The crowd sits
anxiously awaiting the start of the ice skating competition. They can see the breath of they skaters as
they practice a routine composed of jumps, spins, and various acrobatic
movements.
The first name
echoes through the facility and it’s freshman Lauren Rossbach. She steps onto the ice and the routine
begins. She finishes her last graceful
jump, bows to the crowd, and waits for the judge’s scores.
Rossbach began
ice-skating about eight years ago. She
watched other skaters such as Michelle Kwan’s and Sara Hughes’ inspiring
routines at the 1994 Olympics. After
watching these skaters she turned to her mom and said, “I want to do that.”
“Ice skating, I’ve
heard, is the second most expensive sport next to equestrian.” In order to participate you have to rent the
ice time as well as pay your coach.
“Ice skating is like double the cost of other sports.”
Despite the costs
Rossbach’s mom agreed to let her begin training, but she would have to wait
until the Tranquility Ice Plex opened the following year.
She soon began her
training and she now practices six to seven times a week. When Rossbach was younger her coaches would
choose both her music and her costume, but now that she’s older she gets to
choose. Her coach gives a little input,
but it is mainly up to her. When
choosing her music she has to follow one requirement, which is the music cannot
have any words in it.
The hard work
Rossbach puts into her skating is shown at competitions, which is her favorite
part about ice-skating.
Rossbach competes
in two different programs, the short program and the long program. The long program lasts three minutes and 15
seconds, while the short program lasts two minutes and 15 seconds.
She has won several
medals and trophies including the Schroeder Award. This award is given to the skater with the highest number of
points at the end of each year. One
person from each of the three figure skating clubs in Omaha is chosen. Rossbach belongs to the Figure Skating Club
of Omaha or the FSCO.
Besides receiving
the Schroeder Award, Rossbach feels that her biggest accomplishment in her
skating career is attending the Junior Olympics, which is now known as the
Junior Nationals. “I placed bad, but I
still got there.” The Junior Nationals
were held in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
When the
competition is finished and her scores are revealed, Rossbach heads home and
tomorrow she will begin training for her next competition.