Arts & Entertainment

Samoset Figure Skater Winning Gold Young

7th-grader Colleen Babcock touring competitions and wracking up medals in figure skating.

A 7th-grader from Samoset Middle School is beginning to see the years of hard work she's devoted to figure skating pay off in a big way. Colleen Babcock recently went up to Lake Placid to participate in the Empire State Winter Games where she won a Gold Medal in the Pre-Juvenile Test Track category. 

Skating with a team in a synchronized skating competition, Babcock then went on to secure a Bronze Medal with her fellow Team Rinx skaters.

According to Babcock's mother, Dawn, Colleen began skating when she was just six years old, after watching the 2006 Winter Olympics. She hasn't stopped since, practicing all year long and in some cases early in the morning before school.

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The Samoset honor student is skating through a series of levels and tests. The Empire Winter Games provided Babcock with some helpful encouragement.

"Being part of the games was very exciting and encouraging," Dawn Babcock stated in an email. "Colleen got to see local Lake Placid and state level speakers show their support and pride in all the athletes during the opening ceremonies."

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Colleen Babcock is currently skating at the United States Figure Skating Association (USFSA) level, the final level of testing for young skaters. While some skaters might be dreaming of the big Olympic stage, Babcock is keeping her goals one test at a time. She'll be taking her Pre-Juvenile Freestyle test later this month. This past weekend, Babcock skated with her Rinx team at a synchronized skating competition in Massachusetts. The team placed fourth in that contest, earning another medal to end the competition season.


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