Photos by Sarah Flynn
Thomas Flynn is a competitive figure skater from the Huntsville Skating Club. He began training in grade one with the CanSkate learn-to-skate program and moved to the STARSkate figure skating program in grade three.
Now in grade six, Thomas has made great strides in his sport and has been training throughout the year, travelling to Orillia to skate during the spring and working hard to perfect his jumps. He really enjoys jumping and skating fast on the ice which is why he gets so much air when he jumps, says his mother, Sarah Flynn.
Thomas can perform a variety of jumps including a toe-assisted jump called a flip, an edge jump called a loop, a toepick-assisted jump called a Lutz where he has to land on the opposite foot, another edge jump called the Salchow, as well as a waltz jump which is a 180-degree rotation in the air.
Coach Christine Mantle-Marnoch of the Huntsville Skating Club says, “It is great that I get to work with a skater who works as hard and enjoys being on this ice as much as I do. He is not only dedicated to his own skating but he volunteers with our CanSkate (learn-to-skate) program and is a fantastic role model for our younger skaters.”
Thomas won the Junior Skater of the Year award in 2016 and placed fourth overall at his Star 5 Level at Skokie Skate 2018. Thomas’s best moment so far was when he landed his Axel jump for the first time during training last spring at the Orillia Skating Club. Landing a jump properly takes skill. He can also land a double loop jump as well as a double Salchow.
Thomas’s goals are to continue to train to build up his confidence as a skater and to feel comfortable performing his Axel. He also wants to achieve his Senior Bronze where he will perform two Dance tests—the Willow and the Fiesta—along with specific skills tests, the SeasonStar 5 Free and Star 5 Dances.
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