As many of you know (probably because I have harassed you all to get your votes!), I am participating in a contest with the Globe And Mail to win 2 tickets to the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver!
My story is a bit different than the other stories that are being entered in the contest. Many people have taken the "reporter" approach and gone to a sporting event, writing a play by play kind of article... quotes an all! But my story, although it does include a sporting event, does not focus on that event alone - it is a story about my love and passion for the sport of figure skating.
Basically, after training for many years with a goal of being at the Olympics, competing, I realized that at my age and stage, education is the most important, and that, although I am a talented figure skater, there is a certain level of talent, dedication to training, and of course money that is involved in becoming an internationally competitive figure skater.
I went to the World Figure Skating Championships with my mother after I had decided to retire as a competitive figure skater and found my love for the sport again.
The old man that sat in front of us for almost the entire competition was my greatest inspiration. Him and his late wife used to watch figure skating together - she loved it! (I'm assuming he didn't always want to watch it as much as he does now). But now, he goes to as many competitions as possible! He would ask me questions about the jumps and spins and field moves that the skaters were doing - he didn't really know any of the technicalities - but he was so fascinated by their talent!
For all those figure skaters out there..... try watching figure skating without being jealous - you know you all do it! - and appreciate the time, dedication, and talent of the figure skaters!
