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2023 Another Remarkable Year For Irish Ice Skating

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2023 witnessed ice skating in Ireland continue its forward progression as more milestones were achieved.

The year began in sensational fashion in January at the ISU European Short Track Speed Skating Championships in Gdansk, Poland. Sean McAnuff became the first athlete from Ireland to nab a place in the main session of the championships when he advanced to the 500 metres quarterfinals. Liam O’Brien then went on to do the same by booking himself a spot in the 1500 metres semifinals. Later in the same month, Sam McAllister finally made his ISU European Figure Skating Championships debut at the third time of asking in Espoo, Finland. He finished in 28th place. At home, the ISAI board announced the appointment of Karen O’Sullivan as Chief Executive Officer and Yvonne Brett as Chief Financial Officer. The first post-Covid Emerald Skate test session was held at Dundrum On Ice.

February saw our short track speed skaters Sean McAnuff and Ryan McAnuff in action at events in Germany and Canada respectively, while figure skaters Dillon Judge and Laura Hegarty and Kevin Hegarty competed in the Netherlands at the Challenge Cup.

Liam O’Brien participated in the ISU World Short Track Speed Skating Championships for the third consecutive time when the event was held in Seoul, South Korea in March. Sam McAllister announced his retirement from competitive skating during the month.

Four-time European competitor Conor Stakelum was appointed ISAI Anti-Doping Officer in May.

Rounding out the 2022/2023 season, the Irish Figure Skating Championships were held for the second at the Dundee Ice Arena in June. Titles were decided in five categories with Carolane Soucisse and Shane Firus becoming the first ever Senior Ice Dance champions in the history of the event.

The 2023/2024 season got into full swing in September with two-time Irish Junior Champion Sophia Tkacheva competing at the ISU Junior Grand Prix in Istanbul, Türkiye. The appointment of Stephen Judge as ISAI Privacy Officer was announced. Margery Hilko became the first person from Ireland to qualify as an ISU judge when she passed the ISU examination in Oberstdorf, Germany.

Ciera Turner-Frick represented Ireland at the ISU Junior Grand Prix in Yerevan, Armenia in October. Dillon Judge made his international senior debut at the Tayside Trophy in Dundee, United Kingdom where he was joined by Sophia Tkacheva who skated in the Junior Women’s event. The season got under way for our short track speed skaters at World Cup 1 in Montreal, Canada where Ryan McAnuff and Liam O’Brien raced. O’Brien also entered World Cup 2 again in Montreal where he not only set a new Irish record in the 1000 metres, but also advanced to the 1000 metres quarterfinals.

In November, the 2023/2024 Emerald Skate learn to skate lessons commenced at Dundrum On Ice. Dillon Judge competed at the Denkova-Staviski Cup in Sofia, Bulgaria where he finished 10th. The ISAI Annual General Meeting was held on 29 November in Dublin. It was the first in-person AGM since 2019.

Carolane Soucisse and Shane Firus kicked off December and their season when they participated in the Bosphorus Cup in Istanbul, Türkiye. The second World Ice Skating Day took place on 3 December with bigger and better celebrations than in the previous year here in Ireland. Soucisse and Firus and Dillon Judge took part in the ISU Challenger Golden Spin of Zagreb in Croatia. Liam O’Brien was named as a recipient of a Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Scholarship and wrapped up 2023 with back to back World Cups in China and South Korea.

2024 promises to be an even more exciting year for the ISAI as the pace picks up on the development of Ireland as an ice skating nation both domestically and on the international stage.

Short Track Season Kicks Off In Montreal

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Ryan McAnuff and Liam O’Brien got their season under way at this weekend’s ISU World Cup Short Track Speed Skating in Montreal, Canada.

They both opened their racing in the 1500m quarterfinals on the first day of competition. O’Brien raced in Heat 5 clocking 2:22.282 in 6th place. McAnuff was up right after in Heat 6 and he also placed 6th in a time 2:26.517.

Next up for McAnuff was Heat 1 of the 500m preliminaries where he finished 5th in a time of 43.490. O’Brien was back out on the ice for Heat 8 the 1000m (2)  heats and posted a time of  1:27.305 to finish 3rd missing out on advancing by one place.

