77 talented skaters, the youngest just aged seven, took part in the recent 7th Fuji Ice Palace Singapore National Figure Skating Championships on February 2 and 3, 2008.
The competition kicked off with a first, an event called Future Stars designed for the beginner-level skater. This category saw 13 competitors aged between 7 and 10 years of age in the Ladies A event. It is admirable how the youngest skaters in this competition – Claire Casey of Chatsworth International School, Jermaine Seah of Convent of the Holy Infant Jesus Primary School (Toa Payoh), Nadja Chong of United World College SEA and from the Future Stars Men event Dylan Jellinek of St Joseph Primary School (Australia) – all aged seven, overcame their nerves and delivered their programs with zest and determination in front of a packed audience of cheering parents and supporters.
Another first this year was the opening of the national championship to foreign competitors. How do local skaters feel about this change from the previously all-Singaporean and Singaporean permanent residents competition?
"The Novice Ladies event was probably one of the most anticipated event throughout the competition,” said 14-year-old Novice category competitor Alexandria Wong of Methodist Girls' School. “Besides the already stiff competition from Skye Casey, Anja Chong and Sarah Afiqah Rodgers, there were also Leong Kai Jing from Canada, Ching Siau Chian and Kimberly Wan both from Malaysia. My initial reaction was ‘Oops! Time to get out of complacency mode.’ I learnt that I was up against competitors from overseas just after I passed my International Skating Union (ISU) grading test at novice level on 28 December 2007, exactly one month before the competition. As I got accustomed to the idea, I decided that it was a good thing for all of us. It exposes us to the reality of competition, competing not just among familiar skater friends, but out of comfort zone against competitors who bring skills and talent from across the miles."
And close competition it was indeed! For the four categories – Pre-novice Ladies, Pre-novice Men, Novice Ladies and Junior Ladies – competitors had to skate a short program on day one of the competition and a long program on day two. The points received for the short program was added to the long/free program, and the highest combined points total made up the final score.
Asked how Alexandria felt having emerged the National Champion of the Novice Ladies category, Alexandria enlightened that she was effectively ranking second with a total final score of 77.22 points. The highest total score of 89.15 in this category was chalked by Canadian competitor Leong Kai Jing who executed her programs with high technical skills. However, since it was the national competition of Singapore, the Singaporean who attained the highest score in the event assumes the national champion title.
‘That was why Kai Jing and I stood on the podium together and I thank her for sharing that moment with me,” said Alexandria. “Over the two days of competition, I got to know my overseas competitor friends from Canada and Malaysia and thoroughly enjoyed the encouragement and cheering on of each other. It was a great pity that Skye Casey and Sarah Rodgers could not make it to the competition due to illness. The gelling of athletes who train in different parts of the globe when they come together is truly magical!"
Alexandria is one of four skaters who has started on a trainee judges program. She had hands-on experience during the two-day competition shadow-judging events from Future Stars to Juvenile levels. "Learning to be a judge will for now help me trouble-shoot my own skating. In time to come, I would be able to contribute to the sport as a judge," Alexandria enthused.
For those who had missed the glitter and excitement of this competition, here are the results of the two-day competition held at Fuji Ice Palace.
