Last year, Audrey Shin surprised everyone, including herself, when she earned the bronze medal at the
2020 Guaranteed Rate Skate America behind veterans Mariah Bell and Bradie Tennell. In next week, the 17-year-old Shin will be heading back to The Orleans Arena in Las Vegas to compete at
2021 Guaranteed Rate Skate America, again, the first event of the 2021 Grand Prix Series.
"It's obviously going to be a little different this year than last," Shin, who was supposed to compete at the 2020 Junior Grand Prix Series before it was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, said. "But, I'm still going to treat it the same [as last year]. I'm going to focus, have fun and learn a lot."
This year, Skate America® will not be a domestic event, and Shin is expected to compete against Russia's Alexandra Trusova in addition to her U.S. teammates Tennell and Amber Glenn.
For the second season, Shin has chosen to skate to "The Giving" by Michael W. Smith for her short program.
"I got so many good comments from the judges, audiences and my coaches… So, I decided to do ['The Giving'] one more time," Shin said. "I really like the music of it. It's beautiful, and it might be my favorite program ever."
For her free skate, Shin chose to skate to a classic, Beethoven's "Moonlight Sonata." According to Shin, part of the appeal to the piece was learning the inspiration behind the song.
"A lot of people don't know [Beethoven] wrote it for a girl he wanted to be with, but couldn't because he was a lower class than her," Shin explained. "My choreographer [Drew Meekins] and I were shocked to learn about it. Then, we found the [Immortal Beloved] letters Beethoven wrote about the girl, so we added some of the words to the music to remake it."
Despite having a rocky start to her training this year, Shin placed fourth at Cranberry Cup, where she earned an personal-best score in the short program, and then bronze at
Lombardia Trophy. Although, back in May, Shin was still recovering from a stress fracture in her fibula.
"At the beginning [of the injury], I was really upset at myself for getting injured," said Shin, who had to take a month off from training. "But, now, I feel motivated to get back and have found a new passion. Which really helps push me for the rest of the season."
Last year, Shin had another injury that halted her training during the off-season, but she was able to still maintain off-ice training with coach Tammy Gambill. During that time -- while ice rinks were closed due to the pandemic -- Shin felt more comfortable knowing her competitors were not able to practice either. This time, though, Shin needed the full recovery off the ice while everyone else was preparing for the new season.
"I was nervous about my first big competition at Cranberry," Shin said. "So far, we have lowered the difficulty of jump elements, and I'm still working towards getting my old elements back. [Cranberry and Lombardia] could have gone better, but I'm still happy overall."
At the end of August, Shin was invited to attend Champs Camp in Nashville, Tennessee, receive feedback on her programs. The performance-based camp is intended to prepare athletes for the Grand Prix Series. The feedback from Champs Camp proved to be valuable and helped Shin win a skate-off against other skaters to secure her Skate America® assignment.
"I treated it like a competition," Shin said. "[Overall] Champs Camp was really fun and exciting. Because it's an Olympic year, [U.S. Figure Skating] had extra presentations and workshops."
Thinking about the upcoming Olympic Winter Games in Beijing, Shin is staying calm. The 2021-22 season is only Shin's second on the senior international circuit. According to Shin, she's already found her footing more as a senior than she had on the junior circuit. After earning the 2019 U.S. junior silver medal, Shin was plagued with surgery on her ankle in May 2019 and, later, boot and blade problems that contributed to a 12th-place finish at Junior Grand Prix event in Russia.
Outside of skating, Shin is completing her senior year of high school, studying for the college entrance exams and writing college applications.
"It's been a little stressful balancing school and skating," Shin, who currently attends a public online high school, shared. "Sometimes it's hard going to international competitions and having to study. Thankfully, my teachers are very understanding."
Shin has learned the art of grace under pressure and managing her stress. Similar to her approach to the 2020 Skate America and her upcoming Grand Prix performance, Shin is taking it all one step at a time.
"Pressure never does any good for me. However, you can turn pressure into excitement and motivation and have fun along the way."
Fans can tune in next week to watch Audrey Shin and Team USA at 2021 Guaranteed Rate Skate America on Peacock Premium. The event will also be broadcasted live on NBCSN and NBC (see full schedule for details).
