ERIN – Local figure skater Ella Stamenkovic took home the gold medal for the second consecutive year at the Skate Ontario Provincial Championships.
The competition was held March 21 to 23 at the Stratford Rotary Complex.
Stamenkovic, 16, won gold in the Star 7 women and men’s artistic skating program.
“I had no idea what to expect at all. I just wanted to go out there and do my best and show everyone how hard I’ve worked this year,” said Stamenkovic.
“I had so many people supporting me, watching me on the live stream, and I thought that was the coolest thing ever.”
This year’s routine was performed to Carry you by Ruelle, a song Stamenkovic said means a lot to her personally.
“I listen to a lot of different songs, and I’ve tried a lot of different genres, but I really gravitate to things that represent my story, and things that I’ve went through in my life, said Stamenkovic.
She said the song represented ‘“seeing the light at the end of the tunnel”, something she said she has struggled with in the past.
“Little Ella, she couldn’t always see the light. And so now, when I look back and see how much I’ve grown and how I’ve achieved a lot of my goals, … I’m so much stronger.”
Stamenkovic choreographs her own routines, calling on her background in dance to challenge herself on the ice.
“I actually do the choreography for my routine, so I try to challenge myself and put [in] difficult turns and things that people don’t really see,” she said.
Preparing for this year’s competition wasn’t the only challenge the young skater faced, as she experienced the loss of two family members as well as an injury leading up to the competition.
“I really worked on my mindset this year, which I didn’t do last year, and my confidence this year, and I feel like that helped me a lot in terms of, like, managing nerves,” said Stamenkovic.
“I didn’t feel as nervous. I was more excited. I mean, there were challenges leading up to this year, like I had an injury, I lost two of my family members, and I feel like, learning how to deal with that has been a big challenge, but I feel like I’ve worked really hard this year to overcome a lot of those.”
Stamenkovic told the Advertiser she plans to keep busy in the coming months.
“I’m gonna keep skating. I’m doing my training first to become a coach right now … because I really want to teach younger kids everything I’ve learned and show them what they can do,” she said.
“And then I’m doing a skating development camp in Calgary in May, which I’m super, super excited about.”
Stamenkovic, who noted she is still in shock about the Skate Ontario results, thanked everyone who has been part of her journey.
“The coolest part for me was hearing the announcers say that I was the Ontario Provincial champion, that was insane,” she said.
“Like for the second time, I never would have expected that.
“And I was so proud of myself, and honestly, I’m grateful for the incredible journey and everyone who has been a part of it with me.”
