I am a Skater...and I need your help!

Okay. There's been something on my mind for a while now, and I need to share it with you.

Since starting my blog, I've been very interested in finding out what kind of questions people have about skating. Fortunately for me, I can use the 'Stats' feature on my blog to find out interesting statistics about all the people on my blog. I can find out what country my blog is most popular in (USA, closely followed by Hong Kong), which is the most popular internet browser (Safari followed by Firefox) and, most interestingly, what people type into google before they end up at my blog. This is really interesting, because I can find out what skaters want to know, but it has also brought something to my attention.

Every day, without fail, someone will search something to do with a body concern.

Am I too tall to figure skate? Can top heavy girls skate? Should male figure skaters be tall? Are short people better at figure skating? Average heights of Olympic skaters? Do figure skaters have big legs? Are long arms bad for figure skating? Do figure skating judges prefer pretty girls? Are my hips too big to land double jumps?

These are all genuine searches from people out there, worrying about whether their body is inhibiting their skating. Honestly, it upsets me that so many skaters feel that, for whatever reason, their bodies aren't good enough for skating. And to be honest, that makes me mad at the sport. I know, I know, it's not figure skating's fault that teenagers are uncertain and insecure about their bodies, but if so many people think that they're wrong for the sport, there has to be something wrong with the ideas people are getting about it.

So I want to change that. Not only that, but I want YOU to change that. Maybe we can't do much, but we can do something. If you want to get involved, then I would love for your help. I want to be able to prove to everybody that skaters are all shapes, heights and sizes. I want people to see that people, whether they are tall, short, top heavy, bottom heavy, skinny or curvy, can always skate, and can always do something amazing on the ice, whether that is going to the Olympics, making people gasp with an amazing split jump or just making others smile with their infectious joy out there!

So, if you're a skater and you're reading this, all that I ask is that you do one of the two things below:

1. Send me a picture of you as a skater. You can be at a competition, in practice, or even off the ice and holding your skates. You can be young, old or in between! As long as it shows that you are a skater, it's perfect! You can even include a typed message beginning with the words "I am a skater..." An example would be a picture of you, and a message saying, "I am a skater, and my short legs are super powerful!" or "I am a skater, and I feel beautiful out there!"

2. Pass this post on to another skater you know. Other forums, blogs, or people at your rink!

If enough pictures come in, I hope to publish them either in a video or on my blog under the title "I am a Skater", to prove that skaters come in all shapes and sizes!

Please get involved! We can't do everything, but every little helps. :) If you want to send a picture, please feel free to upload it to a file hosting site (like www.tinypic.com) and send me the link in a comment, or in a message on my Youtube channel.