After receiving a package for skating classes at the Robert Crown Community Center from her grandmother on her third birthday, Evanston resident Zoe Parrilli fell in love with the sport that eventually landed her a spot at the 2016 Prudential U.S. Figure Skating Championships.

11-year-old Parrilli attended group classes for a while, but by the age of 5 she had become skating coach Vicka Belovol’s private student.

“Zoe has been talented in figure skating since she was young,” Belovol said. “She picked things up quickly before the other students, had a natural ability to balance and glide, and her body would curve very naturally on ice.”

On Jan. 16, Parrilli finished 11th in the juvenile division of the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in St. Paul, Minnesota. She maneuvered moves such as double flips, double loops and single loops, and Belovol said she skated a nearly perfect program.

Parrilli said she felt calm and confident about competing in the championships.

“It’s been a little stressful, but (these competitions) are all bonuses and I’m really lucky to be able to do them,” Parrilli said, “Coach Vicka has always been supportive and she encourages me to do my best.”

In October, Parrilli placed first in her division at the Upper Great Lakes Regional competition, after which she took fourth in the Midwestern Sectional competition in November to qualify for the U.S. Championships. She was the only girl in the Upper Great Lakes region to compete in Minnesota at her level.

Parrilli is a seventh grader at St. Athanasius School, 2510 Ashland Ave., in Evanston.

Along with having to keep up with school work, Belovol said Parrilli trains six days a week, one and a half hours before and after school, and also does one to two hours of workout training and ballet. She trains more intensively during competition season, Belovol added.

Despite the arduous training, Parrilli said she loves the feeling of skating.

“I enjoy it,” Parrilli said. “It’s something that I really love to do. I love gliding (across the ice), feeling calm and being in my own world. All my good friends ice-skate together with me.”

Parrilli’s parents have been supportive of her throughout her ice-skating journey. Matthew Parrilli, her father, said his wife has acted as Zoe Parrilli’s chauffeur and personal assistant, getting her to trainings on time. At the same time, he said he makes sure his daughter keeps other aspects of her life, such as her academic studies, in balance.

Prior to the championships, Matthew Parrilli said he was excited for his daughter to perform her routine.

“It’s the culmination of a lot of focused hard work,” he said.

Lily Cigan, Parrilli’s mother, said she is proud of her daughter’s accomplishments and hopes she will continue to pursue her dreams.

“She has that hard-working attitude,” Cigan said. “She is very serious about everything and understands that what you put into things is what you get out of it.”

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