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__-- HIN EE TT ET Hr RE cr Af en I at, aan ay eT Sea a, ie ie ER ey" Saha TT eon WT ed aa, a TE Ee, A . , Ly - 8 -- PORT PERRY STAR -- Tuesday, May 13, 1986 It's a tough load to bear for young figure skaters It can be a long, rough road for dedicated young figure skaters. It's fun if all they want is a hobby for their spare time, but for several young people in the Port Perry area, figure skating is more than that, The fine line between fun and hard work diminishes as they spend hour after hour on the ice, with only the dream of medals to keep them going. ~~, What's more, the figure skating season doesn't end when the ice goes out at Scugog Arena. Lessons con- tinue all spring and summer at arenas in Aurora, Thornhill and Richmond Hill. For parents, it's a never-ending series of trips out of town. For skaters, it means early mornings, late nights and an un- shaken belief that all this hard work Mandy Martin says she has blown many a routine just because of her nerves but she gets back up, dusts herself off and keeps trying, year after year. Chris McGill has had a terrific season with Port Perry Figure Skating Club, but his big dream is competing in the Olympics. MACKEY & BAILEY BARRISTERS & SOLICITORS Saturday Mornings 9:00 a.m. to 12 noon Lake Scugog Lumber Building Oshawa Rd., Port Perry 16) 989-7391 is going to lead to something. For 13 year old Troy McCully of Seagrave, that "some'hing" is the Olympics. "I hope to be in the Canadians. in 1989. That's my goal,'"' he says can- didly. "If I work at it, it's possible, 'maybe even in 1988." His mother, Sandy, thinks her son has a good shot at his dream, *'par- ticularly if he keeps up the way he is doing now.' At the moment, Troy is putting in 20 hours a week on the ice. He gets up every morning at 6 a.m. in order to start his 7 a.m. lesson at Uxbridge Arena, where he is a member of the Uxbridge Figure Skating Club. He's back in his grade seven class by 9 a.m. and when he is finished school, he goes back to the arena for more practise and more lessons. On week-ends, if he's not competing, he spends even more time practis- ing. Figure skating for Troy McCul- ly is a seven day a week proposition. "I've been skating since I was seven years old. I started hockey and my dad thought that if I started figure skating it would build me up for hockey," he says, his sweat suit clad body slumped confortably in his chair. After six years of both hockey and figures he made it to the all-star team, where he discovered he preferred the latter. "I was at a tournament and dur- ing the warm-ups I was doing some figure skating moves and everybody said, "What are you doing?' he laughs. "I like figure skating better because it's a competitive sport, but you do it on your own. You haven't got a whole team to back you up." Troy does have another team member backing him up however, his partner 10 year old Jill Cassie of Uxbridge. Together they're a for- - midable dance team, one of the best in their age group in Ontario. In Oc- tober they came first in a Hamilton- Stoney Creek competition; in November they won the Eastern On- tario Sectional Jive Dance Cham- pionship; and in a recent competi- tion in Scarborough they were awarded first place by all five judges (it is rare for all judges to . agree), with nearly 700 other skaters in the running. Joyously they watched as they were award- ed the top marks possible. "When we saw the results, we were just ecstatic," Sandy says, still grinning. ~ Actually, there are more members to Troy's team than just him and Jill. Their parents play an integral role in their success at this stage of the game, and without their support, Troy and Jill wouldn't stand a chance. It's Sandy who drives Troy to lessons every morning and every night, and to different cities across the province for week-end competi- tions. And it's the McCully family that foots the bill for Troy's expen- sive '"'hobby." Sandy figures figure skating costs about $7,000 a year, including skates (he has two pairs at $500 each), competition outfits (he has two at $90 each), and umpteen lesson fees. "We're strongly behind him as long as he puts in a good effort," she says. 'Unless we're dead wrong, we thing he has a future in this." LI I J Chris McGill, 12, woud also like to see himself in the Olympics, but he admits he has a lot of work to do before he ever reaches that point. Along with Megan Chellew, 12, and Mandy Martin, 16, who skates at the Port Perry Figure Skating Club, an organization that is severe- ly hampered by lack of ice time. 'Skating is only a hobby to me because our club doesn't have (Turn to page 10) Troy McCully's biggest problem is figuring out where to put all his figure skating medals. Above, he poses with his biggest fan, mom Sandy McCully. See story for details. Megan Chellew was dragged bodily to her first skating com- petition but the 12 year old has enjoyed the ice ever since. Niele] 4) 4 ) CONTINUOUS MUSIC FOR WE eeley.N-] a] j= FTX 985-2922 NILSEN oh 4 oe =