Congratulations to year 8 student Kyleigh, who recently achieved gold in the 2022 New Zealand Ice Figure Skating Championships in Auckland.

Kyleigh's journey to gold began four years ago at the age of eight. After enjoying her first ever casual skate at Alpine Ice, Kyleigh was hooked and asked her parents if she could learn to skate.

At the time, Kyleigh was also a talented competitive artistic gymnast, and split her time between the two sports. We can't begin to imagine how Kyleigh and her whānau managed to juggle all of the training sessions!

After three years, Kyleigh made the decision to focus on figure skating. And focus she does! In all, Kyleigh participates in over 10 hours of training each and every week, consisting of on- and off-ice sessions, body conditioning and choreography classes.

Kyleigh is one of the most humble students we know, but also one of the most ambitious, with extremely high expectations for herself. Her best times are when she gives a "clean skate" (meaning very few or no mistakes), masters a new skating element, and achieves gold.

Kyleigh has drive, self-discipline and diligence in spades, so it is not surprising to those who know her that she has gone on to make her mark in this highly competitive sporting world. Merrin School Ngā Whetū Kohara is so very proud of Kyleigh and all that she has achieved so far. One thing's for sure... Kyleigh's journey has only just begun. We can't wait to see where your determination and talent takes you next, Kyleigh!

(For students/whānau who are interested in learning to skate, your first step might be to enrol with Kiwi Skate at Alpine Ice, which will give you basic skating skills. From there, you can attend developmental classes and eventually engage a personal coach.)