Community Talk

When I was a child, adults called me a ball of fire. I went in for dancing and gymnastics. I was a leader in my nursery school group. But it was skating that let me express my energy in an artistic way.

I started skating when I was 4 years old. I just loved it the minute I set my feet on the ice. When you take to the ice, you can forget about everything and just enjoy the freshness of the wind and the familiar smoothness of the rink under your feet. It is wonderful to know that if you work hard and practise a lot, you can reach great heights. But on my way to success I had some difficulties. I changed three coaches and three skating rinks. I fell, I cried, and I made mistakes. But every time I picked myself up and went into battle.

When I started school, I trained every day for 2 hours. I had to get up at 7 am and go to the skating rink.  I did difficult jumps, made various figures, and tried not to fall down.

Sometimes I took part in skating competitions. I was very nervous before performing, because I knew I would be skating and a big audience would be watching. But when you hear a familiar melody, your body starts responding to it, and you begin skating and forget all your worries. I always did well and was happy.

I had been skating for 7 years before I gave it up. I did not get on well with my coach, so I stopped going to the skating practice. I have a lot of hobbies now, but it is a great pleasure for me to go skating and remember what it is like to be on the ice.