U.S. Figure Skating announced the recipients of the 2019 Athlete Alumni Ambassador (3A) award. The 3A award is a scholarship program that recognizes skaters who have achieved figure skating excellence while actively volunteering.
To earn a 3A award, skaters must have competed at the novice or junior level at the 2019 GEICO U.S. Figure Skating Championships or the 2019 U.S. Synchronized Skating Championships. Candidates were asked to submit an application detailing their volunteer work. The Athletes Advisory Committee (AAC) selects one overall winner and one winner from each discipline (ladies, men's, pairs, ice dance and synchronized). The overall winner receives $2,000, while each of the remaining five honorees receive $500, which can be used at the skaters' discretions.
More information about the criteria used to determine the recipients of the 3A award can be found here.
The 2019 3A award recipients are:
Anthony Ying, SC of Boston (overall) — Ying has learned the value of teamwork through his on- and off-ice activities. When he’s not skating, he’s participating in math club, computational linguistics, engineering competitions and a leadership club in addition to putting in hours of volunteer service to helping raise ataxia (a degenerative nervous system disease) awareness, servicing medical equipment, cleaning up the environment and helping homeless children. The novice skater, who placed eighth with his team at the 2019 U.S. Synchronized Skating Championships, also enjoys ant farming in his free time.
Caitlin Ha, Glacier Falls FSC (ladies) — A junior-level skater who placed ninth at the 2019 GEICO U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Ha finds time to volunteer at a variety of figure skating events, including the Glacier Falls competition and the 2019 ISU Four Continents Championships. She also practices ballet and plays the piano while maintaining a 4.6 GPA at her high school.
Samir Mallya, Los Angeles FSC (men's) — Mallya strives to keep a balance between academics, figure skating, extracurriculars, volunteering and friendships. In addition to writing for the school newspaper, being a member of the National Honor Society, Debate Team, Robotics Club and College Planning Club, Mallya is a student in UCLA’s weekly Los Angeles Math Circle. He also teaches a math enrichment program at his local elementary school and recently trained the school’s team for the LA County Math Olympiad. The 12th-place novice finisher at the U.S. Championships, Mallya also takes college courses in addition to his five AP courses.
Isabelle Goldstein, Detroit SC (pairs) — Diagnosed with dyslexia at 7 years old, Goldstein’s parents enrolled her in skating lessons to help her develop confidence. Goldstein won the novice pairs title at the 2019 U.S. Championships with partner Keyton Bearinger. She contributes what she can from babysitting to help her parents pay for skating dresses and camp costs. When she’s not practicing, Goldstein volunteers with Special Olympics and her local Learn to Skate USA program. Outside of skating, Goldstein works with the Friendship Circle, a Jewish organization that helps disabled individuals. She also plays the trumpet, is a part of the school choir and participates in Jewish youth activities.
Ethan Peal, Skokie Valley SC (ice dance) — Peal, who earned the pewter medal in novice ice dance at the 2019 U.S. Championships with his sister and partner, Elliana Peal, is very active in the service community. He volunteers with the American Cancer Society every year, raising funds and helping with event set-up and clean up. He also skated in several fundraiser shows and completed a 911 service project to give back to firefighters impacted by the events of Sept. 11, 2001. Peal also recently created an app to help patients with Graves’ Disease and Thyroiditis and presented his idea at Google in front of scientists, leaders and marketing teams.
Katie Champion, Glacier Falls FSC (synchronized) — Champion is an avid volunteer and student who spends time working on robot designs with her school’s robotics team and participating in the California Mock Trial Program. She is also part of the mother-daughter program National Charity League and has worked with special needs children, senior citizens, animal shelters and public arts projects through the program. She also works with Access Books, a program that gives books to disadvantaged children’s libraries. Champion placed 11th with her team, Matrix Synchronized Skating, at the novice level at the 2019 U.S. Synchronized Skating Championships.
