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UPEI student following skating dream

Rachael Maccaulay has grown to become one of Canada’s finest skaters, but hopes to pursue more

By Kate VanGerven Panther Post

What began as a fun activity has be- come a passion to pursue, a dream to chase, and a potential career.

Eighteen-year-old Rachael Macaul- ay is currently enrolled in the Bache- lor of Arts program at UPEI with the intentions of becoming a teacher.

However, this is a backup plan for the talented and driven figure skater.

At the age of ten, Macaulay discov- ered Disney on Ice, a skating compa- ny that choreographs popular Disney stories for the ice.

It was at that moment Macaulay knew what she wanted to do.

“I was 10 years old and I knew I was going to have to work really hard over the next years to be able to make it,” she said.

At that point, Macaulay had already been skating for four years and since then she hasn’t looked back once.

In her small town of Kensington, the now 18 year old spent hours at the rink practicing and it has most definitely paid off. Through her years, Macaulay has cleaned up and managed to stay modest.

It’s her down-to-earth attitude that:

you'll like about her immediately, and while she will most definite- ly mention the fact that she figure skates she’ll never let on just how

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good she is at it.

A born and raised Island girl, Macaulay has made the most out of every opportunity she has run into in order to further her skating career and experience life to the fullest.

She has represented P.E.I at the Canada Games not once, but twice and has competed in Junior Nationals two times as well.

While these would have been exciting to be a part of, Macaulay remembers something else first.

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“My most memorable experi- ence would be skating with all the famous skaters in Kleenex on Ice. I was able to practice and skate with all of my idols”

These skaters help making up the figure skating elite: Jennifer Rob- inson, Brian Orser, Kurt Brown- ing, Shae-Lynn Bourne and Elvis Stojko.

Not surprisingly, Macaulay says “I will never forget the feeling.”

Macaulay is the type of athlete who does her sport for the love of it, and this passion shines through in any kind of competition or test she may take part in.

Understandably, she has dons quite well for herself. The tests she has passed includes: gold freeskate, gold skills, diamond dances and gold in- terpretive.

All those ‘golds’ in there sound im-

pressive, right? There’s more.

Not only did she pass all of her dia- mond dances, but she was also the first person from Prince Edward Is- land to do so.

Her accomplishments don’t stop there.

Macaulay has won the title of pro- vincial champion ten times and in eight different divisions as well as ADL/Sport Female Athlete of the Year three times, adding to her al- ready impressive resume.

In high school, Macaulay was a self proclaimed “band geek” who also loved to sing and dance, but she nev- er lost sight of her dream to skate for Disney on Ice.

“My schedule was absolutely in- sane”, Macaulay said.

“IT never wanted to give it up, but sometimes I asked myself why I was

putting myself through it. I heard myself saying ‘sorry I can’t, I have

skating’ all too often.”

The time has come to see whether all of her hard work has paid off.

Macaulay has just finished her au- dition video to send away to Disney

on Ice. The video is just short of ten

minutes and showcases her various skills in figure skating as well as oth- er artistic endeavors such as singing and dancing.

Macaulay has done well in the niall province of P.E.I. but in having ac- complished so much, she really only has one logical next move.

With the determination she has shown so far, it will only be a mat- ter of time before Rachael Macaulay skates off to conquer everywhere else too. ;

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