BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KERO) — A 17-year-old figure skater from Bakersfield will be lacing up her skates to compete in pairs skate at the Toyota U.S. Figure Skating Championships this year.
It all started with a playdate at the age of four when Melania Delis found her passion for the sport of figure skating, and now she and her partner are looking to make an impact at the championship in San Jose.
"We competed at, like, three different competitions, and then the top twelve scores from there go to sectionals, and so we went there in Lansing, Michigan," said Delis. "That was in November, and we placed sixth place, I believe, and so now we are off to nationals."
The partnership is fairly new, as Delis and skater Jaden Schwab just started competing together in April of 2022. Delis says chemistry is a key to success, and that the duo has the perfect chemistry to be successful at nationals.
"It's been so much fun. He's such a nice guy," Delis said of her partner Schwab. "I think we work really, really well just personality-wise and training-wise, and I've been really happy with this partnership."
Schwab even made a huge sacrifice for the two to train together by relocating to California from Minnesota.
"He relocated from Minnesota to Irvine, and so we are both down there five days a week," said Delis. "We train together, and then I come home most weekends."
After seeing all her daughter has accomplished in the sport of figure skating, Melissa Delis, Melania's mother, says it is remarkable how far her daughter has gone.
"She's worked really hard. She's been skating since age five, four or five, actually, and just to get to this pillar within the sport, it's quite an accomplishment," said Ms. Delis.
The Toyota U.S. Figure Skating Championships start on January 24, 2023, and Delis says she and Schwab have a few new tricks up their sleeves.
"We have been working some new elements into our program," said Delis. "One of them is throw triple-Sal, and so that has been kind of a journey. Hopefully, we will be doing it at the competition."
A throw triple-Sal is a Salchow (SAL-kow) jump, which starts on one foot and ends on the other, where the skater is thrown into the move by a partner as opposed to jumping. "Triple" is how many rotations the skater makes in the air before landing. The jump was named for Ulrich Salchow, a world champion figure skater from Sweden, who invented the move in 1909.
When asked where she sees herself five years from now, Delis says she hopes to be skating for Team USA, or even doing international competitions, that could possibly lead to show skating in the future.
Delis also has some advice for anyone who is getting started learning figure skating.
"I think you should just fall in love with your journey and focus on that, and not so much your outcome," said Delis.
