Sports
August 21, 2008 09:26 PM
Wayne earns gold badge with two years to go
By: Mike Hayakawa
By the time Kaitlin Wayne is due to graduate from Markham Distrct High School, she wanted to be in a position to attain her triple gold badges in figure skating.
Though still two years away from Grade 12, the Markham resident is a bit ahead of schedule.
She recently nailed down that elusive third gold badge.
“It certainly feels amazing to have achieved triple gold status,” said Wayne, a member of the Unionville Skating Club.
She admits it wasn’t easy.
She earned her first gold, in skills, in April, saying it came as a big relief as she had tried on several other occasions to earn that badge only to fall short.
“It felt like a giant weight had been lifted off my shoulders because it took me many attempts to pass this test,” she said. “I never felt as happy as I did when I finally passed it.”
Once Wayne successfully completed the first step, she conferred with her coaches to outline her personal goals in the sport, electing to attempt her final gold dance and gold interpretive solo just one month later.
That decision proved to be a wise move as she passed both tests May 26.
“After getting my first gold badge this year, I really believed I could earn triple gold this year,” she said.
Doing so boiled down to several factors, she said. Among them was creating a mind set that enabled her to divert all of her attention to accomplishing her goal.
“I just never gave up and maintained a positive attitude,” she said.
She credited skating coaches Tracey Jones, Wendy Clevely Schultz and Danny Sorley for assisting her in achieving the mark.
“They were there to push me,” she said. “And they praised me the whole way through.”
She also thanks her parents, who were always there to offer support through good and bad times.
Having skated since being introduced to the sport by her older sister Kristen when she was three, Wayne doesn’t know what lies ahead.
But she is contemplating a shift to synchronized skating, in which she has participated in the past eight years.
“I miss the competition and the team aspect of synchronized skating,” she said.