Lu’s swan song ends with medal
Peterborough Figure Skating Club member captures silver at Ontario youth championships
Sophia Lu saved her best for last.
A member of the Peterborough Figure Skating Club (PFSC) for 12 years, the 17-year-old won her first medal at the Ontario Youth Figure Skating Championships in her sixth appearance at Brampton’s Cassie Campbell Community Centre on March 24. Lu captured a silver medal in Gold Ladies Free Skate, the highest provincial STARSkate category. She also competed in the Gold Artistic event with a top-10 finish as one of four PFSC skaters attending provincials.
She took to the ice knowing it would be her swan song. She’ll leave Peterborough in the fall to attend university and will hang up her competitive skates. In addition to being the club’s most accomplished skater in recent years, Lu has been a mentor to young skaters and teaches in the Pre-CanSkate program.
The Grade 12 St. Peter’s Catholic Secondary School student has been accepted to McMaster, Toronto, Waterloo and Western universities for computer science and business and is still deciding where she’ll go in the fall. After finishing fourth at provincials last year, and knowing it would be her final year, Lu stepped up one level this season with encouragement from longtime coach Cindy Mein-Moloney.
“I wanted to step outside of my comfort zone since this was my last year,” said Lu. “It was a hard choice because last year I was definitely struggling a bit between school and skating. Being able to overcome that this year and achieve and come out on top was a really special moment.
“I took that challenge on and I’m really, really happy I did.”
She took a different approach. “Last year I put a lot of pressure on myself to do well. Knowing this was my last year, I kind of more enjoyed it. I definitely had to train harder and I put myself in the mindset of not putting pressure on myself but also knowing I wanted to do well,” she said.
The top 18 in provincial standings qualified for the Ontario championship and Lu was ranked second entering the event based on three earlier competitions. Her best result was a first-place finish at the Elizabeth Manley competition in Ottawa in February.
“Being able to maintain that second place was really cool,” Lu said. “Skating has really been a part of me my whole life. I started skating when I was three or four years old and I’ve competed since I was nine or 10. I’ve always worked toward this goal to achieve a medal at provincials and coming fourth last year was definitely a big disappointment. I think that’s what pushed me to pursue the higher level this year and work those extra hours on the ice to achieve this final goal.”
She didn’t look at the other skaters or scores leading up to her skate.
“I was really nervous but, as soon as I stepped onto the ice, the nerves went away. When I was skating my program, it honestly felt like I was skating back at home. I wasn’t nervous while I was skating. I was enjoying the moment and my last chance to really perform in front of judges.”
She was the last skater of the competition and knew right away when her scores came up that she would be in the medals.
“Placing second brings together my whole entire skating career and ties together all those moments I spent on the ice with my coaches and my friends,” said Lu.
Among the other PFSC skaters to attend provincials were Sophia’s sister Summer Lu, who finished fourth in a strong field of STAR 8 skaters and 12th in STAR 7 O12. Raeleen Jin placed 18th in the STAR 8 event and Nicole Jin had a top five finish in the competitive Juvenile Ladies U14 event and was 13th in STAR 9 U14.
I wanted to step outside of my comfort zone since this was my last year.
SOPHIA LU