By Kristine Falck
Ashleigh Knight knew she had a passion for skating at an early age. She started skating at the age of seven with her friends, but by the time she was eight years old, she was avidly pursuing competitive ice-skating. With skating running in her family, it is little wonder that she has become a passionate force in the skating community. Her artistic finesse, coupled with her immense dedication to the sport, has allowed her to develop as an artist and to pursue her passion on ice to become an acclaimed figure skater. Ashleigh has led a commanding athletic and artistic career on ice, winning numerous awards over the years. These have included first place at Jingle Blades in November 2011, first place at Winter Skate in January 2012 and second place at Autumn Leaves in October 2013. Ashleigh thrives in competitions and enjoys the challenges and rewards that they pose. She enjoys practising as much as the competitions for the pure pleasure of skating and as a means of “de-stressing and self-expression”.
Ashleigh Knight knew she had a passion for skating at an early age. She started skating at the age of seven with her friends, but by the time she was eight years old, she was avidly pursuing competitive ice-skating. With skating running in her family, it is little wonder that she has become a passionate force in the skating community. Her artistic finesse, coupled with her immense dedication to the sport, has allowed her to develop as an artist and to pursue her passion on ice to become an acclaimed figure skater. Ashleigh has led a commanding athletic and artistic career on ice, winning numerous awards over the years. These have included first place at Jingle Blades in November 2011, first place at Winter Skate in January 2012 and second place at Autumn Leaves in October 2013. Ashleigh thrives in competitions and enjoys the challenges and rewards that they pose. She enjoys practising as much as the competitions for the pure pleasure of skating and as a means of “de-stressing and self-expression”.
According to Ashleigh, ice skating provides her with an “essential component to self expression and relaxation”. She strongly believes everyone can find his or her artistic niche, but emphasizes, “Dedication is key”. She has demonstrated that the rewards of her immense effort do pay off. Practicing four times a week, despite a hectic schedule, Ashleigh is able to maintain skating excellence. Passion and perseverance are two words that truly epitomize Ashleigh as an artist! An example of this is when she was forced to skate to her friend’s music at a competition since her selection was not able to play. Despite such a setback, Ashleigh persevered and demonstrated that her artistic capabilities could still amaze, ultimately earning her the Bronze Medal.
Goal setting, discipline, perseverance and a love of physical activity contribute to Ashleigh’s success. But she also has drawn inspiration from fellow figure skaters, particularly Canadian figure skater Joannie Rochette. Joannie has been a role model of artistic excellence and motivating force for Ashleigh. During the 2010 Olympics, Rochette won the Bronze Medal for figure skating despite losing her beloved mother only a few days prior. This exemplified to Ashleigh what dedication as an artist truly means and resonated with her as a fellow figure skater. Having the opportunity to meet Olympian Joannie Rochette in person further inspired Ashleigh to continue her journey with figure skating, particularly in interpretive solos. Ashleigh enjoys interpretive solos because there are no restrictions on music like in regular free skate, where music is not allowed to have any lyrics. She enjoys skating to faster classical music in free skate, but in interpretive solos enjoys slower pop like Rust or Gold by Jill Andrews.
Ashleigh’s artistic abilities on ice let her enjoy the intricacies of her ice skating routines, as well as the teamwork involved. To be able to fully lend herself artistically, she needs to trust her partner – which is often “nerve-wracking, yet rewarding”. With continued dedication to her skating pursuits, Ashleigh’s current aspiration is to pass her gold level in figure skating skills at Hollyburn Country Club – her skating club. Undoubtedly, she will succeed and continue to grace the ice and dazzle spectators with her immense talent.