A Glass House Mountains woman has found herself on a roll in artistic skating after discovering her sporting passion at age 35.
Karlee Cobby proves it’s never too late to embrace new goals after taking a roller-skating class on a whim, triumphing over injury and then achieving masterful success.
It all started when she was looking for a fun way to keep fit.
A class at the Caloundra Rollerdrome caught her eye.
Want more free local news? Follow Sunshine Coast News on Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram.
Eight years and hundreds of hours of training later, Karlee has fallen in love with artistic roller skating (also known as figure skating), mastering her craft at competitions throughout the country.
With the help of a Sunshine Coast Council Individual Development Grant, she recently travelled to Bunbury in Western Australia, winning bronze in Ladies Masters Freedance at the Australian National Artistic Skating Championships.
“Artistic skating is a fully self-funded sport, so the council grant was a big help when paying for flights, accommodation, car hire and competition entry fees,” Karlee said.
“I have received a council grant each year since 2019 to compete at a national level, which is amazing – especially for a mature-age athlete, as most other grants are only for children.”
Along with placing third in competitions nationally this year and in 2019, Karlee said her biggest achievement was returning to the sport after an ankle reconstruction. She has no plans to scale back her skating ambitions any time soon.
The talented athlete is set to make her second attempt at mastering the fourth level of dance skating assessment and has begun work with her coach on her 2024 Freedance routine for the upcoming season.
Like stories that inform, connect and celebrate the Sunshine Coast? So do we. Join an independent local news revolution by subscribing to our FREE daily news feed at the bottom of this article.
Freedance is an advanced event in masters roller skating, requiring technically very difficult turns, flexibility elements and choreography.
Karlee is also a volunteer roller skating instructor and encourages anyone looking for a fun and exciting sport to join in a Learn to Skate lesson at the Caloundra Rollerdrome on Saturday mornings.
“It’s a beautiful and incredibly challenging sport where you never stop learning,” she said.
“I would say if you are interested, go for it. You are never too old.
“We have events to suit most people and it’s an inclusive sport.”
Council offers a range of grants and funding throughout the year. The Individual Development Grants support individuals who are performing, competing or representing the Sunshine Coast Local Government Area at national or international competitions, conferences and events, and the individual is selected by a recognised national body. Visit the website for more information.
Did you know?
Artistic roller skating has four main disciplines:
- Dance – to perform a rhythmic and patterned succession of steps to music. One of the prime objectives is to interpret the rhythm of the music: for example, waltz and tango
- Freeskating – consists of jumps, spins and footwork blended in harmony with the skater’s choice of music
- Freedance – the combination of dance and freeskating with combined technical elements and choreography
- Figures – the individual follows the figure circle line on a specific edge. Figures become progressively more complex with the addition of turns and the use of the third circle
Source: Caloundra Rollerdrome
Like stories about Sunshine Coast people doing great things? Help us deliver more by registering for our FREE daily news feed. All it requires is your name and email at the bottom of this article.
