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Soucisse and Firus 13th At Maiden Europeans

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Carolane Soucisse and Shane Firus have completed their journey at the 2024 ISU European Figure Skating Championships in Kaunas, Lithuania finishing 13th in the ice dance event. In addition to becoming the first ice dancers to represent Ireland at the championships, they also became the first skaters representing Ireland to advance to the final round of competition in the 133 year history of the championships.
Soucisse and Firus skated 23rd of the 33 competing teams participating at these European Championships in the rhythm dance with only the top 20 teams advancing to the free dance. Performing to a Rick James medley for their 1980s themed routine, they opened with a Midline Step Sequence and followed that with a Synchronised Twizzle Sequence. They next nailed a Pattern Type Step Sequence and a Choreographic Rhythm Sequence. They closed out strongly with a difficult Level 4 Rotational Lift. They earned 66.69 points, a new season best.
Earlier this evening they took to the ice inside the Zalgirio Arena to perform in the free dance. Skating to “Hier Encore” by Charles Aznavour and an instrumental version of La Boheme, the current Irish champions opened with a Choreographic Character Step Sequence to set the tone for the routine. They followed that with a lift combination comprising a Straight Line Lift and a Rotational Lift and a Diagonal Step Sequence and One Foot Turns Sequence. Their Synchronised Twizzle Sequence was graded a Level 4 by the technical panel, the highest possible, as was their Dance Spin. They closed with a Choreographic Slide, a Choreographic Spin and a Level 4 Stationary Lift earning 101.50 points for their free and a combined total score of 168.19 points, both of which were new Season Bests.
“We’re very happy with how we skated,” Firus said. “We wanted to enjoy today, be very patient and really feel the moment as we were doing it.”
“It could have been a little bit intimidating with the crowd, but it was amazing,” Soucisse said. “We really stayed focused. We did just like in training and it went great. We were a bit tired at the end, but we held it up pretty well.”

Soucisse And Firus On The Edge Of History For Euros Debut

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Carolane Soucisse (28) and Shane Firus (29) will carve out their names in the history of Irish figure skating as they will become the first ice dance team to represent Ireland at the ISU European Figure Skating Championships which this year are being held in Kaunas, Lithuania (10-14 January).

Soucisse and Firus became Irish national champions in June 2023 and made their international debut for Ireland at the Bosphorus Cup in Istanbul, Turkey last month. They train in Toronto, Canada with their coaches Carol Lane, Jon Lane, Juris Rasgulajevs and Marc-Andre Servant.

Soucisse and Firus will initially perform at Europeans in the rhythm dance which begins at 10:00 (Irish time) on Friday, 12 January. Thirty-three teams from 21 nations will battle it out for the 20 spots available in the free dance on Saturday, 13 January. The competition will be keenly followed particularly in the Model County as Firus’s maternal grandmother hails from Gorey, County Wexford.

“We can’t wait to perform in such a big event,” Soucisse said. “Even though we’ve never done a European Championships, it really feels like home. We are super excited to see the crowd and meet new fans.”

“We are beyond excited to represent Ireland for the first time at such a prestigious event,” Firus said. “We are really looking forward to experiencing everything Europeans has to offer, as everyone we talked to before has said it was their favourite event of the season.”

Europeans are the oldest ISU championship event having first been contested in 1891. Ireland made its debut at the championships in 2009 when Clara Peters skated in the women’s event. Peters also participated in the 2010, 2011 and 2012 editions. In 2018, Conor Stakelum became the first Irish male figure skater to perform at the championships and he subsequently made appearances in 2019, 2020 and 2022. Sam McAllister represented Ireland at last year’s Europeans in Espoo, Finland.

In order to earn entry to the championships, eligible skaters must attain a minimum technical element score in both of their programmes during the current or preceding season. The championships are held annually and this is the first time they take place in Lithuania.

The ISU European Figure 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 #EuroFigure and #FigureSkating hashtags.

