Sofia jarmoc ’27 and Jakup Galbavy stand with their medals.
This past January, Sofia Jarmoc ’27 placed fourth in Junior Pairs at the U.S. National Figure Skating Championships in Wichita, Kansas. Originally starting with hockey, Jarmoc switched to figure skating to improve her skating skills. She eventually fell in love with the sport and never returned to hockey. Despite breaking her ankle earlier in the season, Jarmoc managed to qualify for her first U.S. Championships with her partner, Luke Witkowski.
Jarmoc was very proud of their performances, noting that high placement was pivotal for future qualification for domestic and international competitions.
“We were very proud of what we could accomplish. It was our first Nationals, and it was important for other assignments on the circuit. It is crucial for qualifying for international assignments, and we were lucky enough to place well enough to qualify for an assignment in the Netherlands in a few weeks,” said Jarmoc.
Although there were many great moments during their performance, Jarmoc specifically highlighted the twists at the beginning of the program, earning many points towards their final score.
Jarmoc said, “One of the elements that we are proud of are the twists at the beginning of the program. The twist is generally the most difficult. It is when the male throws the female in the air, and the female twists before the male catches her. People assume it is an easier element because it is usually done well. But, it is one of the more energy-consuming elements, and I was happy with how well we executed it and how many points we scored on it.”
With the event being held in the United States, Jarmoc felt a shift in atmosphere compared to previous competitions. She noted the energetic home crowd was a welcomed change compared to competitions held in other countries.
“The special thing about Nationals is that it is on home ice, which makes it a more electric event. When I went to France for an assignment, it was a bit foreign, with the fans cheering for other skaters. At Nationals, you are with your friends and on U.S. ice, so people are cheering for you. It is different from every other competition because of the lights and the good pressure, and the crowd is just rambunctious, and it has a great atmosphere,” said Jarmoc.
After their performance at the U.S. Championships, the pair received an assignment on the Junior World Circuit in the Netherlands, an important event for Junior World qualification.
Jarmoc said, “We got an assignment very recently in the Netherlands. It is a huge opportunity because it gives us points for the Junior World Circuit. The more international assignments you do, the more points you get… We must gain more points so that we can be considered for the Junior World Team at Nationals. If we are selected, it would be great because, next year, we will move onto the senior level, where we can be picked for senior worlds and Olympic spots.”
