Fifth-grader from New Hyde Park wins prestigious figure skating honors
Katie Krafchik, 11, of New Hyde Park, skated in her first competition at age 6, winning first place. Credit: KrPhotography LLC
Figure skating fans may want to keep their eyes on a 11-year-old from New Hyde Park with a dream of skating in the Olympics.
Katie Krafchik, a fifth grader, is on her way — later this month she’ll head to the 2020 USFS High Performance National Development Camp in Charlotte, North Carolina. She earned the chance to go to the three-day development camp by taking the bronze medal in the Juvenile Girls division at the 2020 Eastern Sectional Figure Skating Championships in Hyannis, Massachusetts, in November; she also earned her U.S. Figure Skating Gold Medal designation by passing her senior moves test, which requires her to accomplish certain maneuvers on the ice.
“It’s a big honor to be part of this camp,” says Katie’s coach, Igor Krokavec. “I’ve been coaching for 20 years. I never worked with such as dedicated skater before. It’s a combination of hard work and talent that’s very rare. She’s working on triple jumps already. She keeps improving very fast.”
Katie trains six days a week, four hours a day, primarily at Ice House in New Jersey; she is home-schooled to give her the flexibility to train. Katie hopes to soon be able to represent the United States internationally.
“It really is my passion,” Katie says of ice skating. “Practicing, doing jumps, spins, skating skills.” She has her sights set on the Olympics. “I want to be there and feel how it feels to be a true athlete; those are the true athletes, the elites.” Katie first took to the ice at age 5 and skated in her first competition at age 6, winning first place. Katie also enjoys cooking, drawing and reading, as well as spending time with her little sister, Kimberly, 7.
Beth Whitehouse writes about families, parenting and great things to do with the kids on Long Island. She’s been a Newsday editor and shared a 1997 Newsday staff Pulitzer Prize for coverage of the crash of TWA Flight 800.
