Today we’d like to introduce you to Georgia James.
Georgia, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
16 years ago, my mom rented the tiniest skates she could find, strapped a helmet on my head, and sent me out onto the ice in our local ice rink. Little did she know, that I would soon fall madly in love with the sport and that all these years later, I would still be doing it. I began figure skating 16 years ago with my competitive journey beginning about 14 years ago. My coach, Melissa Knutson, is one of the most phenomenal women I know. Having been my coach for the past 14 years, she has seen the best of me and the worst of me. With her guidance, I competed at the Southwest Pacific Regionals twice, National Showcase three times, and now twice at Intercollegiate Nationals. She also coached me through both of my senior gold medal tests, Free Skate and Moves in the Field, and is currently coaching me as I work towards testing for my gold medals in Free Dance and Ice Dancing. I am the current Vice President of UCSD Figure Skating and we are currently ranked 3rd in the west and 8th in the nation. We have competed at the USFSA Intercollegiate Nationals the past two years and are currently working towards qualifying in the upcoming season. I am a current competitor and I compete at the Novice level for Free Dancing, the Junior Level for Pattern Ice Dancing, and the Senior level in both Short Program and Free Skate. This past year at Nationals in Newark, Delaware, I won the Intercollegiate National Gold Medal in the Intermediate Free Dance Level. I am a third year student at UCSD earning a major in Physiology and Neuroscience with a minor in Psychology.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
At the age of 12, I broke my leg which took me out for a whole season. This set me back quite a bit and once I came back I had to relearn how to skate. If I’m being totally honest, skating never really was the same. Before breaking my leg, I had advanced quite a bit despite being relatively young. After breaking my leg, I essentially had to relearn how to skate. This didn’t stop me though, it gave me a new perspective. I was skating to defy the odds and that desire to overcome obstacles is what gave me the drive to stick it out through some really rough patches.
Another thing that is very prevalent in the sport of figure skating is body image issues. Figure skating is an aesthetic sport, not only do you need to have incredible athletic ability, but you must also look good. It can be frustrating standing next to other girls in the tiny costumes and feel like you don’t measure up, but what I realized is that your ability to be a great skater does not come from just how you look, it also comes from how much love you have for yourself and what you do. No matter whether the skates I’ve had in the competition were good or bad by my own estimation, I always received compliments on how much I looked like I loved skating. And no matter how disappointed I was when I didn’t get a medal or didn’t move on to the next round, as long as I loved skating, it still made it worth it to me.
My biggest piece of advice is to trust in your own ability and to work towards the goals and aspirations you have for yourself. People are going to try to mold you into who they think you should be or into the role they think you should have, but the only one who truly knows you is yourself. Don’t let the hatred or discouragement deter you, because you are the one who has to live with yourself and you owe it to yourself to work towards every dream and goal you may have. Have enough self-confidence to shrug off those who speak out against your mission or your purpose, more often than not they fear your strength and hatred is merely a facade.
Additionally, a good rule to remember is that you are often your harshest critic. You have to be able to give yourself credit for what you are capable of and the things you have accomplished. Trust yourself, push yourself, and love yourself; if you can do that, you can do anything you set your mind to.
Please tell us about Figure Skating Coach and Choreographer – Icetown Carlsbad and LA Kings Riverside Icetown.
As far as coaching goes, I began interning at 15 and coaching at 16, and in the four short years that I have been a coach, I have found a love and a passion for it that I did not expect. I love working with children because it gives me a chance to do some creative problem solving and instill a passion for skating in the next generation of skaters, just as my coach did to me. I have found that I especially love choreography, as I grew up in a musical household. I feel that music is a form of communication and that it can be used as a powerful tool to tell stories and share feelings. I love to create characters and bring them to life in the programs that I skate myself or choreograph for others. Besides coaching, I love working on Jumps, Spins, and Free Dancing. I work at Icetown Carlsbad under director Leslie Deason, and I have had a wonderful time teaching group classes through the skating academy in addition to private lessons,
Skating is such an art form, and it teaches you so many things (both on and off the ice). It is a very physically demanding sport, and requires dedication to training and perfecting your skills. Besides that, skating requires focus, determination, organization, and confidence. Standing by yourself in the middle of a vast expanse of ice with everyone’s eyes only on you is a daunting experience, and it forces you to develop nerves of steel. While that is all-important on the ice, those skills are extremely useful in everyday life, and I couldn’t be more glad that I persevered as long as I did in this sport because it has taught me what I consider to be the most valuable qualities necessary for life. I just can’t put into words the love I feel for this sport.
What advice would you give to someone at the start of her career?
You have to have confidence in your own ability, especially if you are the youngest one in the room. Lots of people will try to make you feel inferior or wrong because they hold seniority, but trust me, just because someone has been doing something for a long time does not mean that they are the best at doing it. You also have to remain humble; again, especially if you are the youngest in your cohort. Just because you are really good at something or have found success in a field rather quickly, this does not mean that you know everything. Constantly be learning from other people in the field, find out tips and tricks, don’t be afraid to ask questions. All that means is that you are trying to improve yourself and your skills, and that can only be positive for you in the long run.
Contact Info:
- Email: georgialeannjames@gmail.com
Image Credit:
Elisabeth Girke, Julianna DeContreaus, Astrea Villarroel-Sanchez, Thurston Dang, Rachel Miller, Kelsey Stevens, and Julie Gevorgian
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