Both skaters were back on Day Two for the 1500m repechage quarterfinals. McAnuff ended up 4th in Heat 3 in a time of 2:27.525. He ranked 41st for the distance. O’Brien was next up in Heat 4 and raced to 3rd clocking 2:21.782 which was good enough to advance to the repechage semifinals in the same session. O’Brien was drawn in Heat 1 and placed 4th in a time of 2:31.394. His ranking for the distance was 28th.

The final day of competition began with Heat 2 of the 500m repechage quarterfinals for McAnuff. He closed his racing at this World Cup with a 5th place finish in a time of 43.871. He placed 47th overall in the distance.

“I really enjoyed racing against the top skaters in the world,” McAnuff said. “As always, it was challenging racing but this provided great learning opportunities. It is a privilege to be here and I am proud of how I did!”

O’Brien lined up in Heat 2 of the 1000m (2) repechage quarterfinals. Unfortunately, he slipped during the race crashing into the barriers. He got back up coming home in 6th with a time of 2:13.757.

“Unfortunately I let the nerves of the first competition of the season get to me and was not aware of what was going on around me during the races on the first day,” O’Brien said. “On the second day in the 1500m repechage I was happy as I showed glimpses of my training results throughout the off season. Going into next week I just need to build on my confidence throughout the training week and not doubt myself when a chance opens up.”

Irish Short Track Team Raring To Go At Montreal World Cup

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The  ISU World Cup Short Track Speed Skating Series gets under way this weekend (20-22 October) in Montreal, Canada with Ryan McAnuff and Liam O’Brien representing Team Ireland at the event.McAnuff returns to the World Cup circuit for the first time since 2021. Along with younger brother Sean, he was the first Irish skater to compete at a World Cup event back in 2016. This will be his eighth time suiting up for Ireland at a World Cup. He is the current Irish 1500m record holder.

“I’m looking forward to kicking the season in a familiar place with World Cup 1 in Montreal,” McAnuff said. “I’m expecting some great racing from everyone and I hope to enjoy myself as well!”This is the third consecutive season that O’Brien will compete on the World Cup series. Last season he set an Irish 1000m record in Almaty, Kazakhstan when the World Cup was held there and is excited to get back to racing for the first time in seven months.

“I’ve worked hard on developing my skating and strength over the off season and I’m excited to race to see where I am at now,” O’Brien said. “Ice training has been going smoothly and it should be a strong weekend of racing amongst all skaters”Each World Cup features races over the 500m, 1000m and 1500m distances with Day 1 solely assigned for qualification rounds. Day 2 and Day 3 combine subsequent qualification rounds and World Cup sessions. This weekend’s World Cup is the first of two back-to-back held in Montreal. Further World Cups will take place in China, Republic of Korea, Germany and Poland later this season. In Ireland, the action can be viewed live on the Skating ISU YouTube channel and followed on social media via the #ShortTrackSkating hashtag.

2023/2024 Speed Skating National Team Announced

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Three speed skaters have been named by the Ice Skating Association of Ireland (ISAI) to represent Ireland during the 2023/2024 season.

Ryan McAnuff has been a National Team member since 2016 when, along with his brother Sean, they became the first speed skaters to compete for Ireland in international competition. He is a University of Limerick medical school graduate and is currently a resident physician in Hamilton, Canada.

“It is again an honour to represent Ireland for this upcoming short track speed skating season,” Ryan McAnuff said. “I am looking forward to competing alongside my teammates against the fastest skaters in the world. This season I look to continue to be competitive on the global stage as well as continue to enjoy racing, travelling, connecting with fellow racers and representing Ireland.”

This is the eighth consecutive season Sean McAnuff has been selected for the National Team. He made it to the quarterfinals in the 500 metres at the 2023 European Short Track Speed Skating Championships in Gdansk, Poland and placed 19th in the distance, his best ever result at Europeans. Since December 2020, he has been training in Budapest, Hungary.

