2025-26 British and Irish figure skating

[FlossieH]

Does anyone know which skaters are and are not continuing?

I know Kristen has retired, Ana and Luke have split, Zarah Wood has a new partner, and Lilah and Lewis are continuing - but that is all I know!

Has Aleksandra Golovkina definitely been released by Lithuania, or is she still waiting? I know that she can't compete for GBR for a bit because her last international competition was in December.

I am holding off starting the 2026-27 thread for a bit because there is too much uncertainty at the moment - not only in with regard to skaters, but also with things like the new tech minimums which have not yet been announced by the ISU.

 

[iceman1983]

Hello, and welcome to the forum!

Alexa first came up on my radar about a year ago, and I posted a few times about her (e.g. here) but didn't use her full name because of her age. Suffice to say, I was impressed with what I saw.

You have a very talented daughter. And working with people like Raf, Michel and Danielle is going to do wonders for her progress. I am looking forward to seeing her over the coming years.

Just a pity she isn't a bit older, because we could be doing with her on the team now!

Thank you for the info about her. And please keep us updated.



CaroLiza_fan

Thank you for your kind words she just landed her 3 Flip clean this morning at practice so she’s progressing well. Hoping

Does anyone know which skaters are and are not continuing?

I know Kristen has retired, Ana and Luke have split, Zarah Wood has a new partner, and Lilah and Lewis are continuing - but that is all I know!

Has Aleksandra Golovkina definitely been released by Lithuania, or is she still waiting? I know that she can't compete for GBR for a bit because her last international competition was in December.

I am holding off starting the 2026-27 thread for a bit because there is too much uncertainty at the moment - not only in with regard to skaters, but also with things like the new tech minimums which have not yet been announced by the ISU.

Not sure but I know all eyes will be on Alice Smith and Tao Macrae for their next cycle although Tao is currently studying in Japan

 

[Ruthypegs]

Does anyone know which skaters are and are not continuing?

I know Kristen has retired, Ana and Luke have split, Zarah Wood has a new partner, and Lilah and Lewis are continuing - but that is all I know!

Has Aleksandra Golovkina definitely been released by Lithuania, or is she still waiting? I know that she can't compete for GBR for a bit because her last international competition was in December.

I am holding off starting the 2026-27 thread for a bit because there is too much uncertainty at the moment - not only in with regard to skaters, but also with things like the new tech minimums which have not yet been announced by the ISU.

Phebe and James are continuing (they have a Grand Prix spot) - that's all I know!

 

[t0pfan]

Thank you for your kind words she just landed her 3 Flip clean this morning at practice so she’s progressing well. Hoping

Not sure but I know all eyes will be on Alice Smith and Tao Macrae for their next cycle although Tao is currently studying in Japan

Sorry, do you know anything more about Tao Macrae? He seemed like a very promising junior, but he has almost disappeared from the radar. Is he planning to compete?

Alice also looks like a very promising young skater. Hopefully she continues to develop and goes from strength to strength.

 

[iceman1983]

Sorry, do you know anything more about Tao Macrae? He seemed like a very promising junior, but he has almost disappeared from the radar. Is he planning to compete?

Alice also looks like a very promising young skater. Hopefully she continues to develop and goes from strength to strength.

Tao is currently studying in Japan but is training and with one of the top teams in Japan and is still keeping in touch with Michal Brezina. Not sure what competitions he planning to attend yet.

 

[CaroLiza_fan]

Just letting you know that @NewLaces has done a very interesting study into building an efficient ice rink in the UK. It is entitled "Engineering To Save Ice Skating", and the findings can be read in this PDF.

When discussing it, I pointed out the small matter that Dundonald is not just the only public rink in Northern Ireland, but it is the only public rink on the whole of the island of Ireland. And it is therefore actually serving 7,386,455 people (1,927,855 in the North; and 5,458,600 in the South). And they linked to this story from the start of the month that I had not come across:

https://www.irishtimes.com/business...in-dublin-gets-backing-from-key-stakeholders/

Wow!!! That would be a real game changer for the skaters in the South.

