The sharp blade slices across the glistening ice, leaving behind a crisp, sinuous trail. Junior Nandini Karthik holds her breath in the frigid air of the ice skating rink as she launches into a spin, turning the world into a blur of motion and sound.
“I just don’t think about anything else except for whatever I need to do,” Karthik said. “It just helps me forget about the outside world and whatever I have to do at home or school.”
Ice skating is a uniquely attractive activity for many MVHS students, with its balance of artistry and athleticism drawing in all kinds of people, according to Karthik. Statista reports that 11.44 million Americans ice skated in 2023. Many MVHS students embrace the challenging aspects of ice skating, along with the joy that comes from being completely immersed in the sport.
Although some students are introduced to recreational ice skating through their parents, it is ultimately the student’s own personal interest in the sport that keeps them active. For both Lynbrook High School sophomore Stanley Tan and Karthik, it was skating with someone familiar that helped maintain their interest in the activity. As for senior Emily Lin, it was her own mental fortitude that kept her active in the sport, despite the challenges skating presented when she first started.
“I threw a lot of tantrums when I was little,” Lin said. “There were a lot of tears and a lot of bribing. But other than that, I feel like mentally, I knew that I wouldn’t get better. I wouldn’t improve if I quit. So I just kept trying and trying and I kept falling down, but I kept getting back up. I think that’s what really helped, was the mentality of ‘I’m not going to improve unless I actually try.'”
After getting back up, MVHS students have always been ready to practice. To Karthik, the Axel jump is the hardest to perform as she must take off forward, rotate in the air, and land backward. The Camel Spin is another challenging move, where she spins on one leg with her other leg up in the air at an angle. Through performing moves like this, both Karthik and Tan enjoy the freedom of recreational skating. Tan adds that ice skating is one of the few sports that allow him to make up his own moves with creative liberty.
“It’s the fact that I get to be creative with it,” Tan said. “I can make up my own moves on ice. Compared to other sports like volleyball, where there’s only three maneuvers I can do, on ice skating I can do combinations, I can do choreography, I can spin, I can jump — it’s really fun.”
The thrill of spinning on ice is one of Lin’s favorite experiences, as is bringing smiles to the children she teaches. Tan, who is an instructor at the Cupertino Ice Center, teaches young children to skate in addition to adults. He says these interactions help with developing skills that will be useful in the future, making these memories all the more worthwhile.
“I coach people aged five all the way to adults around 80 years old,” Tan said. “You really need communication skills as well as leadership skills. If you see a child crying on the ice, how are you going to console them and comfort them? And communicating with those adults too is something to consider — for example, if they’re confused, you can’t really get too mad at them because they’re still learning.”
Since ice skating is something that cannot be practiced at home, Tan believes it can be a bit difficult to track improvement over time—even improvements in physique may not translate into gracefulness on the ice. Karthik adds that the mental perseverance that the sport requires, as well as its own difficulties, can often discourage skaters from ice skating in the future.
However, despite the challenges, Karthik says that the joys of ice skating make the experience worth it.
“I think everyone can do the sport,” Karthik said. “If you’re scared of doing it or whatever, you shouldn’t be scared to fall because you definitely will. I have numerous experiences of falling every single practice, but if you work hard, persevere, and have that goal, you should just practice, practice, practice and keep going at it.”