“I feel privileged to represent Ireland again this year,” Sean McAnuff said. “It has been a long journey of now eight years representing the country and I am excited to have another year to improve and bring more awareness to the sport in Ireland. This season I have the goal of training smarter and more effectively. I plan to skate new record times and work hard in order to achieve my maximum potential through focusing on technique improvement and racing with confidence!”

Liam O’Brien has been a National Team member since 2019. At the 2023 European Short Track Speed Skating Championships, he advanced to the semi-finals of the 1500 metres for the first time. He also represented Ireland at the 2023 World Short Track Speed Skating Championships in Seoul, Republic of Korea. He currently trains in Seongnam, Republic of Korea.

“As always, I am delighted to be selected and given the chance to represent Ireland,” O’Brien said. “Last season had an unfortunate ending and I have gone away and worked hard to improve my abilities over the off-season. My goals for this season are to not only improve on personal bests, but to gain higher field ranking and to be competitive against the best in the world.

National Team Members (Short Track Speed Skating):

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

You can learn more about our national team members here.

Trio of Speed Skaters for 2022/2023 Irish Team

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Three speed skaters have been selected to represent Ireland in international competitions for the 2022/2023 season.

Ryan McAnuff has been listed to the National Team for the seventh consecutive season. During the past season while training and competing, he also graduated from medical school at the University of Limerick.

“I am very excited to once again be named to the Irish National Short Track Speed Skating Team,” Ryan McAnuff said. “This off-season has allowed me to reset mentally and physically, while still training very hard. I will proudly represent Ireland this season with a major goal being to continue to close the gap between myself and the top skaters in world. Another goal of mine is to work on my race tactics and try new track patterns and strategies during practice and racing.”

Like his brother Ryan, Sean McAnuff is on the National Team again for the seventh time in a row. He placed 35th at the 2022 World Short Track Speed Skating Championships in Montreal, Canada. Since December 2020, he has been training in Budapest, Hungary.

“I have really enjoyed an extended rest for my body since the World Championships this past April,” Sean McAnuff said. “I am looking forward to getting back to training and continuing to develop my technique, endurance and confidence in racing. I will strive to make a positive impact on the athletes and other I connect with in the sport world, encouraging them along their journey. I have really enjoyed this aspect of skating over the past few years, as I notice that is a huge motivational component for so many speed skaters!”

Liam O’Brien has been selected for the National Team for the fourth time. Earlier this year, he finished 37th at the 2022 World Short Track Speed Skating Championships in Gdansk, Poland and just missed out an 2022 Beijing Olympic quota spot in the 1500 metres. He currently trains in Seongnam, Republic of Korea.

“Last season unfortunately did not go as planned and I had to deal with many ups and downs with injuries and with COVID,” O’Brien said. “In the coming season I hope to be challenging the top skaters in all events and pushing into the main round at World Cup and Championship events.”

National Team Members (Short Track Speed Skating):

Senior Men – Ryan McAnuff (County Antrim/County Derry/County Fermanagh), Sean McAnuff (County Antrim/County Derry/County Fermanagh), Liam O’Brien (County Cavan/County Leitrim/County Mayo)

You can learn more about our national team members here.

Despite Adversity Irish Ice Skating Forged Ahead In 2021

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The pandemic continued to disrupt activities in 2021 both on and off the ice, but Irish ice skating has also displayed its resilience throughout the past 12 months.

In January, it was announced that unfortunately the Irish National Figure Skating Championships would not take place in 2021. At the end of the month, Liam O’Brien made his debut in an Irish racing suit at the ISU European Short Track Speed Skating Championships in Gdansk, Poland where he placed 25th overall. This was the highest ever placement for an Irish short track speed skater at an ISU Championships.

O’Brien raced again at the ISU World Short Track Speed Skating Championships in March in Dordrecht, the Netherlands. His overall championship classification of 29th was the highest placement ever by an Irish skater in the history of the event and also secured two spots for Ireland in the men’s category at the 2022 Championships.

In May, O’Brien was also the recipient of an Olympic Federation of Ireland Beijing 2022 Individual Performance Support award.

Eight figure skaters and six speed skaters were named to the National Team in July.

