She hits the finishing pose. She smiles warily. She concentrates on containing her heaving chest. Finally, she relaxes. She glides away, feeling refreshed with her endorphins running high. She is Eve Hanson.

Hanson, a Paly sophomore, is a well-rounded person. She participates on Paly’s mock trial and track and field teams. During the track season, she competes in sprints as well as the high jump. Her passion, however, is on the ice.

“It’s like a constant rush, really exciting,” Hanson said, describing the feeling of ice-skating.

Hanson started ice-skating at the age of seven when her mom signed her up for an easy skating class once a week at the local rink, Winter Lodge. When she realized she was really enjoying it, she enrolled in more classes. She now takes five classes a week for forty-five minutes each time.

For the five times she goes to the rink a week, she takes four different classes: freestyle, stroking, synchronized skating, and private lessons. Freestyle is when she practices and learns new jumps and spins. Stroking is conditioning class.

“I basically skate around the rink really fast and try to build up my muscles,” Hanson said. “It’s really tiring.”

Her favorite classes are the private lessons because they make a big difference in her skating ability.

“Having one class dedicated entirely to you motivates you to work harder.” She said. In addition to ice-skating, she also watches over younger skaters as volunteer work. She finds this beneficial because she gets community service hours and job training.
Hanson also finds inspiration in famous figure skaters. She fondly remembers watching the winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, Utah.

“I loved watching Michelle Kwan and Sasha Cohen,” Hanson said. “Especially Michelle Kwan. She always looks like she loves what she’s doing, and looks like she’s really motivated. She now doesn’t even have a coach and instead choreographs her own routines. It’s really moving.”

Hanson looks at Michelle Kwan as a role model because she channels her creativity through figure skating.

"Sometimes when I am bored and listening to music I start choreographing routines in my mind, like where I would put a great jump or a spin. Figure skating, to me, is like an outlet."
It is because of this that Hanson chooses not to compete in competitions.

"I’m serious about skating, but I want to make sure to keep the fun in it," Hanson said. "I know a lot of people who are really intense about it and get really stressed out. Figure skating is a way for me to relax and not worry about all the other stresses in life. There would be no fun in it if I were to stress about it."

When Hanson skates, she puts her whole self into it, often finding a kind of nirvana mid-jump or spin because she is totally immersed and focused on keeping balance.

“When you’re spinning it’s kind of crazy because you’re going around so fast you can’t really think about anything. When I take off [for a jump] I don’t even think about it and when I land it perfectly I think ‘that was cool!’”

In the end it is Hanson’s independent spirit makes her well-suited for figure skating. She enjoys the fact that it is a self-reliant sport, and that it is stimulating.

“I like that it’s challenging, but I don’t have to rely on someone else to do my best. It’s a really personal thing, you can’t rely on anyone else but you also can’t blame anyone else.”