Ice skater reminisces past experience and continues pursuing sport

It’s a typical Sunday practice. Junior Michelle Leung shivers slightly as she rubs her hands together in an effort to stay warm. It's 5 a.m., but the ice rink air is actually colder than the morning air outside. Her sleek, white skates glimmer as the lights reflect off the unmarked surface of the ice rink. She's half-asleep, but she can feel herself waking up with each stroke. 

Leung’s love of skating began at age 5. She was living in Vancouver, Canada. Leung said that since “everyone skates in Canada,” she decided to take up the sport, along with her brother, freshman Trevor Leung, and several other friends. She started private lessons with her current coach, 1996 U.S. national champion Rudy Galindo, when she was just 11 years old. 

“I like the speed and creativity of ice skating, and all the friends I have at the rink,” Leung said. 

Leung currently skates at Logitech, the Sharks Ice at San Jose almost everyday of the week. Though she has never considered herself a serious competitor, she has still participated in a few competitions for recreational purposes.

“Competitions are exhilarating because everyone in the audience is looking only at you. For three minutes, you have complete center stage,” Leung said. “It's helped me a lot with my confidence.”

Although she has had to cut down on practice time because of school work, Leung practices hard for five or six hours a week in the mornings, working to master some of the more complicated spins and jumps as she plans to test into senior level in the United States Figure Skating Association (USFSA) system. Leung’s favorite spin is the Biellmann spin, a move in which the skater extends one foot over the head from behind to form a teardrop. 

“It's probably the most cliche spin you can do in figure skating, but I like it because it feels amazing to spin and stretch at once,” Leung said. “It was the element I most wanted to do when I was younger.”

Leung’s proudest moment was when she performed a clean routine at the Crystalline Classic, a competition held in Santa Rosa last year. Since it was one of her last career competitions, performing a clean program without any slips or mistakes was especially meaningful.

In addition to skating, Leung has also started sharing what she does by teaching a group lesson beginner class twice a week. She finds interacting with the kids incredibly rewarding.

“They are so excited about skating,” Leung said.

As she continues to skate, Leung has enjoyed her participation in the sport.

“Skating has been my best friend for eleven years,” Leung said. “I don't regret anything I've done; every fall has helped teach me something new about getting up and trying again.”