After the cancellation of the ISU Junior Grand Prix of Figure Skating in 2020, Dillon Judge and Sophia Tkacheva were finally able to make their debuts in the series back in September in Kosice, Slovakia. Towards the end of the month, Conor Stakelum participated in the Nebelhorn Trophy in Oberstdorf, Germany, the final qualifying competition for the 2022 Beijing Olympics, where he finished 29th. An EGM and an AGM were both held virtually during the month.

Judge return to the Junior Grand Prix circuit in October where he was joined by Elizabeth Golding to compete in the final stage of the series in Linz, Austria. In the middle of the month, Sam McAllister returned to the ice for the first time in over a year and finished 11th at the Budapest Trophy in Hungary. Sean McAnuff and Liam O’Brien got to try out Olympic ice at the test event in Beijing, China which was the first of four World Cup competition to decide quota places for the Games. The Irish short track speed skaters travelled to Nagoya, Japan the following week for the second World Cup.

November began with a team of five Irish figure skaters competing at the Tayside Trophy in Dundee, Scotland. Robyn Foster made her international debut for Ireland in the Junior Women’s category where she finished seventh with Tkacheva in tenth. Judge was second in the Junior Men’s event with Stakelum and McAllister tenth and eleventh respectively in the Senior Men’s division. O’Brien was back racing in the third World Cup in Debrecen, Hungary and was joined for the fourth in Dordrecht, the Netherlands by Ryan McAnuff. At the end of the month, it was announced that sadly the Emerald Skate learn to skate courses would be postponed for a second consecutive year.

McAllister, Stakelum and Judge rounded out the year at the Santa Claus Cup in Budapest, Hungary in December. The announcement of the selection of McAllister to represent Ireland at the 2022 ISU European Figure Skating Championships in Tallinn, Estonia early next year was also made during the month.

While the pandemic is still an ongoing concern as we head into the New Year and the health and safety of our members remains our priority, the ISAI is hopeful that 2022 will see a resumption of our normal activities.

 

McAnuff and O’Brien Wrap Up At Final Short Track World Cup

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Ryan McAnuff and Liam O’Brien brought this season’s World Cup odyssey for Ireland’s short track speed skaters across two continents and four events to a close at this weekend’s competition in Dordrecht, Netherlands.

Day One (25 November) began with the 1500m heats. McAnuff lined up in Heat 2 where he finished 6th in a time of 2:22.991. He was ranked 71st for the distance at this World Cup. There was plenty of drama in Heat 10 where there was a restart after a crash involving a number of skaters and in the rerun O’Brien was infringed upon by another athlete and promoted to third with a time 2:29.875. For the quarterfinals, O’Brien was drawn in Heat 4 where he came in 6th in a time of 2:17.135.

The 500m preliminaries were on the agenda for the afternoon of Day One and McAnuff raced in Heat 5 where he posted a time of 44.136 coming in fifth for a distance ranking of 76th. O’Brien rounded out the first day for Team Ireland by ending up third in a time of 43.128 in Heat 15. He was ranked 51st in the distance at this World Cup.

The Irish skaters were back on ice for Day Two (26 November) where they contested the 1000m preliminaries. Heat 12 saw McAnuff race to a fifth place finish in a time of 1:28.916 and placed 73rd for the distance. O’Brien crossed the line in Heat 15 with a time of 1:29.370 and was advanced to the next round. He finished fifth in Heat 5 of the 1000m heats in a time of 1:27.993.

O’Brien returned on Day Three (27 November) for the 1500m ranking finals. He raced in Heat 5 where he recorded a time of 2:17.322 for fifth place and five World Cup points. He was ranked in 40th place for the distance in Dordrecht.

O’Brien took to the ice for the last time on Day Four (28 November) for the 1000m ranking finals where he skated in Heat 2. He finished third in a time of 1:31.880 and placed 33rd for the distance which gave him 12 World Cup points and an overall classification of 57th.

“I’m really happy and thankful to be back racing this week,” McAnuff said. “Racing the top athletes in the world and competing at another international event and Olympic qualifier has been a great experience. I enjoyed myself and was proud of my performance. Balancing my final year of medical school and training is difficult, but worth it.”

