Gliding through life as a full-time student and figure skater

By Charisse Li

Figure skater and Year 13 RCHK student, Jada Chui, is a widely known name in the Hong Kong figure skating community. Known for her outstanding skating skills that have been honed since childhood, she has made an everlasting impact on the Hong Kong skating world.

This year will be the last time Chui will step on RC soil as she graduates in a few months. To commemorate her final moments at Renaissance and all the hard work she’s done, The RCHK Truth team interviewed about her experiences.

When and where did you start skating?

I started skating when I was three, but I didn’t really compete till I was five or six. I started competing internationally around ten or twelve [years old]. I’ve always been skating in Festival Walk. 

What do you think about Hong Kong skaters competing internationally? 

If you’re skating in Hong Kong, you don’t get the facilities and everything you need. If you think about other sports, they can get access to their facilities easily. In terms of international competitions, you get the opportunity to go, but there’s a big comparison because of the access to training times. 

There was one skater where - she went to worlds, but she stopped school at age ten, her whole family moved to Beijing, then she went to the US to train after that. So to be able to train at that level, you have to have a lot of sacrifices, especially in school. 

What is training in Hong Kong like?

Festival Walk’s ice rink is just so small, I can only skate during the private hours, after the rink closes for the public. Those times are usually really late at night and I don’t get that every day. I still have to skate during the public hours because I just need the training time, even when there’s a lot of people.

How was it competing internationally representing HK?

I went to the junior grand prix last October and being in an international competition is very different. The atmosphere is very friendly, you make a lot of new friends and you get to see how other people train as well. If I’m in Hong Kong I don’t get to see how other people train and their training techniques. In Hong Kong morning ice is like 7-8 people, but in other places it would be twenty people and everyone is of the same level, everyone is keen to work and it’s not as chill or relaxed.

What other interests do you have besides skating?

My life is generally around skating, but I do do services, even though it's part of the IB program, I still enjoy it. I get to work with kids, and I personally like teaching so I do volunteer work but I also do ESF multisport camps- I help coach and assist those. I sometimes bake in my own time - that’s mostly it. Not a lot. 

What's life like as a competitive figure skater and full-time student?

I did the IB sports program; our school has a program where you can extend your IB years, so that’s allowed me to compete [and] continue skating. Because without that I wouldn’t be skating now. If I go to an international competition, I’m skipping a minimum of 4-5 days of school. In Hong Kong morning training is at 8-9:30, I get to school earliest by 10 - I have to skip the first period.

What are your future plans? 

Ice skating is a sport where the career ends generally quite early, so I was planning to retire after IB and start not a new life but a next chapter of my life. I’m planning to study in the UK, they have a lot more ice rinks than they used to so the access is a lot better. I may not compete internationally as much and train everyday but I’ll try to keep it as a hobby, because it’s still part of me.