Transforming doubt to determination to success

When student athlete Aspen Fell found her passion for artistic roller skating, she used the scepticism she encountered as motivation to push herself harder towards her goals.

Born in Hawke’s Bay, Aspen spent her younger years in Australia before returning to New Zealand at 11, trying out a range of sports including gymnastics, cheerleading, figure skating and dance. She says nothing ever clicked until she tried artistic roller skating at 14.

“What drew me to it originally was that it was similar to figure skating, which I loved when I was competing from ages seven to nine. However, with artistic roller skating, 14 is considered very late to start. Most of the girls in my grade started between two and seven, so there wasn’t much hope when I started. I had overseas coaches tell me that I would never make it to the World Championships because of my late start, so I had to work hard for others to take me seriously.”

Fast forward eight years and 22-year-old Aspen is now a nationally recognised roller skater with plenty of career highlights under her belt.

“My top highlights are competing in my first World Championships last year in Colombia, and winning gold in the Senior Ladies Dance at the World Skate Oceania Championships. I also have nine out of 10 dance tests which only a few have in New Zealand. Yet what I am most proud of is that I believed in myself and never gave up on the idea that I was capable of skating at the World Championships!”

Aspen’s most recent event last month saw her travel to Italy to complete in her second World Cup semifinal, where she competed against the most skaters in an event yet.

“I placed 36 out of 39 and was able to increase my points from the World Championships last year. The competition taught me what to work on next for World Skate Oceania Championships in mid-June.”

While she enjoys the sport, she says it’s an extremely expensive one.

“It is fully self-funded, meaning that we have to fundraise and pay almost all of the fees, or get support from our parents. I’m lucky to have a great supportive family and partner!”

Now settled in Upper Hutt to work with her coaches, Aspen dedicates her time to both her athletic and academic career. She has recently graduated with a Bachelor of Arts with a focus on education and psychology and is now working toward a Postgraduate Diploma in Arts specialising in psychology.

“I’ve wanted to become a registered psychologist for a while now and would love to work with adolescents and families. It’s a long road ahead, as you’re looking at a minimum of six years of study time to become a clinical psychologist, but I’m looking to keep up my grades to enter into the research part of my master’s next year, then eventually a PhD. It’s pretty doable to balance study, training and competing but I found it’s important to prioritise both,” Aspen says.

During her time with Te Kunenga ki Pūrehuroa Massey University, Aspen has been part of the Academy of Sport programme, and says it has helped immensely with balancing her commitments.

“I’ve absolutely loved being part of the programme. I work with registered dietitian Conrad Goodhew and sport psychologist Dr Warrick Wood who have both supported me to reach my goals internationally. High Performance Coordinator Tamara Scott-Valath has been so amazing with organising my exams and study to relieve as much pressure as possible while I’m overseas training and competing.”

Along with the programme’s support, Aspen emphasises the importance of time management.

“I have found what often works for me is training in the morning, then using the rest of the day to study. My training is quite flexible, so it doesn’t work for everyone, but the most important thing to do is work hard and prioritise what matters most in your life. Sometimes it can be hard to stay motivated, especially when you’re at the rink six days a week and don’t have much of a social life, but I remind myself how grateful I am to be able to skate that often. I stay motivated because I know what I want, and without hard work, it won’t happen!”

When Aspen does find some downtime, she says she makes sure to take it to prevent burnout and overtraining, which she’s faced in the past.

“I like to go out for walks with my partner and get yummy food, along with cooking and spending time with my loved ones! I do find it hard to rest, I would view sitting down to study as rest, but that meant my brain was still working hard. I’m trying to take the time to rejuvenate myself, even if it’s just taking a walk outside or sitting chatting with my flatmates.”

Originally deciding to take a year off to work full-time, Aspen says she changed her mind after realising how well academics and sport align with each other and that as a distance student, she can choose the times she studies to make it work. She says she has big goals for the future and knows she has the resiliency and drive to work for them.

“I’m aiming for selection into the World Roller Games in Italy later this year, though there is only one spot, so if that doesn’t happen, I’m setting my sights on competing in my first America’s Cup next January which is something I’ve wanted to do for a long time. In my future, I hope to keep competing and then continue giving back to the sport as a coach, and maybe even as a technical specialist judge.”