6/19/08

9-year-old skater already a winner

by Beckye Randall

Arlington’s Shailyn Berry is only 9 years old, but she can skate circles around most older kids. Literally.

 Shailyn is a figure skater, an old pro on the ice at the tender age of nine, and already the proud owner of nearly 60 medals and trophies.

“She’s very disciplined,” said Shailyn’s grandmother Barbara Davison. “She spends at least 15 hours a week skating, and she loves it.”

Although she started skating when she was only 3, an early injury kept Shailyn off the ice for several years. She went back to the sport as a 6-year-old, taking private lessons from coach Lori Elliott. She entered her first competition in June 2006 and has been competing and winning ever since.

Last November, Shailyn competed in the Ice Crystal Classic held in Portland, Oregon. The young skater came home with six first-place trophies.

“Skaters are grouped according to levels of abilities rather than by age,” Davison explained. In a system that’s similar to martial arts training, “Shailyn sometimes competes against girls who are 12 or 14 years old.”

Shailyn, full of confidence and poise, is not intimidated by the challenge. “I like learning new things,” she said. “Skating is so much fun that it doesn’t feel like work at all.”

Davison takes care of her granddaughter’s training schedule while Shailyn’s mother works full-time. A part-time student at Kent Prairie Elementary, the skater rounds out her school day with a homeschool curriculum, often studying on her way to practice sessions. Although she’s a third grader, Shailyn reads at a 6th grade level.

In July Shailyn will compete in the Washington State Games of America at Olympicview Arena in Mountlake Terrace. If she places in the top three in her section, she’ll be eligible to attend the State Games of America in Colorado Springs. She also plans to compete in the Northwest Pacific Regional Championships in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, in October.

The Everett Figure Skating Club was founded four years ago with the opening of the Everett Community Ice Rink at Comcast Arena. It was officially sanctioned by U.S. Figure Skating in October of 2006. Davison is the club’s secretary and competition chair for an upcoming regional event.

“We’re very excited to be hosting the Pacific Northwest Interclub Skating Championships here in Everett August 1-3,” said Davison. “The Comcast Arena rink is a wonderful facility for skaters and we expect around 200 competitors from Canada, Idaho, Oregon, Washington and Alaska.”

The 3-day event is open to the public with free admission. “It’s not exactly Skate America,” which is coming to the Everett arena in November, “but we’ll see some really great young skaters with lots of potential.”

The Everett Figure Skating Club is also seeking sponsorships for the interclub contest, along with donation of items such as refillable water bottles, clipboards and pencils, copy paper and food for volunteers and judges. More information is posted on the club’s Web site at www.everettfsc.org.

Although she’s not quite ready for the professional level exhibited by athletes participating in the Skate America extravaganza, Shailyn hopes to play a role at the November event.

“I’m trying out to be a flower sweeper,” she said with a smile. These young skaters, between the ages of 9 and 12, keep the ice clear of flowers thrown in appreciation of the competitors’ performances.

Meanwhile, Shailyn will continue her training schedule, both on and off the ice, along with strength-building physical therapy. Her goal is to qualify for the Junior Nationals by the time she is 11, and like most young skating competitors, she has her eye on future Olympic gold.

“She is a little girl with big dreams,” said Davison. “She pours her heart and soul into ice skating. There is nothing she would rather do than put those ice skates on and soar across the ice, skating to the music.”

The busy youngster enjoys free time on the weekends for other activities, but doesn’t consider skating a chore.

 “It’s like flying through the air,” Shailyn explained. “I can express my emotions through music and movement and it makes me feel happy.”