With the likes of Jeffrey Buttle and Meagan Duhamel leading the way, 13 year old Danielle Coulombe will have no lack of role models as she attempts to put yet another Sudbury based figure skater on the national map.

A grade eight student at Ecole Publique Hanmer, Coulombe first took to the ice at the tender age of three within the Can Skate program, the smallish skater did not immediately find a passion for her sport. “My dad took me to an outdoor rink and I didn’t like it”, Coulombe explains. “But we went back the very next day and I loved it that time.”

Although the early years of skating tend to cover off much of the basics, by age nine, Coulombe had moved on to working on her axels, a particularly challenging component for the youngster at that age.

With a noticeably petite frame compared to many children of her age, Coulombe says that her dimunitive size has not impacted her negatively at all. “I think it’s an advantage because it’s easier to jump and co-ordinate yourself…when you grow, it’s harder to land jumps smoothly”, she notes.

Coulombe, who also participates in both soccer and curling, list her appearance at the 2006 Junior Nationals as the highlight of her skating career to date. “It was just fun to go, to push yourself and enjoy it”, she said. The experience has provided the talented teen with some extra motivation entering the 2006-07 season. “I really want to go back because now I know what it’s like.”

With that in mind, Coulombe had some very concrete goals in mind as she prepared to head to the Western Challenge. “I want to beat my personal best score, have a clean skate with no cheated jumps and have good levels on my spins.” Coulombe fnished 19^th in the pre-novice category of the event hosted in Moncton in early December.

Listing the speed she gains in both her jumps and her spins as her strongest skills, Coulombe has spent much of this season working on her double axel as she strives towards passing her Novice test.

Listing Joannie Rochette as her favourtie skater, Coulombe explains that she “likes the way that she skates and I find that she just looks really nice on the ice.” A typical young teen, Coulombe enjoys spending time on the computer, citing the Sims as her favourite game, particularly enjoying the “building a house” version.

Perhaps it’s some of these skills that are helping Danielle Coulombe build a very impressive figure skating resume at such a young age.