On Saturday Clara Peters (18) from Terenure will compete in the Ice Skating Association of Ireland's national competition and championship at Dundalk Icedome to continue representing Ireland at international level.

For the talented figure skater, who has already represented her country at European and world championships, it will be the first step in a journey that will hopefully see her make history as Ireland's first Olympic skater in the 2014 Winter Games. She talks to Chrissie Russell

'It seems crazy to me that all my friends are finishing their first year of college and, if I'd stayed here, that's what I would be doing too. Instead, I'm focused on doing the same thing that I've been doing for the past four years -- training for the 2014 Olympics.

"For as long as I can remember, I wanted to be an ice skater. When I was about seven I remember watching TV and the World Figure Skating Championships were on. I remember being mesmerised by the Russian skater, Alexei Yagudin's performance and knowing then that that was what I wanted to do.

"Unfortunately, training at a high level meant leaving home. There weren't many competitions in Ireland so I had to go to the UK or Europe to compete. By the time I was 13 the facilities didn't meet my needs and that was when I was offered the chance to go to a skate school in Florida under Kerry Leitch, one of Canada's leading coaches. After assessing my ability over three months I was offered a place, but in 2008 my coach suggested moving to the University of Delaware, the top school on the east coast, to give me even more opportunities.

"I'm an only child and it was just me and mum at home. I don't know how she managed it, letting her little girl go to the other side of the world at such a young age. But I begged to leave and mum knew I'd be miserable if I didn't go.

"At the start I was homesick and lonely. I even missed Irish food -- I had my gran sending me out Barry's tea bags every three weeks -- but I never doubted my decision. Missing home was the lesser of two evils -- I would miss skating more.

"Every day I spend four hours on the ice, then an hour of dance class and maybe an hour or so of off-ice conditioning. On top of that, I've sports psychology, physio and school. The high school I go to works with the skating school, so I'm only in class for the subjects that need a teacher, everything else I do online, often at the side of the rink between practice sessions.

"There's not a lot of time for a social life but I've been dating a guy for six months. He's from Brazil but in Philadelphia on a research internship for his PhD in chemical engineering. A lot of my skating friends go out with other skaters, but for me that would just be too much.

'I already live with skaters so it's good to take a time-out. I know I can obsess about skating, especially if there's a move I'm having trouble with, so speaking to people outside of the rink or baking or just watching comedians on YouTube are the things that take my mind off that.

"I loved watching Mikey from Boyzone competing in Dancing on Ice. I think that show has done so much to raise the profile of the sport but it's still not big in Ireland. I'd love to see that change and become a household name. It would be an honour to be the first person to represent Ireland in figure skating at the Olympic Games.

"My life plan only takes me as far as 2014 and it's strange to think that in four years it will all be over. Competitive skating has a very short shelf-life because of the strain it puts your body under. By 24 or 25 the body can't take that level of intensity any more.

"I'd love to tour with Disney on Ice for a few years but ultimately I want to come home and maybe study sports science at one of the Dublin universities. Even though I've been fortunate enough to do a lot of travelling, I'm looking forward to being able to visit places completely unconnected with skating.

"Mum and I have had to make a lot of sacrifices for me to pursue my dream. My contract with the skating school costs hundreds of thousands of euro which has all been provided by my family.

"I'd love sponsorship but it's a difficult time to look for funding. I take tuition from two world-class coaches and an Olympic coach and it's not cheap, and I can't afford to get as many lessons as I'd like.

"There've been times when I would have loved to have flown home or had mum fly out to see me but we can't afford that luxury.

"Because this competition is at the end of the skating season I'm staying at home for a month -- the longest time I've had home since I left four years ago.

"I think I appreciate my relationship with mum a lot more since I went away because every time I see or talk to her it really counts and I value it.

"In performance sports you come across a lot of young people who have parents pushing them, but mum made sure it was always my decision.

'When I started skating (at about seven years old) I used to go to the Silver Skate rink in Phibsboro, but when that closed my mum would drive me to Dundonald ice bowl in the North. I was allowed off school on Mondays, out at lunchtime on Friday and most weekends we'd get up at 5.30am to go up.

"I've always been in control of my sport and everything I put in is because I want it. Some days I ask myself 'What am I doing?' when I've been working on a jump and fallen eight out of 10 times. But five minutes later I'm back on the rink doing it again. I'm addicted to the ice.

"Usually I get a week at Christmas and Easter but because Saturday's competition falls so late in the skating season, I managed to beg my coach for a month off which I'm delighted about.

"I can't wait to spend time with mum and catch up with my friends and have conversations that are nothing to do with skating."

- Chrissie Russell

Irish Independent