| Alana Lee | Anthony Lee | Alisha Tupchong | Ally Manganaro | Angela Jin |
| Anna Bulunmaz | Carol Yeung | Chelsea Kerr | Claudia Choi | Cynthia Yeung |
| Donna Lay | Emily Di Falco | Erika MacDonald | Hilary Yeung | Jaclyn |
| Jasmina Uzunovic | Jennifer Meats | Liza Lazarev | Maral Jaberi | Nicole Levandovsky |
| Nima Jaberi | Paul Poirier | Persephonie Lai | Renee Tse | Tomiris Frants |
| Vivian Tang |
Alana Lee
My name is Alana Lee. I am in Sk and 5 years old. I love skating with Mark and Jana they are so much fun and play games with me too.
I started skating when I was almost 4 years old. Jana taught me how to skate and how to get back up when I fall down!
I also participate in swimming and karate. I can’t wait for summer so I can go to the beach with my mom in Nova Scotia.
Anthony Lee
My name is Anthony Lee. I am in Grade 2, and I am almost 8 years old. I started skating when I was 5 and have been skating with Mark and Jana over year.
I also participate in other sports like Swimming, Karate and most recently Speed Staking at school!
I love to skate with my friends and play games while I am practicing. I can’t wait for the summer when I can bike ride and go on hikes.
Alisha Tupchong
I love acting, beading, SCIENCE, and exercising!! My ultimate fantasy would be to wake up when the sun is rising and go for a long, sweaty run. I absolutely love doing things outdoors (but NOT indoors), which includes running and hiking.
If there was one word people would use to describe me it’s hungry. I’m like the hungry caterpillar – I eat everything in sight (though I’m allergic to so many things, I should be in a plastic bubble!).
Ally Manganaro
My name is Alessandra Manganaro. I am in Grade 1, almost 7 years old and live in Richmond Hill. I just started skating last year and love it! I also participate in other sports like Gymnastics, Soccer, and Swimming. Skate being my favorite sport because I can go really fast and learn lots of neat moves on the ice.. I really enjoy reading and spending time with my friends.
I also look forward to the Summer when I can enjoy the outdoors and riding my bike with my brother.
Angela Jin
PROFILE COMES HERE
Anna Bulunmaz
PROFILE COMES HERE
Carol Yeung
Hello peoples!
I am Carol Yeung. Part of a training group that literally kills you, (Mark and Jana's off ice/conditioning) helps you realize the hard work involved (a lot of work indeed) in training for one painful journey of the path of a future figure skater.
I would like to tell you that the nice quiet life of a Batka elite skater in the rink is quite simple. Eat, sleep, breath, skate. That is all that is expected of you and or course to be good. This is my life at the rink.
Out side of the arena walls each of us leads different lives. For me, my life revolves around school, skating, music (I play the piano and drums), and last but not least food (I LUV FOOD!).
All in all, my life isn't that exciting. (Okay, it might get exciting when Mark and Jana start do triples and quad for you(sometimes off the harness) and sometimes you do laugh when they take a nasty fall but besides that, nothing special.)
Chelsea Kerr
PROFILE COMES HERE
Claudia Choi
My name is claudia and i love to do many things but out of them all I really enjoy skating.
I skate because i enjoy being at the rink doing what i love to do. Even if it means getting up at six in the morning and running for 20 mins.
My second favourite thing to do is......EAT!I go to Trillium Woods P.S. and i'm in grade 6. During my leisure time i read, hang out with friends and watch t.v. I love to jump when I'm skating. It gets exciting when I'm learning something new or when I'm trying a new jump.
If you see me on the ice usually the first thing you see is my but pad or huge hair clips! Now i hope you know a little bit about me!
Cynthia Yeung
Once upon a time, there lived a nerd who also skated, ate, slept, breathed, ate, did her homework, ate, and had absolutely no life (did I mention eat?). She loved books and read until her eyes turned red and she had to wear glasses that were two inches thick (not literally). Her meaning in life was in chocolate, sweets, and cotton candy.
One frigid, misty morning, she climbed out from under the toasty warm covers to glide on that satin smooth sheet of ice. One moment later, she became hopelessly addicted to the exhilarating speed of skating. The crisp sound of a blade carving into a fresh surface, long before anyone is awake at seven o’clock in the morning (ahem, Jana, Mark!), is a noise that continues to haunt her today, and she lived happily ever after. The end.
Donna Lay
PROFILE COMES HERE
Emily Di Falco
I have been with Mark and Jana since June 2008. They push me to be the best that I can. I enjoy waking up at 6:30 in the morning for lessons (not) but once I'm there I have a good time.
We laugh, joke, tell life stories and "Work Hard", I have all the bruises and broken bones to prove it.
I am currently working on all my doubles and working towards sectionals in 2009. Besides skating, I enjoy hanging out with friends, spending time with family and my ultimate favorite is RUNNING (not)! My long term goal is to reach Senior Ladies and place top 3. After that I would like to be a coach, just as good as Mark and Jana.
Emily Di FalcoErika MacDonald
Interviewed by her Mother:
Erika loves to skate because when she is going fast it feels like flying. She also likes the good feeling that she gets from working hard and learning new jumps and moves. She loves the music and enjoys performing before a crowd.Erika also loves singing and performing her songs for an audience. She wants to be a pop star when she grows up.
In addition to skating and singing, Erika loves to dance. Acro is her favorite type of dance.Erika loves playing with her friends, putting on fashion shows and doing plays. Her other favorite hobby is drawing.
Hilary Yeung
An optimistic, adaptable and independent girl who started skating just before 3 years old.
Hilary loves to sing, ride a bike and run around. Favourite music is hip hop. Favourite colour is green. Favourite princess is Snow White.