“It’s been a long two months of racing between the Asian and European World Cups,” O’Brien said. “I am happy with my performance at my first World Cup series competing for Ireland and I hope to build on this base. This week I am happy that I was able to better my 1000m performance from the previous World Cups, but there is still a lot of work to be done.”

The final World Cup classification for the Irish short track speed skaters is as follows:

Ryan McAnuff – 500m (98th), 1000m (102nd), 1500m (101st)

Sean McAnuff – 500m (93rd), 1000m (99th), 1500m (86th)

Liam O’Brien – 500m (66th), 1000m (57th), 1500m (43rd)

The four World Cups served as qualifying events for the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympic Games. The Special Olympic Qualification Classification quotas will be allocated by 13 December 2021. Full rules of the Olympic qualifying procedures can be viewed here.

 

McAnuff and O’Brien Set For Final World Cup

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Ryan McAnuff (27) and Liam O’Brien (23) line up this weekend at the ISU World Cup Short Track Speed Skating in Dordrecht, Netherlands (25-28 November), the final stage of four qualifying events for the 2022 Beijing Olympics.

Both McAnuff and O’Brien will be racing from tomorrow (25 November) inside the Optisport SportBoulevard. First up will be the 1500m heats and quarterfinals which will be followed later in the day by 500m preliminaries and heats. On Friday (26 November) the 1000m preliminaries and heats will take place. Subsequent rounds and finals will be held on Saturday (27 November) and Sunday (28 November).

For both skaters, the goal again will be to progress as far as they can in each distance to accumulate ranking points. There are 32 Olympic quota places in the 500m and 1000m distances and 36 in the 1500m on offer. Full rules of the Olympic qualifying procedures can be viewed here.

This will be McAnuff’s season debut. After the first three World Cup events, the current World Cup Classification for O’Brien in each distance is as follows:

500m (60th), 1000m (69th), 1500m (42nd)

“I’m really excited to be back skating, especially here in the Netherlands,” McAnuff said. “I hope to make Ireland proud!”

“I was really pleased with how I raced last weekend in Hungary,” O’Brien said. “I am hoping to repeat that performance this weekend in the Netherlands.”

The ISU World Cup Short Track Speed Skating will be streamed live on the ISU Skating YouTube channel. The event can also be followed on social media via the #ShortTrackSkating hashtag.

Schedule (Irish time)

25 November

09:21 1500m Heats
11:46 1500m Quarterfinals
14:04 500m Preliminaries
15:34 500m Heats

26 November

10:56 1000m Preliminaries
13:04 1000m Heats

27 November

09:31 1500m Ranking Finals
10:12 500m Ranking Finals
12:33 1500m Semifinals
13:26 1500m Finals
14:15 500m Quarterfinals
14:53 500m Semifinals
15:30 500m Finals

28 November

09:27 1000m Ranking Finals
12:37 1000m Quarterfinals
13:18 1000m Semifinals
13:58 1000m Finals

Six Speed Skaters Named To 2021/2022 ISAI National Team

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The Board of Directors of the Ice Skating Association of Ireland (ISAI) have selected six speed skaters to the ISAI National Team for the 2021/2022 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

Speed Skating

Tara Donoghue
Rory McCarthy
Siún Ní Dhúgáin

 

Ryan McAnuff has been selected to the National Team for the sixth consecutive season. At the 2020 European Short Track Speed Skating Championships in Debrecen, Hungary, he finished in 34th place overall. He is currently studying medicine at the University of Limerick.

“I am very excited to once again be named to the Irish Short Track Speed Skating team,” Ryan said. “I am excited for another season with a growing Irish team where we look to qualify for the 2022 Olympic Games.”

Sean McAnuff joins his brother Ryan on the National Team again for the sixth time in a row. He placed 35th at the 2020 European Short Track Speed Skating Championships. Since December 2020, he has been training in Budapest, Hungary.

