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Headed To Junior Nationals
Jamestown Skating Academy Student To Compete Next Week
Jordan Bauth, center, is surrounded by Jamestown Skating Academy co-directors Lenel van den Berg, left, and Kirk Wyse, second
from right, and her mother, Suzanne. Submitted photo
Jordan Bauth doesn't have to look very far to find one of her favorite figure skaters.
After all, she and her idol, Taylor Firth, are both members of the Jamestown Skating Academy, whose home is at the Jamestown
Savings Bank Ice Arena.
"I look up to Taylor," said 12-year-old Jordan, who is a student at Lancaster Middle School. "She is a really hard worker
and she's always so calm and she's really good, too."
Jordan has apparently been paying attention.
For by virtue of her first-place performance in the Intermediate Division at the North Atlantic Regionals in Hackensack,
N.J., in October, she - like Firth before her - has earned a berth in the Junior Nationals, which will be held next week
in Strongsville, Ohio.
Jordan is the just the latest JSA member to earn the honor of competing against the best in the country, but it's a challenge
she believes she's ready for.
"I get a little nervous," she said, "but ... I'm real excited to go to nationals."
Jordan will perform a long program in Strongsville initially. If she qualifies for the finals, she'll do both short and
long programs.
"I really just want to skate my best," she said.
"Jordan has been skating well in practice," said Lenel van den Berg, co-director of the Skating Academy. "She is anxious
to get to Cleveland and that's a good thing."
A member of the JSA for three years, Jordan was also a fine gymnast, but elected to concentrate solely on figure skating.
"I really like learning new stuff, the competitions and the shows," she said.
Upon her return from the Junior Nationals, Jordan will be performing in the JSA's Ice Christmas, which will be held Dec.
20 at the JSBIA.
"The practices are long," Jordan said, "but they're really fun. I love doing the shows."
That passion for her sport makes the five trips to Jamestown each week to work with JSA co-directors Kirk Wyse and van
den Berg well worth it.
"Jordan does complete run-throughs of both her long and short programs each day without any hesitation," Wyse said. "She
knows this is a tough sport, but she enjoys both skating and its challenges."
"They make me work hard ... and they're really supportive," Jordan said of the JSA co-directors.
Even at such a young age, Jordan knows how to work with coaches. Her parents - Suzanne and Joe - are instructors in their
own right.
Suzanne is a skating coach, while Joe is the head baseball coach at Erie Community College.
Jordan, who is making rapid strides in her quest for excellence on the ice, hopes to hit a figurative home run next week.
Copyright - 2009, The Post-Journal
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