The Christchurch earthquake was a big blow to Madelaine Parker and could have ended her hopes of becoming an elite figure skater.
She was one of New Zealand's most promising figure skaters and had won the national novice title in 2009.
QE II Park was wrecked, Lancaster Park was in tatters and the Rugby World Cup games were taken away from Christchurch.
There were doubts about the stability of the ice rink so Parker's skating future looked bleak.
Her family decided she should shift to Sydney with her mother while her father continued to work in Christchurch.
Parker (18) joined an elite group of figure skaters in Sydney and is coached by top coach Kylie Fennell.
The change worked and she came back to New Zealand the following year and won the national junior women's title in 2011.
She was not able to defend her title last year because of a tear in her hip joint, but she regained it in style yesterday with a personal-best total score of 94.86. Tracey Danbrook (Auckland) was second on 83.11, Preeya Laud (Auckland) third on 79.92 and Sarah MacGibbon (Dunedin) fourth on 74.28 points.
''My technical skills on the ice and my consistency on the main jumps helped me today,'' she said.
Her immediate goal is to qualify for next year's junior world championships. She was 23rd in 2010 and 31st last year.
Her coach is not letting Parker rest on her laurels and introduced the double axel into her repertoire this year.
Her long-term target is to get to the senior world championships and possibly the Olympics.
Parker fell in love with skating when her Canadian parents took her skating on a frozen lake at the age of 6.
She started competitive skating when her family moved to Christchurch nine years ago.
Parker is dedicated and trains five days a week in Sydney for two hours a day.
''I like the environment and the people in it,'' she said.
''There is a really good feel in the skating environment and I get motivation from the people around me. I enjoy being on the ice and feeling free.''
Otago's top skater, Sarah MacGibbon (17), won her first senior women's title with a score of 81.58 on Monday when she beat visiting Australian Kayla Doig who scored 81.5. Elizabeth O'Neill (Christchurch) was third with 75.40 points.
MacGibbon's fitness and her ability on the spin made the difference and she was happy when she stood on top of the podium.
Michael Durham (Auckland) had the top men's score in the competition when he won the junior title with 107.66 points from Daniel Cheuk (Auckland) 78.43.
The senior men's title was won by Mat Wilson (Auckland) with 98.05 points.
Anastasia Kuznetsova (Auckland) made use of her international experience to win the novice women's title with 68.35 points from Brooke Tamepo (Auckland) 65.80.
The primary women's title was won by Abbey Heale (Christchurch) with 30.06 points from visiting Australian Felicity Smyth on 28.98 and Zara Anthony-Whigham (Dunedin) on 28.92 points.
