ENGLISH 英 :  Tim Chin | CHINESE 中 :  Fiona Cho

Photographer: TIm Chin • Venue: Eliyahu Wellenes Centre, Canada GAmes Place

“We imagine the jump, the spin or the trick so we can analyze all the movements, with the specific parts of our body throughout the jump, to make sure it turns out well. It is important to have a focused mindset.”

This is how Daisy Li, a promising 13-year-old Chinese figure skater from Prince Edward Island, explains how she approaches a jump during a competition. It’s how she, quite literally, finds momentum. Her practice of visualization has led to her being named Junior Female Athlete of the Year at the 2023 P.E.I. Skate Canada Annual Awards ceremony, held this past May. Her other achievements are starting to pile up. After just one season of training, Li is one of only a handful of P.E.I. athletes to qualify for the provincial skate team, something her coach, Kim Duffy, finds remarkable.

“Daisy loves to compete,” Duffy says. “She has an inner drive to do well and she works very hard to maintain her skill level to achieve her success.”

12歲的李昕昀（Daisy Li）是愛德華王子島（P.E.I.）的花樣滑冰隊成員，出戰2023年加拿大冬季運動會，為島上華人社區締造歷史，以優秀亮麗的成績引起了大眾的注意。Daisy於午夜時分出生，父母選用兩個日字部首的中文字為她取名：「昕」代表太陽快將出來，「昀」是日光之意，希望女兒的人生充滿光明，樂觀積極。

2014年，她跟父母舉家從中國北京移民加拿大，於愛德華王子島上的小城市夏洛特敦(Charlottetown) 定居。島上民風純樸、安靜、擁有豐富天然資源，同時亦有很多華人移民，一家很快便投入及適應當地生活。父母曾讓她嘗試不同的運動和興趣，直至六歲時，Daisy​​最後選擇了花樣滑冰，並加入Charlottetown Skating Club (Skate Canada) 學習滑冰項目。「我很喜歡花樣滑冰，覺得在表演時找到樂趣，也很高興能在觀眾面前表演。」Daisy最初只是玩票性質，經過幾次參賽獲獎後，她便決心鑽研怎樣成為更優秀的滑冰選手。三年前，她開始接受競技滑冰的訓練，而且在短時間取得卓越的成績，成為首位參與全國賽事的P.E.I.華裔選手。

Skating, for Li, is all-consuming. She recently started learning Russian, to understand the commentary surrounding some of the Russian figure skaters she follows. It’s her passion for the sport that keeps her motivated and engaged. The journey is what is most important to her, the constant process of getting better, of improving step-by-step.

“It’s hard to know when you’ve reached your goal,” Li says. “I go until I feel that I’m satisfied that I’ve learned something from the training I’ve done.”

Constant, incremental improvement is key to progress in skating. No one, no matter how talented, can step onto the ice, and pull off Olympic-level turns. There are specific exercises for specific elements in a given skate program. Practice is repetitive and monotonous, inevitably encompassing a lot of falling, and tears. A strong support system is important to navigating the challenges.

Yun Zhang, Li’s mother, provides that support. She is fully committed to her daughter’s progress through constant encouragement. This is what she feels is integral to her daughter’s success, not just in skating, but also in life. “Daisy isn’t a born figure skater,” Zhang says, “but she works hard, and doesn’t quit.” Her job as Li’s mother is to ensure that her daughter doesn’t lose herself in the effort required to be an elite athlete. Li’s education, creativity and opportunity to “just be a kid” are prioritized and reinforced in support of her overall well-being. 