“I feel fortunate to be able to prepare for the Olympic year with Team Hungary, one of the best teams in the world, ” Sean said. “This opportunity has encouraged me to really have fun in the preparation process, and work harder than ever so that I can be the most well-rounded athlete possible. My goals are not only to succeed in my performance on the ice, but to see growth in my attitude, my perspectives, and discovery of what my definition of success looks like in my sport. It can be so easy to get caught up in thinking about the Olympic Qualifiers each day, so I am working hard to stay focused on living in the moment, celebrating my daily successes, and taking in the enjoyment of this season of life.”

Liam O’Brien has been selected for the Irish national team for the third time. Earlier this year, he finished 25th at European Short Track Speed Skating Championships in Gdansk, Poland and 29th at the World Short Track Speed Skating Championships in Rotterdam, Netherlands. He currently trains in Seongnam, Republic of Korea.

“I am looking forward to racing again this season,” O’Brien said. “The focus is to be competitive at the World Cups, with the end goal being Beijing at the beginning of 2022.”

Tara Donoghue placed 11th in the Mass Start race at the 2020 World Junior Speed Skating Championships in Tomaszów Mazowiecki, Poland, the best result ever by an Irish ice skater at an ISU Championships. In 2019, she also became the first ice skater to earn a spot for Ireland at the Winter Youth Olympic Games which she was unfortunately unable to use due to age restrictions.

“My goals for the upcoming season are to qualify for the Senior World Cups in the 3000 metres and mass start,” Donoghue said. “From there on the ultimate goal would be qualification for the Beijing 2022 Olympics.”

Rory McCarthy was the first male long track speed skater to be named to the National Team in 2020. Based in the Netherlands, his favourite distance is the 500 metres.

“For the coming season, I hope to enjoy getting back to competition and seeing how far I can push myself,” McCarthy said.

Siún Ní Dhúgáin was also selected to the National Team for the first time in 2020. 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.

Bright Spots For Irish Ice Skating Amidst 2020 Challenges

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Despite the past twelve months presenting major obstacles for our association and members, 2020 has not been without its highlights for Irish ice skating.

January was a hectic month with the conclusion of the Ice Skating Association of Ireland’s seasonal Emerald Skate lessons, a test session and the annual Winter Challenge. Internationally, Conor Stakelum represented Ireland at the ISU European Figure Skating Championships in Graz, Austria, while Ryan and Sean McAnuff flew the flag at the ISU European Short Track Speed Skating Championships in Debrecen, Hungary. Ava Ryan became the first female short track speed skater from Ireland to participate at the ISU World Junior Short Track Speed Skating Championships in Bormio, Italy.

In February, Tara Donoghue continued to make history for Irish ice skating. At the ISU World Junior Speed Skating Championships in Tomaszów Mazowiecki, Poland, she placed 11th and 18th in the mass start and 3000 metres races respectively, the highest placements ever for an Irish skater at an ISU Championships. The same month saw the Irish National Figure Skating Championships held at Lee Valley, London where five titles were decided. While it turned out to be one of the final domestic events on the Irish sporting calendar to take place before an initial lockdown in March, the effects of the pandemic were already being felt with the shipment of the championships medals from China being delayed.

Tara Donoghue was the recipient of an ISU Development Programme Junior Scholarship in May becoming only the second Irish athlete ever to be awarded.

Odhrán Allen and Clara Peters were welcome additions to the ISAI Board of Directors in July. Later in the month, the ISAI announced its largest ever national team for figure skating and speed skating.

With a slew of events cancelled or postponed due to the pandemic, it was October before Elizabeth Golding and Sophia Tkacheva became the first national team members to compete internationally when they took part in the Budapest Trophy in Budapest, Hungary.

In November, Golding was back in Budapest for the Santa Claus Cup where she finished fourth.

The ISAI’s Annual General Meeting went online in December with members virtually attending via Zoom.

2021 looks like it will be challenging both domestically and internationally for the foreseeable future with the ISAI’s Emerald Skate lessons for the 2020/2021 winter season and the ISU European Figure Skating Championships next month, for which Sam McAllister had been selected, already cancelled. The ISAI will continue to prioritise the health and safety of its members as we look forward to the day normal activities can be resumed.