Marisa Ross, 16, represents the Charter Oak FSC in Simsbury, CT. A Junior skater, she is coached by Galina Zmievskaya and her choreographer is Nina Petrenko. She has been skating since she was seven, and would like to some day compete internationally.

What inspired you to become a figure skater?
My brother used to play hockey, and when I was little, we would go to the rink for his games, and before the games there would always be skaters on the ice practicing. My mom said the only time I would ever stand still was to watch the skaters. I liked it so much I said I wanted to skate too, and so for my 7th birthday I got to start skating lessons.

What do you consider the most important accomplishment you have made on the ice? Off the ice?
The most important accomplishment I have made on the ice is learning so much about skating and life. Skating teaches you hard work, discipline, teamwork, and how to have a good attitude. These are also part of my acclomplishments off the ice because I incorporate these elements into my life.

Who is the one person that has affected your skating the most?
There are actually two people who have affected my skating the most. First would be my mom. She has helped me in skating from the very first lesson I took. She drives me to practice every day, makes all my dresses, helps me set goals, and is always encouraging whether I have a great or not so great competition. If I didn't have my mom behind me, I probably would not still be skating. The second person who has affected my skating the most is my best friend, Johnny Weir. Johnny inspires me so much. He's such a hard worker and is so modest about his accomplishments that I've adapted his attitude towards skating. Even though he's very well known now, he's always very encouraging to me and is always asking how my skating is going and about my competitions and jumps and everything. Both my mom and Johnny have affected me both very positively.

In skating, can you tell us about one short-term goal and one long-term goal that you hope to achieve?
The short-term goal I have for this 2001-2002 season is to place in the top four at New England Regionals in Junior and make it to Eastern Sectionals. A long-term goal for me is to make it to Nationals and do international competitions.

How does skating and your training habits affect your every day life in school and outside of skating?
Every day I go to school for five periods, then leave at 12:30 and skate 'til about 6:00. Then I come home, eat dinner, do my homework, then go online or watch TV. Having this schedule means I have to not let my studies slip because of skating. The discipline of skating really helps when it comes to school and other things. I know how to manage my time well.

During the off season, which element did you work on to learn or improve the most?
I always try to get more jumps than I had the previous season of course. Other elements I always try to improve on are my spins, spirals, extension, and interpretation of the music that I'm skating to. During this past winter and spring, which was the off season for me, I spent an entire session only on spins, spirals, and arm movements. The work paid off because at my first competition of the season, people were coming up to me and saying how much I'd improved in those particular areas.

What is the most unique experience you have ever had on the ice?
The most unique experience I ever had on the ice was probably at a competition I did last weekend. I skated a clean short program in my home rink with all my friends and family watching. When I finished skating, everyone was cheering so loud, and when I curtsied, everyone waved to me and I saw my parents in the stands clapping. I placed 3rd out of 16 with one 1st place ordinal. The placement didn't really matter that much because I was so delighted with the way I had skated and the feeling I got knowing I skated the best I could and everyone who cared about me had seen it.

What do you think makes you come back to the rink every day and makes you love the sport?
I love skating more than anything in the world. Just to be in the rink makes me happy. I love practicing new jumps, working on my programs, doing spins. Of course I love competing too. Those few minutes when you're standing in center ice at the end of your program, looking up into the crowd, and you know you've skated your best, are just priceless. I can't imagine a better feeling in the world.