Chelsea Christopher sacrifices a lot for her skating. 

The Springfield resident wakes up at 4 a.m. every day and is at the rink by 7 a.m. She practices seven hours a day then heads home to work out. After that, she finishes her schoolwork and has maybe two hours left at the end of the day. She has not seen many of her friends in over four years. Since she began skating seven years ago, she has travelled all over the country to compete and has won over 60 medals.
All this and she is only 14.

It almost seemed as though skating was a match never meant to be for Christopher.  When she was three, her grandfather, Walt Christopher, took her to the rink for the first time.

“I didn’t like it,” said Christopher.  “I fell down a lot.”

But when she was 7, Christopher gave it another shot. She has not looked back.
Since then, Christopher’s life has revolved around her skating. In order to be able to practice her skating in the morning, she receives an education through the Ohio Virtual Academy (OHVA), an accredited online institution.

“We found out about it through plans of six or seven other girls at the rink who were also going to use it,” said Chelsea’s father, Joe. “It started with Treca [another virtual academy], but that didn’t work out. There was only one computer to share and no Web site.”

The decision to allow Chelsea to receive an education through OHVA was a difficult one for the Christophers.   

“It had a lot to do with her results in competition. We felt that she really had a future in skating,” said Joe. “We’ve been really happy with the results [of OHVA] so far. We fell that she’s ahead of where she would be in public school.”

Chelsea’s mother, Rebecca, said that their main concern was whether Chelsea would put in the work. The OHVA, she insisted, has a difficult curriculum that must be followed. But, Chelsea headed the call.

“I amazed that she’s only 14 and she does it on her own,” said Rebecca. “You don’t have to get her up at 4 a.m. She does it on her own. You don’t have to make sure she does her homework. She does it on her own.”

Another concern for the Christophers was the social aspect. Home schooling means there is a lack of interaction with other students. However, the solution presented itself in the form of Chelsea’s skating.

“We considered that there are a lot of other children at the rink, so it’s not as though she’s here and we’re closing the doors,” said Rebecca.

Recently, Chelsea competed in the Junior Olympics in Utah.  Though she didn’t place, just competing placed her in the top 40 in the nation and was a learning experience for Chelsea.

Currently, Chelsea is trying to clinch a spot in Nationals.  If she earns a spot, she will qualify as either a junior or a novice.

In between major competition, Chelsea competes in as many minor competitions as possible. Competing in both major and minor competitions gives Chelsea an opportunity to travel all over, including New York, California and Washington D.C. 

“I like walking around the cities and seeing all the beautiful places,” said Chelsea. "And the shopping.”

The Christophers credit grandfather Walt with Chelsea’s success. He was familiar with the rink he originally took Chelsea to (and where she still goes) because that is where he took Joe when he played ice hockey. It was Walt who encouraged Chelsea to pursue skating when a coach at the rink saw her skate and told Walt that she had a lot of talent.

“He’s with her all day. He takes her to the rink in the morning and he makes decisions with the coach,” said Joe. “He even got a job at the rink.”

Like many young athletes, Chelsea said that she would like to compete in the Olympics. While she could conceivably compete in the 2010 Olympics at age 16, the Christophers feel that the 2014 Olympics, when Chelsea would be 20, would be a more realistic goal. 

“There’s a lot that goes along with it. There are some things you need to go through and experience emotionally and it makes the skating more expressive and beautiful,” said Rebecca.

At the end of the day, and on the weekend (Chelsea does not skate on weekends unless she is competing), Chelsea said that she likes to work on the computer. She likes experimenting with music and web design, she said.  When she watches TV, she watches the Disney channel and, of course, ice skating.     

“All I’m thinking when I’m watching is, ‘I want to do that.  I want to be there,’” said Chelsea.

If she continues to work as hard as she already has, she just might be there some day. She might just be the inspiration that makes the next generation of 14 year olds wake up at 4:00 am every day just to get to the rink in time.