Erle the Pearl Erle Harstad

February 17, 2008
Article & Photo © J. Barry Mittan

Although Norway produced one of the world's most famous skater and its first superstar, Sonia Henie, there have been few competitors from the country on the international scene for many years. Erle Harstad, a 17-year-old from Baerum, shows promise. She won the Mladost Trophy in Zagreb in 2007 and returned to the city in January 2008 to participate in the European Championships, finishing 30th.

"It was fun and exciting," Harstad said of the European Championships. "I liked watching the other skaters, especially Carolina Kostner. And the Finns were all beautiful skaters. The 2007-08 Norwegian senior ladies champion was at Junior Worlds in 2006, placing 23rd in the qualifying round.

Harstad started skating when she was six. "I have two sisters, five and six years older," she related. "They were skating and I was always in the rink so I wanted to skate too. Both of them stopped so I'm the only skater in my family now."

She was eleven when she first landed a triple jump, a triple toe loop. "I'm up to a triple loop now," she said. "My triple flip is pretty close. I'm working on the triple toe-triple toe but I haven't done it in competition yet. I'm trying to get higher levels on my other jumps."

In her 2007-08 short program, Harstad included a triple toe-double toe, triple salchow and double axel. For the long, she does triple toe-double toe-double toe, triple salchow-double toe, and double axel-double toe combinations.

Of the Code of Points," Harstad said. "It helps me absolutely. Now you know much more what you should do to be better. I keep up with the rules as best as I can."

Berit Steigedal coaches Harstad who trains for two hours a day, six days a week on ice and another four to five hours a week off ice. She trains in Asker, Norway during the winter and in Oberstdorf, Germany and Tonsberg, Norway. "I have been with my coach since the beginning," she said. "From May until August, there is no ice in Norway so I have to go someplace else to train. For the last three years, I've gone to Oberstdorf in the summer for a few weeks to work with the coaches there. I met my choreographer there two years ago."

Stanick Jeannette has choreographed her programs since the 2006-07 season. "My short program is new, but the long program I've had for two years," Harstad said. "My coach found the music for the short program ("Havana", a Latin medley). I Like this kind of music and do it better than anything else. I also like blues, but not classical music."

She is using "Bohemian Rhapsody" by Queen for the long. "I heard the music at Junior Worlds," she explained. "The girl from China was using it. I liked it very much and thought I could do well with it." Off ice, she said, "I like every kind of music that I can dance to. I like to go to the disco and dance."

Harstad also likes to hang out with friends and go snow skiing in the mountains. "I like classical movies and ones with a happy ending," she said. "I also have a pet rabbit that lives in my back yard."

Harstad is in her second year of high school. "I like mathematics and biology," she said. "I want to go to university and study physical therapy or something like that."

"I hope to skate for a long time," she said, "as long as it can be fun and I can improve every year. I have the most fun when I'm jumping and when I get a new jump it makes me really happy."