Story by Jeff Gard/Total Sports Quinte
Seven-year-old Elliot Baird spent many hours at the arena long before she stepped onto the ice as a figure skater.
Her older sister Julia, now at university, was a provincial champion figure skater, and brother Cole is a hockey player, currently with the Quinte West Golden Hawks U15 team,
“Elliot has definitely been raised at the rink,” her mom Lorie said.
After beginning to skate in 2018 when she was four, Elliot completed the CanSkate program in July of 2020.
Watching her sister skate certainly inspired Elliot, who likes the challenge of figure skating and seeing results. “Learning new things and getting better” is the best part, she noted.
Coached by Lindsay Newbery at the Stirling Figure Skating Club, Elliot is currently a star skater and recently passed her Star 1 dance assessment with honours. In February, she also competed at her first competition in Orono and earned a silver medal at the Skate Ontario Star 1-4 event.
Elliot is currently practising jumps and considers the Waltz to be the most challenging so far. She recently enjoyed watching the Winter Olympics and enjoyed staying up late to see skaters like Canadian Madeline Schizas compete.
While she also enjoys playing soccer, figure skating is Elliot’s favourite. Her mom, having been through it once already, believes figure skating is a great sport for young people.
“They’re constantly trying to improve their own skill and that determination is pretty incredible and although it is an individual sport, the skating community is pretty good to support others,” Lorie Baird said. Elliot certainly agrees. “I like meeting new friends,” she said.
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To learn more about the Stirling Figure Skating Club, visit www.stirlingskate.ca