Yarmouth figure skater heading to nationals

By Michael Gorman

THE VANGUARD

NovaNewsNow.com

It's difficult for Kayla Mooney to hide her excitement about her first trip to nationals.

The 15-year-old Grade 10 student at Yarmouth High qualified for her first nationals during a competition in Port Hawkesbury just two weeks ago where she took top spot in the silver triathlon and just the mention of the upcoming trip brings a smile to her face.

Mooney has skated since she was four. She said qualifying for nationals, which are in Brampton, Ont. in April, has always been a goal. And while she believed she could qualify at the event in Port Hawkesbury, she didn't view it as a lock. She said she had a pretty good feeling of what the other people in her group were capable of and she believed that if she skated her best she could earn the nationals birth.

"I felt pretty good (going into the competition)," she said last Tuesday night after practice at Mariners Centre. "Even though I wasn't skating my best the week before because I get a bit nervous, I was still confident because I've been skating good the whole year."

A skating triathlon involves three events: skating skills, an interpretive performance and a free skate. The free skate portion includes jumps and spins and would be typical of what most people would associate with figuring skating.

In the interpretive portion of the competition, the skater picks a character and their performance is judged on their ability to embody that character and relate to music (Mooney's character was a gypsy). For the skating skills portion of the competition, skaters are judged on their technical abilities such as edges and various turns.

Mooney won the skating skills and interpretive portions in Port Hawkesbury and placed second in the free skate. Her total score earned her the win and secured the trip to Brampton.

For much of the winter Mooney put in two two-hour sessions each week, but in the lead-up to the last competition she moved to four practices a week. The training demands will go up even more in preparation for nationals, as Mooney will look to skate just about any time she and her coach, Lorelei Murphy, can get ice time between now and April.

Although Mooney isn't sure what her first nationals will be like, she can't hide her enthusiasm when she talks about the trip.

"I'm really excited," she said. "I don't really have any expectations because I've never been there but I just want to skate the best I can."