunities also over the course of the following two days.

You can follow the ISU World Cup Short Track Speed Skating live on the ISU’s YouTube channel, the results page and on social media using the #WCShortTrack #ShortTrackSkating and #UpAgain hashtags.

Ryan Sets Three National Records At Short Track World Juniors Debut

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Ava Ryan (18) made a successful debut at the ISU (International Skating Union) World Junior Short Track Speed Skating Championships as she set three new Irish national records in Bormio, Italy over the weekend.

Ryan began the championships with the qualifying rounds of the 500, 1000 and 1500 metres on Day One. In Heat 3 of the 1500 metres quarterfinals, she placed fifth in a time of 2:33.047. She followed that up a 47.657 clocking in Heat 4 of the 500 metres preliminaries to finish in fifth again with her first new national record of the competition. She ended the first day of the event with the 1000 metres preliminaries where she raced in Heat 5 and raced to fourth place in another national record of 1:36.734.

Day Two saw her line up for the ranking finals of the 1500 and 500 metres. In the 1500, Ryan broke her third national record of the weekend with a time 2:32.183 in Heat 2 for a third place. She finished 38th overall for the distance. She was back on the ice for Heat 2 of the 500 in which she clocked 48.387 to come second and place 45th overall.

On the final day of competition, Ryan competed in the 1000 metres ranking final. She participated in Heat 3 where she posted a time of 1:38.320 to come in fourth place. She was classified as 37th overall for the distance.

“Though I got personal records in all the distances, I feel I could have raced better this weekend,” Ryan said. “I made a lot of my mistakes due to my lack of experience competing at this level. Since I’ve only been racing for three years at local competitions, I hope with more international racing experience my results will improve in the future.”

Ryan First Irish Female Short Track Skater To Compete At World Juniors

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This weekend Ava Ryan (18) becomes the first female skater from Ireland to compete at the ISU (International Skating Union) World Junior Short Track Speed Skating Championships in Bormio, Italy (31 January – 2 February).

Ryan will be lining up among 190 skaters from 37 countries who will be vying for top honours in the Italian alpine resort. The competition will begin with the qualifying rounds for the 500, 1000 and 1500 metre distances on Friday, 31 January. The subsequent rounds will take place on Saturday, 1 February and Sunday, 2 February.

Ryan’s father hails from Cork and she trains under Simon Cho, 2010 Olympic medallist, at the Potomac Speed Skating Club in Maryland, United States of America.

“I am very excited for the opportunity to race here in Bormio and represent Ireland,” Ryan said. “My goals for this weekend are to skate my best races and set personal bests. I’ve already hit personal bests in practice and hope those will continue during the races.”

You can follow the ISU World Junior Short Track Speed Skating Championships on the ISU YouTube Channel and by using the #ShortTrackSkating hashtag on social media. Competition results will be updated here.

McAnuff Brothers Wrap Up Short Track Euros

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Ryan McAnuff (25) and Sean McAnuff (22) raced this weekend at the ISU (International Skating Union) European Short Track Speed Skating Championships in Debrecen, Hungary to an overall classification of 34th and 35th respectively.

The brothers competed over the course of three days in the 500, 1000 and 1500 metre distances. The first day of the event saw them begin with the quarterfinals of the 1500 where Sean finished fourth in Heat 1 and Ryan fifth in Heat 4. They then participated in the 500 heats where Ryan placed fifth in Heat 1 and Sean fourth in Heat 3. They ended their opening day of action with 1000 heats where Ryan came third in Heat 1 and Sean fifth in Heat 3.

On the second day of competition, the McAnuffs took part in the ranking finals for the 1500 and 500. Ryan was a close second in Heat 1 of the 1500 to finish overall in 35th place. Sean took to the ice in Heat 3 and placed fourth which gave him an overall classification of 25th, his best ever at an individual distance at an ISU Championships. The 500 ranking finals followed and the brothers faced each other in Heat 2 with Sean placing third and Ryan fourth. They were classified as 33rd and 34th respectively for the distance.

The final day saw them conclude their racing with the 1000 metre ranking finals. Sean won Heat 1 and Ryan came fourth in Heat 4. Ryan stood 24th in the overall classification for the distance which was his best at an ISU Championship. Sean placed 35th. The overall championships classification saw Ryan finish 34th and Sean 35th.

“Ryan and I are both very happy with our individual races and the progres we made even throughout the competition,” Sean McAnuff said. “We both got our best individual finishes ever in a distance and we both got our best combined points for the three distances for any European Championships we have competed in!”