Figure skating is one of the most exciting Olympic sports, second only to curling.  The competitors twist and jump and fall while the announcers rattle off terms like “triple Salchow,” “double lutz,” and “double-quadruple-axel-toe loop-spin.”

The spectators nod, stroke their chins and throw in comments such as, “let’s see what they do in kiss and cry,” to make it seem like they know what’s going on.  To most people, ice skating is a beautiful, but untouchable, sport.  To Kendall Jones, however, it’s part of every day life.

“I love skating because I love the challenge,” she says.
Jones practices at Highland Ice Arena five to six days a week for at least two hours every day.  She runs through her jumps, spins, and her programs.

She has mastered almost all of the double jumps and double jump combos.  Her next endeavor is perfecting the double axel. 

Axel jumps are especially tricky because they have an extra half rotation. The skater starts facing forwards, spins in the air a few times, and lands backwards. 
Although learning a new trick takes a lot of time, and a lot of falls, Jones says that one of the most memorable times in skating is landing a new jump. 

“I love the feeling of doing something well and improving.”

Jones’ love for skating started in the scuffed-up temporary ice rink at Seattle Center.  She wasn’t that ordinary kid who started wailing after five minutes because they were cold, bruised and wanted to go home.
“My parents told me I didn’t want to get off the ice,” Jones said.

She began group lessons at Highland Ice Arena when she was five. When it was clear that she had some serious talent, she began private lessons with her same coach, only at a different arena.

Jones was competing by the age of seven. She excelled faster than the other members of her club, so a year and a half ago, she switched coaches and returned to Highland Ice Arena.

Her first competition this year will be in three weeks.  She usually competes in four to five competitions at ice rinks around the Northwest every year.  She also attends regionals. 

At each competition she performs a short program and a long program.  They both require jumps and spins, but the long program requires a step or spiral sequence.  Jones’ strongest jumps are the double Salchow and double flip.

“Skating can be really inconsistent because it depends on whether you land the jumps at that moment,” explains Jones.

Nevertheless, Jones placed highly in several of her competitions last year. 

  Her goal is to reach the highest level in skating, the senior level.  She has plenty of talent and plenty of time to reach her goal.

Jones is a freshman this year, straight out of Seattle Girls School.  Along with year-round training for ice skating, Jones competes on Garfield’s track and cross country teams, and maintains her 4.0 GPA.

She is also part of a group called Richard’s Rwanda, which supports girls who have been affected by the genocide in Rwanda.  Jones will travel to Rwanda this summer to meet the girls she has helped.

Although her schedule seems undoable, she says, “I’m enjoying it a lot.”

As a student, Jones is clearly excelling;  as an activist, she is admirable;  as an athlete, she is exceptional. Garfield High School is certainly lucky to have Kendall Jones among its ranks for the next three years.