With ice skating - whether you're into speed or poise - it helps to start young and make a big commitment if you want a shot at being a top-level competitor.
At the Washington Park Ice Arena, skaters range from only being able to stand on the ice to Olympic hopefuls. Meanwhile, ice skating in general is seeing increased interest thanks to the 2018 Winter Olympics.
Several days a week you can find Auburn Frahm at the local ice arena - the only one in Mid-Missouri - polishing her figure skating moves on the ice.
The 13-year-old competitor routinely places high in competitions and said she would one day like to compete nationally and have a shot at the Olympics.
"I love to compete," she said. "My first competition was when I was 9. I was so nervous, but I just loved it."
She said she likes the artistic and technical sides of the sport. "It feels like you're floating until you land," she said. "Spinning is pretty cool too."
Frahm spends about seven hours a week polishing her routines, and she often competes in the "artistic" category of individual freestyle events.
She knows what she needs to do to improve: "I need to get a lot more jumps, a lot more consistency in all my moves - spins, jumps, footwork, everything."
She admires Bradie Tennell on the U.S. Olympic skating team, and she's been a longtime fan of Ashley Wagner, who was injured and didn't make Olympics this year.
"She has an amazing artistic aspect," Frahm said of Wagner. "She makes every performance her own."
The Olympics, she said, has given her a new burst of motivation: "I've been working harder and eating healthier.
Her 11-year-old sister, Jaden, competes in synchronized skating competitions.
"We don't push them to compete," David Frahm said of his two daughters. "Sometimes we say, 'You need to have a life outside of skating.'"
Still, he followed in the footsteps of his daughters, taking up skating as a hobby two years ago. It's helped him keep in shape and shed some pounds, he said.
One teenage skater that put in time at the local ice arena is making a name for himself after learning speedskating less than two years ago.
Aubrey Galvin went to Jefferson City High School and already was an accomplished in-line skater on the roller skating rink when he transferred to ice a couple years ago.
Now, the former local resident trains with a full-time speedskating coach and has his sights set high, said Kirk Bonnot, a speedskating coach at the arena for the past decade. Galvin placed at nationals last year, Bonnot said.
Bonnot said 16 speedskaters practice at the arena, and six of them are competitive skaters.
The attraction? "Going fast. There's a thrill to it, and a little bit of a danger factor to it as well."
Bonnot encourages anyone interested in ice skating to contact the ice arena at 573-634-6580. Those interested specifically in speedskating can also visit the Jefferson City Speed Skating Club at jcssc.org.