Christine Magill has two passions: reading and figure skating.
But when the William F. Stanley School fifth-grader checked at the school's library for books that combined the two, she was disappointed. There were only two books, and she said "neither of them really sparked my interest."
So, as a going-away present, Magill, who will attend McDevitt Middle School in the fall, decided to donate four books about skating to the Stanley School's library. She gave a presentation about her favorite sport to the third-, fourth-, and fifth-graders at the school before presenting the books to Stanley School's librarian, Laura Larsson.
The books Magill donated are "Figure Skating for Dummies" by former U.S. Olympian Kristi Yamaguchi, Christy Ness and Jody Meachem; "A is for Axel," by Kurt Browning; "The Complete Book of Figure Skating," by Carole Shulman; and an autographed copy of Sasha Cohen's autobiography, "Sasha Cohen: Fire on Ice."
During the three presentations in the Stanley School's library yesterday, Magill explained the basics of figure skating. A short while after showing her fellow students a picture of a charlotte spiral, in which the skater's head almost touches their feet, Magill reminded them: "flexibility is a really big part of this sport."
The 10-year-old Magill, who is in Maria Hermanowski's class at Stanley, started skating five years ago. She wakes up as early as 4:30 a.m. to skate before school, and practices for five or six hours a week during the school year; 10 during the summer. This summer, she will have 23 sessions of skating work per week.
"This project means a lot to me cause I love to skate and I love to read," Magill said. She said her goals are to compete in the junior nationals in 2010 and in the 2014 Olympics.
Magill also gave several tips to her classmates who may be thinking of picking up figure skating. "When you first start to skate," she said, "let me give you advice: wear a helmet."
After Magill explained that instructors will teach beginning skaters how to fall, Mayor Jeanette McCarthy, who was in attendance, asked if they also teach you how to get back up. Magill assured her that they do.
She also advised them that despite it being a "gold" medal, they really aren't worth anything. "Don't try to sell your medals," she said.
