Senior Hannah Stambaugh, even while not participating in a school endorsed sport, defines herself as an athlete-as a figure skater.

At the age of ten, Stambaugh began skating when her mother signed her up for a class.

On her very first day, she grew fond enough of the sport to continue it for eight years.

With a supportive coach and by taking classes through Learn to Skate and York Ice Rink Stambaugh became interested in being a competitive figure skater.

Because Stambaugh began skating in elementary school, her friends from that time have  become a support system for her.

Senior Amber Hildebrand has been a friend to Stambaugh since they were together in Shrewsbury Elementary school.

Hildebrand herself participates in a unique sport known as an equestrian, so she understands the beauty of being an athlete outside of Susky’s walls.

“I really like ice skating. I think it’s really cool. It looks really difficult, and it’s definitely something that I could never do. I like watching it on the Olympics, and I think it’s really pretty…It takes a lot of hard work and dedication to do that,” said Hildebrand.

Although a visually appealing sport, the game comes with drawbacks and benefits like any other, and Stambaugh shares that her worst memory would be when she injured her knee while practicing on the ice.

“I wasn’t wearing my knee pads, and I landed on it wrong. All the weight of my body went on my one knee,” said Stambaugh.

The night if the incident Stambaugh left the rink to go home, but the day after, Stambaugh returned to the rink so she could practice her routine.

While practicing can be painful there are benefits for the hard work and effort put in.

As a benefit of skating, Hannah believes that her best memory would be the time she had won the Regional Championship.

The Regionals were held at Ice Works skating rink in Aston, Pennsylvania in October.

For the competition, the scoring is not necessarily point based, it is a placement of who ranks third, second, and first.

“You qualify by having placed in any previous competition in the level that you are going to be skating at,” said Stambaugh.

Hannah Stambaugh placed second and was awarded the title of Regionals Champion.

Getting to the status of a regional champion cannot be completed in one day, and Stambaugh understands her own dedication for the sport.

“There’s not one specific thing that makes me passionate about skating. It just is. It’s something that makes you want to keep going and try harder the next time. I really like the creativity in it. You get to put your own special touch into whatever you do, with the routines, especially,” said Stambaugh.

While many athletes take the sport that they play with them beyond high school, Stambaugh does not plan on incorporating ice skating into her college plans.

While it may be a passion, it may not become her profession.

Stambaugh believes that the creativity she found through ice skating has lead her to use that same creativity within the business field.

Sometimes choosing to end a sport can be just as tough as beginning one.

She believes that perseverance and passion are what have brought her this far.

“Even on your hardest days, you have to learn to push forward and you will learn to love the sport the more and more you go,” said Stambaugh.