It is still dark outside and junior Maggie Carr is on the ice, spinning, jumping and gliding. She weaves between nearly a dozen other skaters before expertly skidding to a halt next to her coach. Soft, classical music plays from speakers overhead and she effortlessly pushes off of the wall to the middle of the rink to begin her routine. As a competitive figure skater, this is her practice time to perfect her sport.

While living in Kansas City when she was young, Carr frequently asked her mother to take her ice skating at the iconic outdoor rink in Crown Center. However, her devotion to the sport really began when her family relocated to Toronto, Ontario in 2006.

“I was five years old and I started taking lessons right away,” Carr said. “Skating is so accessible and common in Canada.”  

Over the past 11 years, Carr has worked her way through group classes and private lessons to achieve the level of skill that she performs at today. She now ranks in the top 3 percent of all figure skaters in the United States.  

“I love skating so much because there’s a lot of bad days, yet you keep going back because the good ones make you feel so happy and make it all worth it,” Carr said.

Carr practices skating every day of the week except for Sunday at KC Ice Center in Shawnee. Many days she practices early in the morning before school as well as after school.

“Sometimes it can be hard to fit in practices depending on how much homework I have,” Carr said. “Although now my routine has become more of a second nature.”

When asked what beginners interested in the sport should expect, Carr warned of a few of the realities of competitive figure skating.

“Skating is really expensive and you would probably end up blowing all your money,” Carr said. “I also recently saw the movie ‘I, Tonya’ and it is pretty realistic. Eating disorders are everywhere and people can be petty. I’m lucky because my coaches are good and they don’t pressure me to be too radical.”

“I, Tonya” depicts the true story of Olympic figure skater Tonya Harding (Margot Robbie) and her infamous rivalry-turned-violent with competitor Nancy Kerrigan (Caitlin Carver).

Regardless, Carr receives support and motivation to continue her routine from her parents.

“Maggie has always been so happy figure skating that it makes it so enjoyable for me to watch her on the ice,” Carr’s mother, Katie, said. “US Figure Skating’s motto is ‘Get Up’. That is what Maggie has always done on the ice- gotten up and kept trying.”

Spending so much time skating has meant that Carr has formed relationships with her coaches that she works with.

“While Maggie is very dedicated to her sport of figure skating, she is also a well-rounded individual,” Wendy David, Carr’s coach said.

Although she devotes so much time now to the sport that she loves, Carr’s future in figure skating is up in the air.

“I might skate in college,” Carr said. “I’ve looked at different universities for it but it would be a big time commitment and there aren’t many scholarships available for figure skaters.”  

Despite attending multiple practices a day and bearing the workload as a result, Carr continues to skate and rise in national rankings.

“Skating teaches you a lot about self-discipline and work ethic,” Carr said. “I’ve grown as a person because of it.”