This girl definitely loves skating! She is working on her footwork on ice with coach Jana, and have off-ice practice during shower time with mommy. Hilary cannot wait to skate with her little brother in partner.
Jaclyn
I am pretty much just your average girl. I love shopping, shoes, books, Gilmore Girls, Chocolate Ice Cream, and of course skating. I have been skating for pretty much as long as I can remember. I watch way to much TV (Grey's Anatomy, House, Gossip Girl. just to name a few) and if I am not watching TV then my nose is in a book.
In school I really enjoy math and science. When I am stress out I tend to go crazy and bake cakes, muffins etc. Which is a hobby that makes you pretty popular since everyone loves desert.
Jasmina Uzunovic
I started skating because I liked to dance but I was allergic to dust. Now I skate because I love it.
The things I like most about skating are making new programs + footwork, and trying new spin positions.
My hobbies include reading, hanging out with friends, and baking treats/pastries. My favorite things to do are eat pizza, watch gossip girl, and go shopping =DJennifer Meats
This is me in a nutshell I love to act, sing, listen to music (especially Jonas Brothers), watch TV (friends re-runs), go to school and SKATE!!!!!!! My not so close friends would call me a quiet goody two shoes, but my close friends would call me a weirdo...yup...thats me.
Mark and Jana are the best coached in the whole wode world!!! They are awsome, and make you work really hard.
Liza Lazarev
PROFILE COMES HERE
Maral Jaberi
Hey everyone I don't really have that much of experience about Batka Elite because I only started in November 2008. When I joined the Batka Elite team I was so excited I just wanted to start right away. The first person I had a lesson with was Mark. The first day that I sarted to skate with them the warm welcome note was: Welcome to the torture team by Juana Batka. At first I thought it was a joke but not anymore I now know what she mean.
But for know I have experienced real hardwork and training.
During the time since I have been working with Mark and Juana I have worked as hard as I can (well most of the time) I have improved so much.
Anyway I am in grade 7. Many of my friends always ask me why I love to skate I havent really thought about it until a couple months ago when I started with Batka Elite. It is because it helps me be fit and helps me to be dissiplined.
When I am not at the rink and falling on my butt a lot and running for 20 min. I like to hang out with my friends and I luv to EAT!!!!.
Nicole Levandovsky
My name is Nicole Levandovsky.I'm 5 years old.I like to skate because it is fun.
My hobby is swimming. My favourite things are puppy,unicorns and Tigres.In skating I love to do half bubbles and jumps.
Nima Jaberi
PROFILE COMES HERE
Paul Poirier
I'm Paul Poirier. I have the honour of being Mark's first student as well as Batka Elite's first skater to compete at Nationals at the senior level and compete at an international event.
Despite my extremely busy schedule, I manage to find as much time as possible to go to the rink and freeskate. There is no other feeling like flying round the ice with the wind on your face. It's complete freedom!!! Having Mark and Jana there to work with you makes the experience that much more enjoyable.
They are always giving me new and challenging things to strive for. What would I do without their near impossible choreography and footwork?
In my little bit of free time that isn't sacrificed for homework, I like to read and watch movies, as well as other lazy activities. Spending time with my family and friends is also very important for me.
Skating is my life and being part of a "family" such as Batka Elite is such an integral part of it. Skating is even better when you can share it with others.
Persephonie Lai
About myself:
I started learning to skate not long ago and begin to enjoy ice-skating more and more. I have the opportunity to join Mark’s group at the Richmond Training Centre and to learn from him and his sister Jana.
I will do my best to learn from Mark and Jana and to improve on my skating.
Renee Tse
Why I am skating: I remember the day when I fell in love with skating. I was six years old and in Hong Kong for a family vacation. We were in this mall where my family and I were meeting up with family friends for dinner. In this specific mall, they had a skating rink in the centre of the mall where a figure skating show was being held. I remember so clearly that I did not want to go into the restaurant to eat dinner but instead wanted to stand by the balcony to watch the performers skate beautifully. I was definitely hypnotized. After dinner, I told my mom I wanted to learn how to skate and she promised me to take me to my first skating lessons after we get back to Toronto. I'm no longer skating competitively now and at one point I did think of giving it all up by quitting, but I couldn't bring myself to do such a thing. Every single time I took a break from skating, I would always miss the ice because that six year old would always creep back into my heart and remind me how much I love skating. Another reason I'm skating and have not given it up is because of Jani. She's the "awesomest" coach ever and the one who was always there to support me and stand by my decisions. She didn't believe in me to quit cold turkey because she knew I still loved it and was only thinking of quitting because I thought there was no point to skating without competitions. But now I know it is not true. I've never loved skating more than now because now I am skating because I love it. Thanks Jani for clearing that nonsense in my head and helping me realize why I truly love skating!
What I love about skating: I love skating. Period. Everything about skating is thrilling whether they are the jumps, the spins, or just a glide on the ice. But the one thing I love most about skating is the ability to show my love for skating through solo performances. Whenever I listen to music on the ice, I love that feeling of taking that music and letting it flow through me to make movements, which allows me to move elegantly across the ice. I love to use my body to tell a story to captivate the audience and allow them to feel enjoyable when they watch me skate.
My hobbies: My hobbies include ballet, playing the violin, reading, eating yummy food, and watching tv!
Favourite things to do: Travelling with family, going out with friends, playing with my dog Oreo, eating yummy food, and watching tv!
Tomiris Frants
My name is Tomiris. I really enjoy skating because it's fun. Also, I am involved in singing, acting and dancing. Most of all, I like skating and my coach,Mark. He is funny and fun to be around. In the future I want to skate the way he does and become a famous figure-skater.
Vivian Tang
PROFILE COMES HERE
