Palmerston North skater Phoenix Reid at the 2018 world championships in France. Photo / Raniero Corbelletti
Palmerston North skater Phoenix Reid at the 2018 world championships in France. Photo / Raniero Corbelletti
Phoenix Reid is packing a lot into her summer break from uni.
The Palmerston North artistic roller skater is already in Florence training, and next month will go to Orlando, Florida, to compete in the Americas Cup Roller Skating Championship of Clubs.
Joining her in the United States will be eight other skaters from the Manawatū Skating Club, plus coach Kylie Shirley, and her mother Sonja Reid who is the team manager.
It is the first time the club has gone to the Americas Cup and Manawatū is the only club from New Zealand attending this year.
The competition is now recognised by governing body World Skate.
Reid was 4 when she started roller skating. A friend of her mother’s, who had twins, invited her to a learn-to-skate session.
The twins and Reid were born two weeks apart and went on to train and compete together. They become known as the triplets throughout New Zealand skating.
Reid says as a kid she enjoyed the camaraderie of a tight-knit group of people. As she got older she has grown to like the sport more and more.
Now she is 21, the camaraderie is more like a big-sister role, with her coaching role equally rewarding.
“I think I will be sticking around for a while longer.”
Reid competes internationally in dance and figures (circles, tracing on the line).
It is Reid’s fourth stint training in Florence, and her first since the pandemic. The opportunity came about when coach Cristina Moretti came to New Zealand in 2014 and invited Reid to train with her.
Reid saved up and went in 2016 on a high school exchange.
She has just finished a Bachelor of Science at Massey University majoring in biochemistry and physiology.
Reid is a member of Massey’s Academy of Sport support programme for high-performance athletes. The programme has been a “lifesaver”, helping her balance study and sport.
“I don’t think I would have kept going without that.”
Reid has been offered a place to do her master’s next year.
Judges assess Phoenix Reid's technical ability at the 2018 world championships in France. Photo / Raniero Corbelletti
The Manawatū skaters who will join Reid at the Americas Cup are Lily Patete, Esta Patete, Ben Shirley, Jessica Shirley, Claudia McLean, Emma McLaren, Katja Franzmayr, and associate member Pippa McKee from Whanganui.
The club has been fundraising with roller discos. It also held a styling night with Laurene Wilson, a skating parent from Hawke’s Bay.
The next roller disco is on December 17 at Bell Hall, 6.30pm-8pm. The $10 entry includes skate hire.
There will be all-day sausage sizzles at Mitre 10 on December 10 and Christmas Eve.
Phoenix and Sonja are on the Manawatū Skating Club committee and Phoenix is the skaters representative on the NZ Artistic Roller Sports committee.
