COOK — Twelve-year-old skater Stella Pliml already knew she was good at her sport after becoming the youngest ice skater ever at the Virginia Figure Skating Club to pass the U.S. Figure Skating Gold Skating Skills test this past year, something only three percent of amateur skaters achieve.
But it turns out that was just a beginning for Stella, who swept through this season’s Excel series competitions undefeated to earn an invitation to the U.S. Figure Skating Excel National Final and Festival, held July 9–13 in Colorado Springs, Colo. The event drew more than 900 skaters from across the country and included both competitive events and educational sessions aimed at helping athletes prepare for future opportunities on and off the ice.
It’s a journey just months ago Stella didn’t think she’d be making.
“We didn’t think we were going to do the Excel series this year,” said Robyn Pliml, Stella’s mom.
But last November, they made the trek to St. Cloud for the Granite City Classic, and
Stella clearly wasn’t anticipating the first place finish she attained with a score of 32.
“I was honestly kind of shocked,” Stella said. ”I was not expecting to score that high because the competition is very tough judging.”
And the wins just kept on coming from there as she rolled through events in Mankato, Duluth, Milwaukee, and Roseville before capping the season with a personal best score of 33.68 and another gold medal in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Stella finished the campaign ranked third in the Midwest and sixth nationally on the Excel leaderboard, assuring a place in the invitation-only national final.
The top skaters from each region, along with the next highest national scorers, were invited to the Excel Final at the Broadmoor World Arena in Colorado Springs. Stella was among the 30 skaters in the Juvenile Girls division.
The scale of the national event was hard to grasp at first. More than 900 skaters were in attendance, though the competition was staggered by group, so crowds were rare.
“It’s actually hard to know that there’s 900 kids there because they have it so meticulously planned,” Robyn said. “You’re kind of with your group and maybe a couple other groups, and they kind of stagger it. I don’t think we even saw any of the lower level Aspire skaters there.”
But there were some opportunities outside of Stella’s group to mingle with other skaters: exhibitions with the Juvenile Plus girls and Juvenile and Juvenile Plus boys. The effervescent Stella quickly connected with new friends, and in one of the sessions they got special attention from the coaches, though not for their skating.
“We had this exhibition we had to do, and we started talking and we would not stop talking the whole time,” Stella said, grinning. “And we kept on getting in trouble with one of the coaches there. After she yelled at us, we were all in the group and they’re like, ‘I don’t understand why she keeps yelling at us.’ And I’m like, ‘Yeah, I’ll bet you anything in five minutes she’s going to yell at the four of us.’ And two minutes later, ‘Why aren’t you four girls skating fast enough?’”
And within the Juvenile girls group, there were friendships formed during training opportunities with former Team USA skaters Sean Rabbitt and Olympian Ashley Cain. But with all of the rapid-fire tips, only one made a big impression on Stella.
“Use more arms, use more arms – that’s all I really remember,” she said.
But the main reason Stella was there was to compete, and for her routine, the youthful skater picked a song likely to endear her to many parents and grandparents in the stands – Queen’s “Don’t Stop Me Now.”
“I love Queen,” Stella said. “I specifically like that music because it’s kind of slow at the beginning, so you have a chance to kind of show your skills when you skate slow,” Robyn said. “Then it speeds up, so you get to show that you can also skate fast.”
Her performance didn’t go quite as well as Stella had hoped, as she took a spill on a combination jump that dropped her to eighth place in her group. Perhaps it was nerves, which Stella freely admitted to, or perhaps it was the noise in the arena – Stella said loud noises throw her off.
Even with the spill, Stella took home a special achievement award for excellence in execution.
“It was my last spin,” she said. “I’m pretty sure you took a picture of it for last paper. I got a plus three on that. Hallelujah!”
Stella was quick to give credit to two of her coaches, Kristi Westerbur and Jill McLean, for supporting her development across the season and through the experience in Colorado Springs.
“The person who helped me probably the most with my program was Kristi Westerbur,” Stella said. “She added to my program and helped me with my jumps. My coach, Jill, helped me with my presentation and my footwork. She came all the way down to Iowa just for me, so I would have a coach there.”
Stella’s ambitions for skating have always been modest, just keep improving with the goal of someday coaching new skaters, but her success this season and the trip to Colorado Spring have amped up that ambition just a bit.
“She said before we left Colorado that she’s coming back next year,” Robyn said.
Stella will continue to balance skating with school and her passions for reading, creative writing, and art, but there’s little doubt that she’ll succeed with her new mantra, one that embodies her journey so far.
“Live, laugh, love. Live, laugh, love,” Stella smiled. “That’s the quote I’m going to start going by.”