EVERETT — Kylee Berger has lofty goals. Lofty, but in her case, they seem attainable.
“I want to be number one in the world a couple times,” the 13-year-old artistic roller skater said casually while perched on the carpeted bench at the Everett Skate Deck last week.
The Shoreline native hopes to come one step closer to achieving her goal of world domination when she takes to the roller rink in Lincoln, Neb., July 21-Aug. 6 at the 2003 United States Roller Skating Championships.
Berger secured a fifth straight trip to nationals by claiming five gold medals at the Northwest Artistic Regional Championships in June.
An avid skater since she was 9, Berger said her past experience at nationals helps take the edge off competing, but also adds pressure.
“It’s a lot easier, (but there’s) a little more pressure to skate well,” she said.
Berger, Hansen and five other skaters from the Everett Expressions Artistic Roller Skating Team will set out for nationals July 20, and Berger will not settle for less than she is capable of.
“I want flowers,” she said.
Berger will compete in four singles events at nationals: Freshman Ladies Singles, Freshman Ladies Figures, Advanced Co-Ed Loops and Junior World Class Ladies Singles.
She will also compete in World Class Pairs with Trace Hansen, 31, her skating partner since last March.
The two hope to skate well enough to place in the top three and earn a spot on the United States Senior Team, which competes at the Senior World Artistic Roller Skating Championships this fall in Argentina.
If their past successes are any indication, their chances look good.
Hansen and Berger took first place in World Class Pairs and were deemed “Skaters of the Year for the Northwest Region” at regionals.
And last year at nationals, Berger, with a stress fracture in her pelvis, and Hansen, with a fractured bone in his foot, placed fifth in junior pairs after only six months of skating together.
Because of their regional win Berger and Hansen have to skate up a level this year, but Berger is confident they have what it takes to finish high.
“The pairs are winning programs,” she said.
If Berger places in the top three in her singles events, she will advance to the Junior World Championships, held concurrently with the 2003 Senior Championships in Argentina.
Berger has high hopes for her individual events at nationals as well, especially after coming away with four gold medals in the same events at regionals.
“The programs are very nice, and all I have to do is get the content down all the way, ” she said.
While Berger’s sport of choice may bring her glory and fame, it doesn’t leave her with much free time. The skating champion said her five to seven hours of practice six days a week, nine months a year allows little time for any activities other than skating.
But though she admitted her schedule can be difficult to manage during the school year — and she would like to be able to sleep in every once in a while — Berger said she likes to keep busy.
“(I have) no time when I’m not skating,” she said. “I don’t like when I have a lot of time, I like to keep busy.”
Berger’s mother, Keri, said she sometimes worries her daughter is missing out on a normal teenage life. But Kylee shrugs of her mother’s concerns.
“I mean, I miss out on a lot of stuff, but I choose to,” she said.
In addition to time, roller skating also consumes a lot of money, Keri Berger said. A pair of skates can run upwards of $900. Fortunately for the single mother, SP Teri, a skate manufacturing company, is sponsoring Kylee this year.
In the fall Berger will enter the eighth grade at Kellogg Middle School, where she maintains a 3.85 GPA. Keri Burger makes sure Kylee understands good grades are a prerequisite for skating.
Kylee’s hard work and determination inspire her mother.
“She made me get up and do the whole thing,” she said. “I’ve learned a lot from her. She’s my hero.”
Hansen, who will end his 27-year skating career this season, agrees.
“Kylee will send me out on a good note,” he said.
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