Meet Abigail Ross, 2021 Junior Ladies competitor debuting at 2021 U.S. Nationals

Abigail Ross, who will turn 17 next month and represents the Wasatch FSC in Ogden, Utah, qualified for her first U.S. Figure Skating Championships in 2021. In her four previous seasons (2016-2020), she placed in the top 4 at Central Pacific Regionals and competed at the Pacific Coast Sectionals at the Juvenile, Intermediate, Novice and Junior levels [learn more about her here] (link will open a new window).
After she placed 12th of 71 Junior ladies who recorded free skate videos to be judged in the U.S. Figure Skating Championship Series qualifying virtual event, she joined her training partner, Mitchell Friess, in making it to the “big show” of Nationals at last. She agreed to answer a few questions via e-mail before competing in Las Vegas (Junior Ladies short program is Wednesday, January 20, and the free skate the following day).

It was pure joy when I found out that I qualified for Nationals. It was an amazing feeling to reach one of the goals that I have training for for many years.

I started training with Team Kovar in October of 2019. Amanda Kovar was my coach at Regionals and Sectionals last season. I started representing Wasatch FSC early in 2020 because it is where I train with my team. I created the Team Kovar website in November of 2020, and I continue to maintain it to increase the visibility of our team because of a lack of competitions to display our talents and the product of our effective training.

I brought a couple of [program] ideas to my coaches and Alex Chang, my choreographer, and we collaborated from there [“Rhythm Inside” by Loïc Nottet (SP) and “Ashes” by Celine Dion (FS)]. This season, I wanted to make sure that I was connected with my music on an emotional level to allow me to express my true personality. One of my goals for this season was to be both consistent and artistic.

Throughout the pandemic, I have been able to stay on the ice, both at my home rink and for some time in St. Paul, MN. We were fortunate enough to have a smaller rink community and rink management and coaches that were able to work with the health department to allow my team to stay on the ice.
The pandemic changed many aspects of my daily life. It has been nice having my family around and being able to spend more time with my dogs.
As a full time high school student, taking all AP courses, I had to manage much of the learning on my own, while often working remotely.
I really enjoy history and math. This year I am having fun taking AP US History and AP Calculus AB. When I am finished with my competitive skating career, I hope to attend Montana State University.
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Postscript: Abigail shared a post-Nationals message (and news of an accidental injury!) with photos [in her Jan. 22nd Instagram post] (link will open a new window).