Ice skating championship winner
Mariëlla Kolaja's passion for the ice began when she was three-years-old.
Northgate ice skater Mariëlle Kolaja’s (12) career indirectly began after she saw the film Ice Princess, when she was only three and a half years old.
In hindsight, her parents might have known the excitement she expressed after watching the film would one day blossom into a professional ice skating career.
After watching the movie’s lead character on the ice rink, it was all Kolaja wanted to do.
Her mother Lizelle Kolaja thought it would be a once-off thing, but after Kolaja’s almost nine years of skating, she now realises it’s here to stay.
“I don’t actually remember my first time on the ice, but I have been told I would not let go of the coaches”, Kolaja recalled. “Every time we returned from the rink, I’d ask my mother when our next time would be.”
Kolaja began competing professionally three years ago and won a gold medal at the recent Gauteng Inter-Provincial Championships held at the Festival Mall in Kempton Park. “I competed in the section for girls between 10 and 13-years-old. There is an artistic item and a freestyle item and you perform on your own with music”, Kolaja said.
Kolaja is a Grade 6 pupil at Cliffview Primary School. She wants to make a career out of ice skating. “I love the sound of the blades on the rink. I cannot remember a time when I could not skate. This is what I want to do. At 15 I would like to compete in the Junior World Championships and at 18 the Four Continents Championship.”
Kolaja will be competing at the Cape Inter-Provincial Champions in Cape Town from 11 to 13 October.
