Horizon West figure skater competes in Pennsylvania

Horizon West resident Ryan Lipman, 8, fell in love with figure skating in January 2021 and since then, he discovered his dream — to be an Olympian. 

“I want to be an Olympian, a world champion, a coach — and own my own ice rink,” he said. 

Most recently, Ryan skated at the U.S. Figure Skating Association National Qualifying Series last weekend in Ardmore, Pennsylvania. 

Although he was one of the youngest competitors in the Juvenile Boys division, it wasn’t the first time Ryan has tested his skating skills. Already in his young career, Ryan has captured first-place medals in competitions in Atlanta; Orlando; Havertown, Pennsylvania; Kankakee, Illinois; Laurel, Maryland; Boston; and Des Moines, Iowa.

A NATURAL

Everything started on a rainy afternoon, when the Lipmans were living in Maryland. Ryan had fallen in love with the “Frozen” movie scene during which Elsa skates and was asking his parents to take him ice skating. 

“Right when I stepped on the ice, I was zooming through the rink,” he said. 

Prior to figure skating, from ages 5 to 7, Ryan played hockey. However, something clicked the first time he tried figure skating.

“At first, he wanted to do both, but then he was like, ‘This is more my speed and what I enjoy,’” mom Kelly Lipman said. 

When the Lipmans moved  in 2019 to Orlando, they were looking for a place to have Ryan enrolled in hockey. The family found its way to the RDV Sportplex Ice Den in Maitland, where Ryan played hockey with the Junior Solar Bears for two years. 

Soon, Ryan met his current ice skating coach — former US Olympic figure skater Calla Urbanski, who skated in the 1992 Olympics. 

“He started a lesson with her, and they just get each other,” his dad, Jeff Lipman, said. “There has to be a personality click, because if there is not, it wouldn’t work.” 

In figure skating, skaters must progress through a series of competitive levels — pre-preliminary, preliminary, pre-juvenile and juvenile. Recently, Ryan passed the free skate test for the juvenile category and the free showcase program as well. 

The juvenile category allows girls 12 and younger and boys 13 and younger to compete at a higher level and get invited to more difficult competitions. Ryan passed the juvenile free skating test with honors — meaning he performed everything better than required.

Since November 2021, Ryan has presented and passed the eight tests required for an ice skater to get to the juvenile category. 

“They started virtual testing; some kids love it some kids hate it,” Jeff Lipman said. “The virtual testing has opened the door for the players who have the skill to be able to increase a little faster.” 

DON’T STOP HIM NOW

During his 2022 season, Ryan hopes to get all his doubles to be consistent, especially now that he is working on the double lutz, the double loop, the double flip and the double toe loop. The double axel is still yet to be introduced into his training. 

Ryan’s favorite moves to perform on the ice are the spins.

“When you spin, you get to have different spins each time and also, you can sometimes make your own spin,” he said. 

For his appearance at the U.S. Figure Skating Association National Qualifying Series, Ryan had to lengthen his routine from 1:10 to 2:30, doubling it in length. 

For his 2022 season routines, Ryan has been performing the song “Don’t Stop Me Now” by Queen. 

“It’s my favorite song out of every song,” he said.

“We would play it in the car when he had hockey practices to get him hyped up,” Kelly Lipman said. “He connected with the song and really liked it.”

Out of 19 skaters who participated in the qualifying series, Ryan placed 13th. 

“He was the youngest competitor and definitely impressed the judges,” Kelly Lipman said. “He was the only skater from Florida in his event and represented our state so well.”

Because of his dream of becoming an Olympian, Ryan is home-schooled and currently is learning through FVLS. He wakes up at 5 a.m. to get to the rink and get some early ice time. 

Ryan is affiliated with the Figure Skating Club of Osceola, based out of the Ice Factory in Kissimmee.

In addition to his parents’ willingness to get him to practices and competitions throughout the country, Ryan’s older brother, Joshua Lipman, also offers emotional support and has been a huge fan of his brother since he began skating.

Ryan practices Monday through Saturdays for a couple of hours on the ice rink and has a few additional hours where he takes ballet and gymnastic classes to complement his performing skills.