Freshman figure skater sets high goals

At 5 a.m. sharp, freshman Elizabeth Ding climbs out of bed, suits up in her pink under armour training suit and rushes out the door to head to the Sharks Ice rink in San Jose for her early morning practices.

Arriving by 6:45, she warms up for half an hour with land exercises that include running, jump roping and stretching. She then hits the ice at 7:45 and starts her lesson with her primary coach, former Olympian and 2010 U.S. National Champion Rachael Flatt. This has been Ding’s daily routine for the past six years.

“I’ve put extreme dedication and hard work into this sport,” Ding said. “I’ve made a lot of sacrifices, like skipping fun events and birthday parties, just to go skate.”

But it was ironically at a birthday party at the ice rink years ago when she first discovered her passion for figure skating. Soon after, 6-years-old Ding begged her father, Tim Ding, to sign her up for skating classes at the local ice center in Cupertino.

According to her father, although it was her first time on ice, she was able to master the basics within 15 minutes.

“One year later, she became serious about her passion for figure skating, so we moved her to the Sharks Ice and started intense training under a famous coach,” her dad.

There, Ding was introduced to Flatt through her old coach and eventually switched to Flatt as her main coach.  

Ding’s parents have played vital roles in her success on ice, supporting her financially and sacrificing their time, driving her to and from for early-morning practices. They look to her daughter’s “dedication and commitment.”

“As her parents, we are very proud of her dedication and commitment,” Tim Ding said.

Through her dedication and coach’s guidance, Ding has mastered many difficult tricks early on; her greatest accomplishments were landing her first axel by age 7 and landing her double axel at age 11.

Her natural talent coupled with long hours of training has led her to receive many accolades. In 2015, Ding placed fourth at the Central Pacific Regionals (CPR) in Utah. She then qualified for sectionals, a competition featuring the 12 best skaters in the Novice Ladies division from the West Coast. On top of this, Ding has won numerous medals in smaller competitions.

Most recently, on Oct. 7-9, Ding competed again in the CPR in Utah and placed fifth,  but did not make the cut to sectionals, where only the top four proceeded.

Her impressive results could be accredited to some of Ding’s mentors.

Ding said she has been inspired by her coach, Flatt, as well as 18-year-old Olympian figure skater Polina Edmunds, who competed in the 2014 Olympics in London and has shared the same rink and coaches with Ding for the past seven years.

“I know [Edmunds] really well,” Ding said. “It was especially inspiring for me when she made it into the Olympics because I saw how hard she worked for that goal, and it really proved that hard work does pay off.”

In the past eight months of working with Flatt, Ding has seen tremendous growth in her skills and is training hard toward her ultimate goal: to skate for the U.S. team in the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics.

“She has a terrific work ethic and demonstrates a love for figure skating,” Flatt said. “With lots of hard work and preparation, along with building a domestic and international competitive resume, she has the potential to be in the pool of athletes that could be considered for an Olympic berth.” As a renowned figure skater in the region for her age group, Ding is looking forward to possibly participating in the upcoming Winter Olympics.

“The Olympics are in six years, and I'm far from prepared,” Ding said. “But I feel that if I work hard until then, especially on moves such as the double axle, I will be prepared by the time 2022 rolls around.”