“Even though it’s challenging, it’s been one of the most rewarding experiences of my life,” said Syd McCornack, a sophomore at NWA who recently took up competitive ice skating. “I never expected to be so interested.”
McCornack has been skating for just over six months now, and decided to start competing soon after learning. She says that despite her quick introduction to the sport, she’s learned a hugely substantial amount from her friends and the internet.
“Most people don’t just take up a sport and decide to go competitive after still being fairly new,” she said. “I just heard one day that you can sign up for tournaments online and thought it was cool. I’m incredibly lucky to have a lot of resources to learn from and a really good support system.”
After she was introduced to it by a friend, skating stuck with McCornack because she felt it was therapeutic, allowing her to distance from the stress of day-to-day and school life.
“I first got into it when my friend and I made plans to hang out, and I had never gone skating before, it immediately stuck with me,” she said. “I really enjoy just being on the ice, when I’m skating it gives me one specific thing to focus on and I don’t have to think about the next homework assignment I have due.”
McCornack is a figure skater, meaning she performs before a group of judges. She spins, jumps, does footwork and many other intricate moves on skates. Figure skating differs from speed skating in its freedom, as speed skating has strict regulations surrounding what skaters are allowed to do.
“I can kind of just let it flow out of me,” she said. “I don’t have to worry about many restrictions, although obviously if you want to do well in competitions you have to execute the moves pretty much perfectly.”
She says the most challenging part of learning figure skating has been the jumps and quick foot rotations that have to be executed at very specific angles. Figure skating is regarded as a fairly dangerous sport, but most injuries are the result of overuse and fatigue, as mastering the sport takes lots of practice.
“If you land on the wrong part of your skate or at the wrong angle you can fall super easily and get hurt,” she said. “I’m still not very good at some things but I still think I’m getting better and it’s a lot of fun.”
McCornack encourages others to take that leap and try something new, and she plans to keep ice skating every weekend and says she is improving more each day.
“I really didn’t think it would be anything special or new,” she said. “In the end though, here I am competitively skating and enjoying every second of it. That has to mean something.”
