“When you see someone better than you are... it’s kind of like that sick jealous feeling and it drives you to push yourself even more,” said junior Arnab Sarker, Student Government Association Vice President and member of the junior class council.

Sarker practices his figure skating at Rockville Ice Arena and Cabin John Ice Rink four times a week for two hours a day. The competitions start around October and end in May with many different exhibitions in between and the skaters usually get the summer off. The competitions can last up to two days.

“In Maryland, usually I am up against college freshman or so, but [in] bigger competitions, like regionals, there are 12-year-olds,” said Sarker.

Sarker most recently won the Hershey Open for his division at Hershey Park in Pennsylvania. “Sometimes they combine girls and guys so it ends up being like 20 people who you are competing against or it may only be like six. At the regionals it was like 70 or 80.”

Sarker started figure skating in sixth grade after his class went to an ice rink. Before that, he had only been ice skating once and he had not done so well. “I went a few more times and then I started to like it,” said Sarker. He started with group lessons and eventually started taking private lessons.

“My favorite part of figure skating is probably just being on the ice…it’s so…free and boundless,” Sarker said. He plans to continue his figure skating competitions through college, where he intends to join their figure skating team.

“The hardest part is definitely the mental control you have to have during skating,” said Sarker. “I mean, if you don’t have the confidence to think you will land something... you definitely won’t land it. You have to always be confident in your skills and yourself.”

“Usually people think I am kidding or they are really excited about it,” Sarker said about the reaction of others when they find out he is a figure skater.