Soucisse/Firus Selected To Represent Ireland At 2024 Euros

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Carolane Soucisse and Shane Firus have been named to the Irish team for the 2024 ISU European Figure Skating Championships in Kaunas, Lithuania (8-14 January). This will be the first time Ireland will be represented in the ice dance category at the event.

Soucisse and Firus have been skating together since 2016. They are coached by Carol Lane, Jon Lane, Juris Rasgulajevs and Marc-Andre Servant at the Scarboro Figure Skating Club in Toronto, Canada. They won their first Irish national title in June 2023 and made their international debut for Ireland at the Bosphorus Cup in Istanbul, Turkey at the beginning of this month.

“It is such an honour to be selected to be part of the team representing Ireland at our first European Championships,” Soucisse said. “We aim to make the most of this experience and make Ireland proud!”

“We are ecstatic to be selected to represented Ireland at this coming European Championships,” Firus added. “We look forward to performing our programmes at such a prestigious event.”

Europeans are the oldest ISU championship event having first been contested in 1891. Ireland made its debut at the championships in 2009 when Clara Peters skated in the women’s event. Peters also participated in the 2010, 2011 and 2012 editions. In 2018, Conor Stakelum became the first Irish male figure skater to perform at the championships and he subsequently made appearances in 2019, 2020 and 2022. Sam McAllister represented Ireland at last year’s Europeans in Espoo, Finland.

In order to earn entry to the championships, eligible skaters must attain a minimum technical element score in both of their programmes during the current or preceding season. The championships are held annually and this is the first time they take place in Lithuania.

McAllister 28th At Maiden Europeans

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Sam McAllister (24) has finished 28th on his debut at the 2023 ISU European Figure Skating Championships which are currently taking place in Espoo, Finland.

The three-time senior Irish champion embarked on his short programme with a triple Lutz which he had to step out of on landing. He then attempted a triple toe loop-triple toe loop jump combination, but put a hand down on the first jump and fell on the second. He settled himself with a Level 3 change foot camel spin and got the Finnish audience clapping along to an energetic Level 2 step sequence. Unfortunately, the double Axel jump that followed was not executed cleanly. He completed his performance to “Good News” by Apashe with a Level 4 flying sit spin and a Level 3 change foot combination spin. He scored 48.07 points for his routine.

Even though he was disappointed with how some of the elements today, McAllister relished finally getting to compete at Europeans on his third try.

“It was great to skate her today and I really enjoyed every second of it,” McAllister said. “Obviously the jumps didn’t go to plan. I’ve training really hard in the build up to this event and the jumps have been working, but sometimes you can’t prepare for everything. I decided to just enjoy the programme and skating in front of the amazing crowd.”

As only the Top 24 skaters after the short programme advance, McAllister will not be competing in Friday night’s free skating.

Third Time Lucky For McAllister As Euros Debut Beckons

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This week Sam McAllister (24) becomes only the third skater from Ireland to compete at a European Figure Skating Championships when he takes to the ice at the Metro Areena in Espoo, Finland on Wednesday evening.

McAllister’s European debut has been a long time coming. He was selected in 2021, but the championships were cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic. He was all set to compete in 2022 again when he tested positive for Covid-19 in a pre-departure test and had to miss out a second time. It makes this time round all the more special.

“I’m over the moon and it’s incredible to be here at this venue,” McAllister said. “I wouldn’t let myself get excited until the pass was in my hand and then I knew it was finally happening.  There’s too many emotions right now that I can’t describe. It’s amazing to be here.

“To be only the third person from Ireland to make it to Europeans shows how impressive it is to be at this event.”

McAllister will initially participate in the men’s short programme on Wednesday evening (25 January) with only the top 24 advancing Friday night’s free skating (27 January). He has drawn to skate third in Warm-Up Group 1.

The ISU European Figure Skating Championships will be broadcast on Eurosport and the 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 #EuroFigure and #FigureSkating hashtags.