Butterfly on ice

In 2009, we had met one of the most promising young figure skaters in the US - a 12 year old Angela Wang. She was at the Salt Lake County Sports Complex skating rink going through the last few rounds of her routine 2-hour work out.A friend who had first mentioned to us about the prodigious talent, had described her as a butterfly on ice. Within the first few minutes of watching her skate, it became obvious why.

 The brightly colored skirt fluttered in air, flanking her like wings on an exotic moth as she flew on ice with one leg straight up in the air. Without stopping she executed a fine jump, spinning her lithe body in mid-air. Upon landing she continued to spin on one leg, throwing her head back, showing us her  'hair-cutter' move. The other blade meeting her head in a seamless bow. Angela Wang had gone  through her routine with such ease that it looked like she was born to be on the skating rink.
It was easy to get fooled by her toothy smile and mischievously innocent eyes. She certainly was not not an average 12 year old. All comparison with her peers ended when she said without batting an eyelid, "I will be an international figure skater in a few years."

Less than four years later, Wang is indeed an international skater. In the last two years, she has traveled to different countries and has represented the US team in many competitions. Among others, She was placed first at the 2012 Junior Grand Prix organized by the International Skating Union held in Zagreb, Croatia.

One of the many positive fall outs from the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympics, Angela took to figure skating when she was five years old.
"She is so serious about it that she stresses out sometimes," says Angela's mother Su, who has taken it upon herself to shadow Angela through the day and night. She has watched Angela skate from the first time she set foot on the rink at County Ice Center, Murray. "When she was little we organized different activities to just keep her busy and we put her in gymnastics. One day she didn't have gymnastics and her friends' mom took her skating," said Su, who feels that the Winter Olympics in Salt Lake greatly contributed to her daughter's interest in the sport in addition to the development of skating arenas around the region.

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After 2 hours of a grueling routine at the Salt Lake City Sports Complex, Angela willingly joins us for a chat, without any trace of breathlessness or fatigue. "I saw my friends skating and I asked my mom that I wanted to skate too," starts Angela. "It was hard in the beginning but I wanted to learn more and more," she adds.
Coached by Lisa Kriley, Angela is nurturing dreams of representing the country in Olympics. When not on the rink, she attends Wasatch Junior High School, dances ballet and one day hopes to become a doctor in addition to taking her skating as far as it can.

Angela Wang with her mother Su.

Nurturing a sports prodigy can be stressful on the parents. The Wangs are originally from China who came to US in 1994. "Figure skating is very expensive. The skating blades, the costume, the practice arena, the competition entry and travel costs will easily cost on an average 3000 dollars every month."

Without any support from the state or the sport's governing body, the Wangs are doing it all by themselves on the earning of Angela's dad who is a pharmaceutical researcher. "We want to support her 100% and go the full distance but we don't know anything about sponsorship or raising money," says Su.
Angela Wang has the potential to become a name to reckon with in the near future. When it comes to grace on ice and undeterred focus, she is way advanced for her age. One can't help feeling that it will only be a matter of time before Angela takes the podium at an international competition. Watch out, this butterfly soars.

This is a follow-up to the first feature on Angela Wang authored by Anand Rao and published in Utah Stories in May 2009.