Jenna Adams, age 16, represents the Skating Club of New York. She is coached by her mother, Debbie Beardsley Adams, and her aunt, Laura Beardsley, and also works with Mathew Gates, the former U.S. international and national ice dancer. Beardsley also choreographs Adams' programs. She trains at the Champions Skating Center in Cromwell, Connecticut. In the 2003-04 season, she finished 9th in Senior Ladies at the North Atlantic Regional Championships. Adams skated well to place 2nd at the Mid-Atlantics club competition in New York City in September 2004.

When and how did you begin skating?
I began skating around age five and a half. My mom, being a coach brought me to the rink with my two brothers and put us on skates. While my brothers stopped, I continued with no expectations. No one had thought I would get very far in skating because I was long, skinny legged. People thought I looked odd on the ice. My mom said I used to look like Bambi.

What are your long-term goals in skating and off the ice?
My long-term goals are to complete all my triples including axel and be working on a quad. Another long term goal is to be noticed and remembered. As far as competitions go, I'd like to get a chance to go to Nationals and compete world-wide so I can visit different counties and skate at the same time. It can't get much better then that!

What are your goals for the current season?
My goal for this season is to work as hard as I can so whether I make it out of Regionals or not, I know I've worked my hardest... but I do hope to make it to Easterns.

What music are you skating to this season?
My short program music is "Illumination" by Secret Garden and my long is a piece by Montivani.

Who are your favorite skaters and why?
My favorite skaters are Katie Orscher because I've known her since day one of my life (she is my neighbor), and because I have looked up to her since the first day I skated (she took from my mom up until 2000 when she switched to pairs); Alyssa Curran who is not only a great skater, but my best friend in the world; [Belgium's] Kevin Van Der Perren because when he skates in our rink.. he is so friendly to me and he actually went out of his way to talk to me (someone who "smaller" than him); and I also like [Germany's] Stefan Lindemann for his abilty to jump basically his own height.

What are your favorite jump, spin and connecting move?
My favorite jump is double axel from a standstill because people don't know it's coming and it catches people off guard. My favorite spin is my combination spin that I made up just because most people can't do it so it makes it even more special to me. My favorite connecting moves are probably my spirals because they are fun to work on.

What do you feel are the strongest and weakest aspects to your skating?
My strongest aspect of skating is probably my artistry. One day on a practice session I had done my short program, and one of the mothers came down to me after the session and said I had her and another mom in tears, while another women leaned over and said, "There's no words, that was beautiful." That made me feel really good. My weakest aspect of skating is probably my inconsistency on my triples. I landed my first clean triple this spring, so I'm sure they will get more consistent in the next year.

Will you share your most memorable skating moment?
I have many memorable moments so far. One is landing my first clean triple. I took a three day trip to Ohio to train with Carol Heiss-Jenkins and on the last day, the last session I landed my first clean triple, the toe. I was so happy. Another memorable time was in my first year of Juvenile, I got last in every competition I did, except at Regionals. The year before that in Preliminary-Pre-Juvenile was just about the same. I think one of the reasons I kept on skating was because I liked to show people I can do something when they don't think I can. My mom, aunt, and dad were just about the only people that kept saying, "Your time will come, you can do it." Now I look back and I realize that if I don't do a great program in competition and place low, the world isn't even close to being over, and at least I can still say, "I had fun."

What is your school arrangement?
I am currently home schooled and have been since 9th grade. I plan to graduate two years early this November, and start a few college courses at CCSU (Central Connecticut State University) or MCC (Manchester Community College). I will be going for Engineering Science and/or Accounting. Both of those contain lots of math, my favorite subject.

What are some of your off ice hobbies?
Well, I have two brothers. One's name is Jason who is 20 years old, and the other's name is Jeremy who is 18 years old, so when I'm not skating, I like to hang out with them. They both have great girlfriends that are like my sisters. I LOVE to play the piano, so does Jason's girlfriend, Kristina. So she and I are always fighting over the piano. I love playing basketball with Jeremy and his girlfriend, Mallory. I like to hang out with friends and go places with them. I also enjoy modeling. I had to take time off from that to skate. I'm hoping to continue with that in the next two to three years.

Why do you love to skate?
I love skating because I like being different than anyone else. I think, through skating, I can be as original as I want to be and there's no limit. I took a week off one time because of tendonitis in my knee and I realized, without skating, I probably wouldn't have the personality that I have today.