On top of the world

Wind of Change

October 2012

"Argh!" I was getting frustrated with myself.

This was the third year in a row I just missed sectionals. Two years ago, when I was in juvenile, I finished in sixth, missing fourth place by 2 points. A year ago, in the intermediate level, I finished in fifth, missing fourth place by 0.5 points. Now, I'm looking at the result sheet, and some girl from Connecticut (of all New England states, it had to be Connecticut!) beat me by just a tenth of a point, and so I finished in fifth again.

But as the evening continued and as I watched some of my rinkmates compete in the junior ladies free skate, I reanalyzed my performances. They were both clean. I should be proud of myself. But I wanted more. I needed more.

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The next few months between 2012 and 2013 went by in a blur.

Perhaps missing sectionals was a blessing in disguise. It only pushed me to train harder. During the off season, I got all of my triples except for the Lutz and the Axel. I tested for junior free skate and moves in the field, and I passed both of the tests. So this season, I planned to compete in juniors, and I planned to win.

Then in February, my mom broke news to me that she signed me up for a summer camp that Olympic coach Brian Orser would be hosting. I became very excited. Then she told me Katya's mom had signed Katya up for it too, so then I became super excited!

But some difficult news came as well. During the off season, ice time became limited, so I had less training time. Then Stanni became pregnant. Seeing how much I wanted to get past regionals and move on to sectionals and nationals one day, she advised me to find another coach who could give me more attention. Stanni and Spence were starting to have their hands full with more incoming students and now with the incoming baby, they simply could not help me reach my goals anymore. To be honest, my mom and I had also been discussing about training with a new coach, so these strange, coincidental events really turned up in our favor. That doesn't mean I wasn't upset about having to leave my coaches. I would miss them very much.

What's even more strange is that Katya told me she was also planning on leaving Stanni and Spence, and that she and her family were actually going to Toronto to move there permanently. Her father, a professor in computer science, found a position at the University of Toronto. Her mother was stay-home, so she had no problem with the move. Her parents planned on enrolling Katya into high school there, and it would be okay for her because she would be a freshman like everyone else.

I was blown away by all of these sudden changes. But it didn't end there. In April, I received more news.

"Lyuba, I'm going back to Iceland this summer," Árni told me.

"Oh cool! Take pictures for me," I said. But then I noticed the corners of his mouth were turned down. "Wait...you mean to tell me you're moving back there...for good?"

Árni didn't say anything after, but I knew. I hugged him tightly. "I'll never forget you..."

For two to three weeks, this whole whirlwind of news knocked me off balance during training and school. Everything I was doing on ice--even if it looked alright--felt off. And although I still performed well in school, I found it even more difficult to focus during class than usual.

But after much thought, prayer, and meditation, I found my rhythm once again. I had new programs for this season: I am skating to Moon River for my short program and Nuvole Bianche for my free skate. For the spring exhibition, which would be the last performance Árni would get to see from me, I was planning to perform my free skate. On a warm Sunday afternoon in May, just a week before the exhibition, Katya and I got lucky; we were the only figure skaters at the rink. We decided to give each other critiques on each others' routines. This year, we would be competing against each other since Katya decided to stay in the junior level, so she was reusing her programs from last year for competition, and she would be performing her long program in the exhibition.