Grade 10 Sarah H. began figure skating in January 2023, with no prior experience. A little over three years later, she is a competitive skater who travels up to 6 hours for competitions and takes the ice as entirely her own.
It hasn’t always been easy. Sarah is candid about the physical toll the sport has taken: bruises, ER visits, braces and crutches that come with pushing yourself through a demanding discipline. But ask her whether it’s worth it, and the answer is immediate.
“Yes, I’ve gotten injured my share of times, but it’s the best and oh so freeing nonetheless.”
That word, freeing, comes up again and again when Sarah talks about skating. There’s something about stepping onto the ice that draws a clean line between the rink and everything outside it. “All worries and problems are left off the ice once you step onto it,” she says. “Figure skating to me is such a freeing sport.” For a Grade 10 student navigating everything that comes with the sport, that kind of clarity is no small thing.
- Worth Every Fall
When Sarah reflects on what figure skating has given her, she offers a list that is equal parts honest and heartfelt. Her full takeaway from three years on the ice? “Other than bruises, ER visits, braces and crutches, [figure skating has given me] happiness and friendship.”
That balance, the hard stuff and the good stuff, says a lot about how Sarah approaches her sport. She doesn’t gloss over the difficulty, but she doesn’t let it define the experience either. What she has built through skating is a community, a sense of joy, and a deep appreciation for what she can do when she keeps showing up.
“I love it because all worries and problems are left off the ice once you step onto it.”
And she has every intention of continuing to show up. Sarah’s goals are clear and ambitious: she wants to continue climbing the skating level ladder and compete at higher levels, with gold firmly in her sights. Three years into a sport she came to with no experience, she is already competing at regional distances — and she is just getting started.
- The Schedule That Fits The Skater
Figure skating is not a casual hobby. It demands early mornings, consistent practice, travel for competitions, and a time commitment that can be difficult to fit into a traditional school schedule. For Sarah, homeschooling has made all the difference.
“Home education has allowed me to be able to spend more time on the sport I love and gives me more opportunities to do the thing I love,” she says simply.
More time on the ice means more repetitions, more refinement, and more chances to push into the harder skills that will carry her toward those higher competitive levels.
There is a quiet but powerful connection between Sarah’s love of the ice and what home education makes possible. The freedom to shape her day around her training, rather than fitting training around a fixed schedule, means she can show up to the rink with energy, focus, and time to spare. For a skater with gold in her sights, that flexibility isn’t just convenient. It’s the foundation on which everything else is built.
Three years ago, Sarah H. stepped onto the ice for the first time. She left her worries at the boards, found her footing, and hasn’t looked back since.
The HCOS community is cheering you on from the stands, Sarah. Keep aiming for that gold!
