PONTE VEDRA, Fla. — Both she and her skates moved in sync, cutting softly across the ice. She effortlessly balanced herself, her arms extending just below shoulder height. Her knees were slightly bowed, and her head was forward. She kept her body loose and relaxed. It appeared natural as if she belonged on the ice.

“I love figure skating because there’s never perfection. There’s no point where you can’t learn more and improve, and I want to become the best skater I can be,” explained Ponte Vedra High School freshman Leila Festic. Leila has been skating alongside her twin sister, Nadia, for four years at the Community First Igloo rink in Jacksonville. “I started because I really wanted to be like the graceful skaters I saw at the Olympics,” mentioned Nadia.

Both girls compete at the intermediate level and dedicate a significant amount of time and effort to figure skating. This includes early mornings at the rink and long travel days to competitions. Leila noted that her most memorable competition was the Atlanta Open, where the twins traveled out of state. It was their first competition under the International Judging System (IJS).

“The highlight of my skating career was landing my first double axel,” explained Nadia, “every skater knows landing this opens up a new world for their career.” Jumps, particularly a double axel, are challenging and require hours of training to perfect. If a figure skater wants to improve, they must work hard and develop the physical and mental tenacity required to excel on the ice. The mental obstacles figure skaters must overcome are known as ‘mental blocks,’ and they can have a massive impact on skaters and their performance. Both girls have surmounted their own set of challenges over the years.

Nadia and Leila Festic intend to continue figure skating for as long as their bodies will allow them. They want to compete at the highest level and participate in international contests. “In the future of figure skating as a sport, I would love to see more diversity in skaters and more countries competing,” expressed Nadia. “As of now, only 71 countries are mainly engaged in international skating.”

Ultimately, the Festic twins continue to excel as figure skaters and continuously expand upon their natural gifts on the ice. As a result, we can expect big things for their future careers in figure skating.

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