Daisy的主教練Kim Duffy表示:「Daisy是我見過最有趣、有禮貌和最體貼的學生。她的鬥心很強，喜歡競爭，追求進步，並且非常努力保持技術水平以取得成功。」

入選參加全國賽事的要求很高，必需完成包括雙跳、旋轉等指定動作的要求。而且，對比其他城市，愛德華王子島冰少，滑冰運動訓練的資源實在非常有限。過去三年的夏天，Daisy跟隊員要到哈利法克斯和多倫多等地方接受訓練和參加比賽，過程縱然非常艱鉅，她都克服了。

Kim表示由衷欣賞Daisy父母在各個方面支持，不但盡力參與女兒的滑冰活動，支持她的目標和理想，還重視她的教育、製造各種嬉戲的時間，讓她仍有平衡的生活和童年的純真。

Daisy媽媽張勻強調女兒今日的成績是經刻苦努力練習的成果，而不是與生俱來的優勢。「花樣滑冰是一項非常個人的運動，很單調，需要不斷重複練習同一動作，令身體肌肉記得當中的細節，得以精準地作出完美的動作，沒有捷徑，也不能與人分享，是一種非常孤獨的運動。」 Daisy對於滑冰的熱愛及認真程度，那種毅力與堅持，看在父母的眼內亦深受感動。張勻表示亦曾因為看到她在比賽中失誤跌倒，難免感到痛心。「她無論跌倒多少次還是爬起來，一遍一遍的重複，她是從思想到身體都強大的孩子，因此我也會繼續支持、陪伴她。」

Clearly, excellence is a standard that Li must strive for to perform at an elite level. But her focus isn’t just on winning. She approaches a national competition as a learning experience. “In the bigger cities, there are more people to look up to — skaters and coaches with knowledge,” she says, exuding a calm and poise beyond her years. 

Her composure in the face of intense pressure is another thing that is remarkable about her, her coach says. 

“Daisy has been getting a lot of attention from the Chinese community and the media,” Duffy says, “but she’s handled it graciously and with an awareness of the impact she has on younger skaters and her peers. I couldn’t be prouder. Daisy trains for herself. She sets a high standard of practice and demonstrates a consistent, strong work ethic, serving as an example.”

有一次到安省比賽，Daisy緊張地問媽媽如果「包尾」 怎麼辦，媽媽徐徐安慰女兒，跟其他訓練時間相若的孩子比較，她已經做得很好；而且，運動成績的好壞，對父母來說並不重要，滑冰只是生活的一部分，鼓勵女兒放眼更廣闊的舞台 :「世界是一個平台，每一場比賽都是一個特別的體驗，不是因為贏才參加比賽，其實是學習如何去輸。如何克服輸了以後，有信心去面對挑戰，這比贏了比賽更加重要。」

因為媽媽的徇徇教導，Daisy經常保持正念。「遇到失敗或者挫折的時候，我會回想我曾經成功的時候，也會看看我所獲得的獎牌、獎座，然後繼續努力，希望達到另一次的成功。我知道自己還有很多進步的空間，需要努力學習。」年紀小小的Daisy，已懂得自我調節負面和沮喪的心情，無懼挫折。

Li’s understanding of the challenges that those just starting out in the sport can face has inspired in her an empathy for others who might want to follow her path. “I want them to know that if they keep on trying, they will do it,” says Li, adding that encouragement and praise are important in developing confidence at early levels. When young people like her can find enjoyment in a competitive sport like figure skating, the momentum is there to succeed. “Finding something that motivates you, that keeps you going and doing the things you love, enables you to do your sport and continue your journey well,” she says.

In Li’s case, growth through perseverance is where momentum is found. Return now to how she described completing a trick: first, imagine the jump. Next, analyze all the movements and be aware of the surrounding space. And above all, be present in the journey.

Observes Duffy, “Daisy has the potential to be successful in any sport that she chooses. She is talented because she is an athlete, but in figure skating, you need to be creative and expressive as well. As Daisy is maturing, these qualities are developing and I believe that she will excel in this sport as she trains for bigger goals.”

Li’s response to that? 

“I just want to keep skating until I can’t.”

「我最近在學習俄文，因為見到俄羅斯的滑冰選手有很多優美的動作，我想明白瞭解更多，並從中能夠學習一些技巧。」除了練習滑冰，Daisy也參與其他運動例如田徑賽、長曲棍球，是全能運動型的孩子，而且喜歡畫畫，擁有多方面才華。同時，她亦熱心照顧在PEI學習滑冰的新學員，常與他人分享學習經驗，希望自己能成為其他年輕滑冰運動員的榜樣。Daisy夢想代表P.E.I.參加全國比賽，我們祈望她有一天能代表加拿大出戰世界賽。

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