Art on Ice young talents – against the odds

Art on Ice young talents promotes up-and-coming talents and gives them the chance to appear in the main Art on Ice show. AXA Switzerland supports this important commitment as a partner.

The lights go on, live music fills the hall and the young skaters glide elegantly onto the ice. Jumps, pirouettes, perfectly choreographed movements – then silence. A moment later, thunderous applause erupts. Today, the Art on Ice young talents are part of the big stage. But their journey there began quietly. Here, four young people give an insight into their careers.

The triumph in the spotlight tells only half the story. Hard years were behind it: countless early morning hours in ice rinks, financial hurdles that push families to their limits, and the constant question: is their dream at all achievable? Art on Ice young talents is not only about the glamor of success, but also about the courage to believe in yourself. AXA shares this belief: With the motto “Know You Can,” it supports Art on Ice and its young talents on their way to the top.

Unequal conditions

The path to top-class sport is not always even. The training options vary greatly, depending on where you live. “There are no sports schools in my canton of residence. I’ve had to stick to the normal school timetable since I was a child,” says a young talent. “It’s never easy to do both at the same time. But since I love ice skating, it never stopped me. Managing this double burden, even when I was tired or stressed, became a prerequisite for success.”

As well as time at school and on the ice, one thing in particular uses up valuable resources: getting there. Logistics is an often underestimated opponent. “Every week I spend a lot of time on the train – on the way to training or school,” says a young figure skater. To get to training, he has travel costs for a journey that takes about an hour each way. Those who start in regions without suitable infrastructure are hit even harder. You need to bring an extra dose of initiative: “When I started skating, there were very few ice facilities, so we had to travel a long way almost every day. In addition, there was very little supervised training, so I often trained alone for two hours.” It was only after two years and a change of club that conditions improved for the athlete.

And after all, the dream of ice skating is also a question of money: talent alone doesn’t pay bills. Entrance fees, club fees and coaching, as well as mobility, equipment competition clothing are expensive. “When I wasn’t fully aware of my ambitions as a figure skater, it was difficult to convince others of my talent. And it was very difficult to get financial support,” recalls one skater of the hurdles when it comes to sponsorship.

A dream greater than any doubt

The psychological pressure in figure skating is enormous. “It took me a long time to get my nerves under control before competitions – especially if I really wanted to skate perfectly,” says one young woman. Her colleague adds: “Only over time did I realize how important mental training is in competitive sports.” In addition, he kept being told that figure skating was a girl’s sport. And almost all young talents know what it’s like to be told that their goals are unrealistic.

If you want to rise, you have to learn to push away doubts – your own as well as those of others. Criticism can hold you back, but it can also be a driver. When a talented young man was said to skate “like a baby” because of his small body, this provoked defiance: “That motivated me all the more to train even harder and to prove everyone else wrong.”

Many young athletes were even warned directly about failure. Phrases such as “The chances of success in figure skating are slim. Better stop before it ends up being just a hobby” could have meant the end of a career. Instead, they were driven to carry on – even more so now.

A springboard for the future

The young talents believed in themselves and are now rightly in the spotlight. At the same time, they are aware that they couldn’t have done it alone: “I was very lucky. My environment has always been supportive,” says one of the young talents. 

This shows that if you give everything, you can achieve great things with some help. This is precisely why AXA supports Art on Ice young talents as a partner. For young figure skaters, Art on Ice young talents is more than just a stage. It’s a first sign that their efforts have paid off – and a stepping stone to a promising career on the ice. Know You Can.