Six Taranaki skaters to compete at champs

Alexis O’doherty began artistic roller skating after watching her mum compete – now she’s made her way to the world stage.

The 14-year-old is a member of the New Plymouth Artistic Roller Skating Club and recently won her first title at the national championships in Blenheim.

‘‘It was pretty good and I cried.’’

Now she is one of six from Taranaki heading to the Oceania Artistic Skating Championships in Whanganui next month.

But she wasn’t ‘‘a natural skater’’ said her mum, Michelle O’doherty, who was a competitive skater herself.

‘‘She was determined not to skate. She would come to competitions with me and one day after nationals she came to me and said, ‘Oh, mum, maybe I will skate.’’’

So she started learning at four years old and now spends six days a week training at the East End skating rink.

Only, she’s never too far from her mum, who is also her skating coach.

Michelle is a part of the New Zealand skating committee and also coaches 18 students in Taranaki.

Among them is 53-year-old Karen Hardy, who has also qualified for the Oceania champs.

Hardy has been skating since she was nine months old, as her dad owned a skating rink in her homeland of South Africa and held her up as she shuffled along. ‘‘I skated up until I was 14, and then I stopped for 37 years.’’

Hardy got back in the rink after she met Michelle, who convinced her to put the skates back on.

She has since been successful in the skating world and also walked away with a national title at the competition in Blenheim.

Another of Michelle’s skaters, Ella Birkett, 15, also competed in the national competition and won a silver medal, earning a spot in the Oceania champs, too.

Ella and Alexis grew up together and have competed against each other since they were young.

‘‘Ella and Alexis are at the same grade, so they are competitors, but they are also great friends,’’ Michelle said.

Alexis, Ella and Hardy are all now fundraising for the Oceania champs next month, where they will be joined by Ayla Bond, Elizabeth Cudby and Chrissy Southey, all of Hāwera.

It’s the first time Taranaki has had this many skaters at that competition.

Michelle said: ‘‘We’ve only ever had two from the Taranaki region, so we have done really well.’’

VANESSA LAURIE/STUFF Karen Hardy, left, Ella Birkett and Alexis O’doherty recently competed in the Artistic Roller Skating Champs and have all qualified for the world championships in Whanganui next month, along with three skaters from Hāwera.