Oh, I hope it goes ahead!

CaroLiza_fan

 

[brblja]

Sorry, do you know anything more about Tao Macrae? He seemed like a very promising junior, but he has almost disappeared from the radar. Is he planning to compete?

Alice also looks like a very promising young skater. Hopefully she continues to develop and goes from strength to strength.

He was at the local Aqua cup competition last week, not great score-wise (SP 51.07, FS 87.89) but it’s pretty early in the season. He attempted 3A in both programs - two falls but the FS 3A was fully rotated. In the competition thread, @tsuyoboogie shared some of the performances, including his:

Post in thread '2026 Aqua Cup | Jul 17 - 18'
https://www.goldenskate.com/forum/threads/2026-aqua-cup-jul-17-18.103795/post-3592402

 

[t0pfan]

He was at the local Aqua cup competition last week, not great score-wise (SP 51.07, FS 87.89) but it’s pretty early in the season. He attempted 3A in both programs - two falls but the FS 3A was fully rotated. In the competition thread, @tsuyoboogie shared some of the performances, including his:

Post in thread '2026 Aqua Cup | Jul 17 - 18'
https://www.goldenskate.com/forum/threads/2026-aqua-cup-jul-17-18.103795/post-3592402

Thanks a lot! Hopefully he'll settle those jumps down as the season progresses and be in the mix for a spot at Europeans. He's always a joy to watch

 

[FlossieH]

@CaroLiza_fan before I do the new thread, I was wanting to check what Irish skaters we have? I think there are some who have switched from USA/CAN to represent Ireland? Do any of them have the tech minimums for Euros or Junior worlds?

 

[CaroLiza_fan]

@CaroLiza_fan before I do the new thread, I was wanting to check what Irish skaters we have? I think there are some who have switched from USA/CAN to represent Ireland? Do any of them have the tech minimums for Euros or Junior worlds?

Yep, there are some new arrivals from North America. Junior Ice Dancers Anna Waugh / Matthew Jacoby (USA), and Junior Ladies skater Catherine Pinkerton (CAN).

The profile page on the ISAI page is probably the best place to start:

https://isai.ie/figure-skating/figure-skating-national-team/

However the profiles for the new members haven't been filled in yet. And I have found over the years that the page tends not to include everybody that represents Ireland. For example, the past two Advanced Novice Ladies Champions, Lexie GRAHAM and Caoilfhionn KAVANAGH (who we saw go head-to-head at the Rooster Cup in April), are not included. I don't actually know Lexie's age, but I think that Caoilfhionn has now aged out of Advanced Novices (she was born in 2010) and will have to move into Juniors. For that matter, neither of the Junior Ladies skaters that competed at 2025 Nationals, Julianna FARRELL (who has now aged out of Juniors) and Eeva O'BRIEN, are included.

As for minimums, I think the only way you can find out is to look up each of their individual Skating Scores pages. Oh, I really wish the ISU would include stats like that on the ISU Bios.

All the best with making the new thread.

CaroLiza_fan

 

[t0pfan]

British skaters selected for the 2026/27 ISU Junior Grand Prix Season​

• Annabel Mann & Jack Hammond — JGP Riga, Latvia: 26–29 August 2026
• Ashlie Slatter & Louis Gregory — JGP Bangkok, Thailand: 2–5 September 2026
• Mimi Marler-Davies & Joseph Black — JGP Ankara, Turkey: 16–19 September 2026
• Lloyd Thomson — JGP Bangkok (2–5 September) and JGP Ankara (16–19 September)
• Edward Solovyov — JGP Batumi, Georgia (23–26 September) and JGP Gdańsk, Poland (7–10 October)
• Arina Vorobeva — JGP Ankara (16–19 September)
• Alice Smith — JGP Batumi (23–26 September) and JGP Gdańsk (7–10 October)
• Mia Craig — JGP Bangkok (2–5 September)