By ALLY MORIN
Special to The Westfield News
WESTFIELD – Figure skater Julia Romanelli is jumping for joy following a successful competition weekend.
The local 12-year-old was the lone athlete to represent Western Mass at the State Games of America this past weekend, placing third in the Juvenile Girls division in figure skating.
For the past four years, the soon-to-be seventh grader from North Middle School has balanced her time between school and training at the International Skating School of Connecticut, often doing homework in the car. Romanelli said her favorite moves in the rank are jumps.
Local figure skater Julia Romanelli shows off some of her moves on the ice.
This year, her long hours of training paid off as she entered the competition season.
A season of hard work and an excellent training program complimented her pursuit of the State Games of America and Romanelli to Omaha, Nebraska to place third in the Juvenile Girls division in figure skating. She qualified for this competition by being a medalist at the 2014 Nutmeg State Games in Connecticut.
Moving forward, Romanelli is excited to compete at regionals in the fall and will continue to develop her technique as she progresses with training.
Aside from her success in competitions, Romanelli’s motivation to advance springs from her love of the sport. Where figure skating leads her in the future is up in the air.
