Fourteen-year-old Megan Mortensen recently returned to St. Paul after competing in the Skate Canada 2017 Alberta-NWT/Nunavut sectional figure skating competition, in Edmonton.
The event lasted for three days, beginning on Nov. 3, and featured hundreds of skaters from across Alberta, the Northwest Territories, and Nunavut. Mortensen competed against over 40 other figure skaters in her category, and placed eighth among them all.
During a practice at Clancy Richard Arena last week, Mortensen took a timeout to discuss her experience with the competition, as well as her goals and aspirations.
“This was my fourth time at sectionals, and I thought I had the best skate I’ve ever had at this level. There were a lot of other really good skaters, and I think I did pretty well,” said Mortensen, as she looked back on the experience.
“I tried to treat it the same as any other competition. You just have to block out the fact that you’re competing against 44 other people. You have to focus on just doing your best, and when whatever happens after that is beyond your control. You can’t control the other skaters; you can only control how well you do compared to yourself.”
Mortensen’s coach, Sandra, has been with her for four years and was pleased with her performance at the competition.
“She did very well. To come in eighth place out of her entire category is very, very good.”
Sandra has coached other skaters from St. Paul, and now lives in Edmonton. She credits Mortensen’s success to her work ethic.
“She is focused, she is very hard-working, and she’s a natural jumper. She’s built for skating. She is so dedicated, and she has to sacrifice a lot to skate at the level that she does. She is an absolute pleasure to coach.”
Among the skaters that Mortensen looks up to are Kaetlyn Osmond, a two-time Canadian national champion, and Meagan Duhamel, a pairs skater with a long list of athletic achievements including multiple national titles and an Olympic silver medal in 2014.
Mortensen began her skating career young, and entered into competitive skating when she was11 years old. She follows a rigorous training schedule that sees her skating six days a week, 49 weeks a year. And with a few years of competition under her belt and hundreds of practice sessions every year, she isn’t shy about sharing her figure skating goals and dreams.
“To start, I want to be able to compete at a national level, and then move on to international competitions. After that, being in the Winter Olympics would be the ultimate dream.”
But Mortensen is well aware that international greatness isn’t obtained without making baby steps.
“Those are big goals, so for now, my top priority is to perfect my double axel, which is two and a half rotations, and then move on to a triple, three-rotation jump. I’ve started to work on them, and have been doing them a lot since sectionals, and they’re coming along.”
Mortensen’s next big competition is the Calgary Winter Invitational, which takes place in March 2017. She will be moving up a category, so the contest will be even more fierce.
But, if Mortensen’s talent and work ethic are any indication, she is set to go far.
