Story courtesy of College Sport Media

Caitlin Munn (Year 12) at Naenae College is a performer. She aspires to be an actor and is inspired by Ryan Reynolds and Margot Robbie.

Expressive, composed, balanced, and dedicated, artistic skating is the ideal sport for her talents. She discovered it, young, while at a disco at the Upper Hutt skating club. 

“I was there with my cousin. Oh gosh, I thought this is different, this is fun. I kept nagging my parents and eventually got into competitive skating,” Munn said.

The Upper Hutt Rolling Skating Club is one of the largest in the country and Munn soon befriended coach Katelyn Kennedy. Kennedy represented New Zealand at two World Championships in China and France. 

“Katelyn is super inspiring. She spends so much time with me and is always driving me to be better,” Munn said.

Munn competes in a variety of disciplines each judged on a combination of choreography, accuracy, creativity, technical agility, and virtuosity.

In April she performed exceptionally at the Central Areas Championship finishing first in Open Mini Precision and Small Show Group. Additionally, she was third in Junior Solo Dance and fourth in Preliminary Loops. Munn, who trains up to 20 hours a week, breaks down what’s involved in each discipline.

“Figures is a discipline in which you must be precise and stay in a circle which we call tracing. As you progress, you start doing harder figures with turns in them.

“Loops are similar, you must precisely trace a much smaller circle and perform a turn called a 'loop.' 

“Show skating involves a team of skaters who choreograph a routine and perform it for the judges. This is more of a fun event, mainly focusing on how well your team can perform together. This includes groups of skaters lifting team members and often has a strong theme to share or a story to tell.

“Precision is a similar discipline with a group of at least four skaters who perform a choreographed routine. The focus is to stay in time and look like your teammates.

“The solo style dance and free dance are two separate routines set to a choreographed routine with many elements in which you can score points. It depends on how well you execute your skills. Solo dance is the same except it includes a pattern dance that you follow.”

Munn competed in the Nationals in July in the same events and placed inside the top six in each event, including a gold medal.

The next major event on her calendar is the Oceania Championships in Whanganui in September. 

Article added: Friday 11 August 2023