Sportrait

Jordan Irwin is busy working on her axle these days, but she's not a mechanic - she's in her fifth year of figure skating with the Weyburn Skating Club.

Irwin, 9, enjoys the sport of figure skating for a number of reasons. But isn't it difficult to do those fast spins without getting dizzy?

"Not really," she says. "It's not really hard. All you have to do is get your centre of balance and rotate."

Irwin has been inspired by "watching a lot of figure skating champions," among them American star Kristi Yamaguchi, whose style and skill Irwin especially admires. Irwin has plenty of style and skill herself, too. Among her medals are three bronzes from Weyburn First, Milestone and Redvers and a silver medal she won at a competition in Estevan.

The silver is one she feels particularly proud of. "It took me just about a month to get my program down pat," she recalls of the efforts that paid off.

Irwin also enjoys baseball during the warmer months, playing with the M&R Blue Jays this past summer, but figure skating remains her preference and her goal this year is to perfect her axle, a difficult jump.

She has also enjoyed one major benefit in particular during her five seasons of skating. "You make lots of friends," she says.

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