A young South Australian rollerskater has triumphed* at a world skating competition.
Ivy Kerkemeyer, 9, travelled to Trieste, Italy to compete in the Artistic Skating World Cup where she skated in the “mini” division.
Ivy was in disbelief when she defeated 26 other girls with a score of 44.33 out of 50.
“I am so excited to make my country proud,” she told The Advertiser.
Speaking later to ABC Radio Adelaide, Ivy said the win was “very exciting.”
“I can admit I screamed a lot,” she said.
“My emotions … once I saw that number one on the screen, I flew into ‘excited mode’- I jumped onto my coach’s lap.
“I’ve always wanted to be a champion in my life. My mum kind of let me start because she used to skate, so maybe I’ve just got this thing with it, because she used to do competitions too, so maybe I was like, ‘Oh, that’s what I want to do’.”
Ivy has been rollerskating since she was two-years-old and her mum Lucy described the win to ABC radio presenter Sonya Feldhoff as “surreal*.”
“In her training, she was already doing what she needed to do, so I knew she was ready … but never in our wildest dreams did we think that she would be coming home with a gold medal,” Ms Kerkemeyer said. “The first few minutes of her competition, she did look a little bit (nervous) when she got her first jump done, then after that there was a bit of a change in the tempo* of the music and she stepped it up.
“From there I took a big sigh of relief. I was like, ‘No, she’s got this’ – she was fast, she was confident and she really has done Australia proud.”
Former 1995 rollerskating world champion and support team coach Jayson Sutcliffe credited Ivy’s dedication and passion from such a young age when he spoke to ABC Radio Adelaide after her win.
“It’s just amazing and it’s going to bring a lot of hope to a lot of young kids in a new generation of this sport,” he said.
“I’m trembling* now because I just can feel that something very special is going to happen.”
Dedicated Ivy trains seven days a week for up to six hours a day. To fit all the training in, Ms Kerkemeyer homeschools her daughter.
“Originally, I went to school for half of the day but I started to miss out on too much school,” Ivy said.
Ms Kerkemeyer said Ivy’s cup win would open the doors for other Australians who dreamt of skating at an international level.
Also accompanying Ivy to Trieste was her coach, 1995 skating World Cup winner Tammy Bryant, whose lap Ivy jumped into when she skated out of the rink.
Additional reporting by Kids News
GLOSSARY
- triumphed: succeeded, won, was victorious
- surreal: bizarre, not seeming real, like a dream
- tempo: speed or pace and rhythm of a piece of music
- trembling: shaking, quivering, often due to emotions like fright or excitement
EXTRA READING
Female skaters ramp up Olympic ambitions
Aussie teen’s world record twist
Aussie kids get D- for physical activity
QUICK QUIZ
- Where was Ivy competing and in which country?
- How many days a week does Ivy train?
- Where is Ivy being schooled?
- What do Ivy’s support coach and main coach have in common?
- Whose lap did she jump into when she skated out of the rink?
LISTEN TO THIS STORY
CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES
1. Try a new sport
Ivy hopes that her win will encourage others to try competitive rollerskating. Think about a sport that you would like to try. Describe your chosen sport and write an explanation of why you’d love to try it.
Time: allow 15 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English; Health and Physical Education
2. Extension
“Kids can be heroes, too!”
Use Ivy’s story to create a piece of writing or artwork based on this idea.
Time: allow 30 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English; Health and Physical Education; Visual Arts
VCOP ACTIVITY
Read this!
The headline of an article – or the title on your text – should capture the attention of the audience, telling them to read this now. So choosing the perfect words for a headline or title is very important.
Create three new headlines for the events that took place in this article. Remember, what you write and how you write it will set the pace for the whole text, so make sure it matches.
Read out your headlines to a partner and discuss what the article will be about based on the headline you created. Discuss the tone and mood you set in just your few, short words. Does it do the article justice? Will it capture the audience’s attention the way you hoped? Would you want to read more?
Consider how a headline or title is similar to using short, sharp sentences throughout your text. They can be just as important as complex ones. Go through the last text you wrote and highlight any short, sharp sentences that capture the audience.