Name – Nation – Points – FS
Future Stars Ladies 10 yrs and under – A
Joelle Bavaud – SIN – 23.91 – 1
Caire Casey – SIN – 18.88 – 2
Charmaine Kum – SIN – 16.59 – 3
Future Stars Ladies 11 yrs and over – B
Natalie Goh – SIN – 20.62 – 1
Jolyn Tan – SIN – 18.21 – 2
Elizabeth Fonseca – SIN – 18.09 – 3
Future Stars Men
Chadwick Wang – SIN – 2085 – 1
Chong Kai En – SIN – 19.86 – 2
Ron Joe Ng – SIN – 13.32 – 3
Pre-preliminary Ladies 10 yrs and under – A
Chloe Koh – SIN – 26.02 – 1
Vanessa Leung – SIN – 22.94 – 2
Linda Von Atzigen – SIN – 21.27 – 3
Pre-prelimiary Ladies 17 yrs and under – B
Alexandra Martin-SIN-23.03-1
Charissa Goh-SIN-19.53-2
Naomi Ng-SIN-19.20-3
Preliminary Ladies 12 yrs and under – A
Claudia Krogmeier-SIN-30.54-1
Julia Von Atzigen-SIN-29.50-2
Gazel Lee-SIN-27.11-3
Preliminary Ladies 17 yrs and under – B
Wong Jo-Yi-MAL-28.01-1
Audrey Tan-SIN-24.08-2
Pang Xi Xian-SIN-22.70-3
Saadiah Noor Hussin-MAL-21.84-4
Pang Xin Xian-SIN-20.75-5
Preliminary Men 12 yrs and under – A
Wong De-vin-MAL-29.82-1
Pre-juvenile Ladies 13 yrs and under – A
Bramina Braet-SIN-34.02-1
Debbie Stuart-SIN-31.30-2
Michelle Lee-SIN-28.68-3
Pre-juvenile Ladies 17 yrs and under – B
Casatrina LEE SIN 23.52 1
Elishea HIDAJAT SIN 22.49 2
Juvenile Ladies 14 yrs and under – A
Phoebe Wang-SIN-48.09-1
Jasmine Mehaffey-SIN-43.74-2
Celine Bavaud-SIN-40.31-3
Juvenile Ladies 17 yrs and under – B
Nana Tanamoto-SIN-25.39-1
Juvenile Men 14 yrs and under – A
Chai Yen Rong-MAL-32.08-1
Max Ko-SIN-30.90-2
Name-Nation-Points-SP-FS
Pre-novice Mens
Maxel Lee-SIN-56.13-1-1
Novice Ladies
Leong Kai Jing-CAN-89.15-1-1
Alexandria Wong-SIN-77.22-4-2
Kimberly Wan-MAL-75.84-3-3
Anja Chong-SIN-75.61-2-4
Siau Chian Ching-Mal-65.02-5-5
Junior Ladies
Sarah Paw-SIN-84.51-1-2
Brittany Lau-SIN-82.52-2-1
Rachel Ng-MAL-72.02-3-4
Tasha Benfield-SIN-68.15-4-3
Adult Bronze Ladies
Kam Chun Yi-SIN-6.61-1
Adult Silver Ladies
Noor Hidayah Sabrina Hassan-SIN-12.86-1
Clara Teo-SIN-12.39-2
Adult Gold Ladies
Isabelle Tan-SIN-15.67-1
Surayu Dato Ismail-MAL-14.87-2
Adult Masters Men
Ricardo Lachika-SIN-35.75-1
Hi Rebecca. Both of my daughters learned to skate in Singapore from both local and foreign coaches. HOnestly speaking, some coaches were a LOT better than others. Some coaches worked great with other skaters but not with my kids. So keep in mind that In choosing a coach, there’s always a bit of chemistry involved between the skater and the coach, and that can never be predicted in advance.
However, to help you with theimportant fundamental stuff, you should go to http://www.coaching.com.sg. This is the official website for the National Registry of Coaches in Singapore. It has a database of all the coaches in all the sports who have taken the National Coaching Accrediation Program run through the Singapore Sports Council. Anyone can claim to be a coach but not just anyone has been recognized by the SSC. So my advice would be to start here for names.
Then try to meet with the coach first. (This isn’t always easy because they’re usually busy on the ice!) Find out how much coaching they do–are they full or part time? How long were they skating and how far did they go before they became a coach? How many students do they have? What level are those students? Who you choose as a coach may also depend on what you want from the lessons. If you just want to give your child the basics so that they can get on the ice without going splat, then you don’t need a high level coach. But if your child falls in love with the sport–and this happens more than I can say–then you will need a coach who can help your child grow in the sport. If you don’t get a coach who can help your child advance through the different levels, then your child may become frustrated and lose interest. And that would be a shame.
If you want your child to learn quickly, then you should be considering three lessons per week. One lesson per week won’t be enough. Most parents say they will start with one lesson but soon realize they will need more. Skating is not an easy sport–if it were, everyone would do it! But it is, in my humble opinion, one of the best sports for children. It build strength and poise under pressure and, most of all, self-confidence. Who wouldn’t want to give those gifts to their children? Good luck with your search. Let us know if we can be of further help. If we can’t answer your questions ourselves, we will do our best to point you in the right direction.
Any good and committed ice skating coach you can recommend? My 6 year old son would like to learn ice skating.