The work of ‘Let’s talk about It’ author and host Pj Kwong is loved and enjoyed by skating fans in Ontario, in Canada and around the world.

Yet Pj holds no National or Olympic titles. She’s never skated on a National Team or competed in international events. Her coaching career, while highly successful, never produced Canadian Champions. Still … she’s been a big player in 11 Olympic Games both Summer and Winter, the World Cup, many World Championships and in national events too numerous to count.

Huh?

Her skating career has been incredible … not for how she performs on the ice … but for how she performs off of it.

Whether blogging, reporting, writing, commentating or announcing, Pj is one of the most recognized voices in figure skating.

“I’ve been involved in skating my whole life, one way or another”, says Pj.

She was 4 years old when her parents enrolled her for skating lessons at the Granite Club in Toronto. “My parents thought skating might be a good way to combat my extreme shyness,” Pj admits. “If there was a knock at the door at home, I’d hide behind the couch … I could stay there for hours!” Pj calls herself the ‘neurotic middle child’ … older brother, younger sister.

The idea was to introduce Pj to a fun-filled activity without too much pressure. And then her Mom gave her some advice. “I’ll never forget it,” Pj recalls. “She told me other children might be nervous or afraid and I could help them by being friendly.”

It worked. “My Mom was a genius! I took to skating like a duck to water … I had a purpose!”

Marcus Nikkanen, former Finnish Champion, was one of Pj’s first teachers but it was Canadian Olympian Wally Distelmeyer who would become her primary coach along with Rosina Peckham-Watt for Dance.

“These coaches were from a generation where they came on the ice in business attire,” recalls Pj. “The men wore a shirt and tie with a knee-length coat over the

top.” Pj also remembers that good manners were important. “At the end of every lesson … it didn’t matter your age … and I was little … Wally would take off his gloves and shake my hand! It was such a cordial kind of time.”

On the other hand, there was no question who was the adult. “He had no fear of gentle name-calling if I wasn’t following his instructions,” giggles Pj. “Dora Dumb Dora was one I got a lot, but it was said with warmth and kindness … never a shot.”

Pj learned a lot from Wally … a lot about courtesy and a lot about hard work. “I loved repetition of movement,” says Pj. “I liked the precision of things … stroking exercises … repeating things over and over … preparing for tests … and I fell in love with Compulsory Dances.”

Despite all those important preparations, Pj’s foray into competition was a bit bumpy.

“About age 7 I was teamed up in Pairs/Dance with a classmate, Clifford Jansen. We were reluctant partners … our Mothers made us,” Pj confesses. “I was in my adorable dumpling stage and Clifford was in his string-bean stage so it wasn’t a great match … plus he never wanted to hold my hand which made things a bit more complicated … plus we were absolutely not prepared!”

Skating to ‘Night on Bald Mountain’, Pj admits it was a little intense. “I was trophy hungry and thought we would go to Canadians. I really didn’t know what that was but it sounded like a great destination.”

Halfway through the program, they fell. “Clifford was sliding on his back with me sitting on his tummy … but we got up and finished … thinking at least we’d get a trophy. But to our horror, we finished second in a field of one. Apparently we hadn’t reached the required standard.”

Talk about a bad day!

Despite that early disappointment, Pj’s love for the sport continued to grow over the ensuing years thanks in part to the wonderful friendships she was developing and to some inspiring coaching.

One legend who contributed to Pj’s understanding of the sport was Dance Coach Marijane Stong. “Marijane was instrumental in helping me to believe that good

skating is not just about great technique,” says Pj. “It’s about the polish … it’s about the finish.”

Other great coaches followed.

People like Valerie Bartlett and Hazel Pike made a huge impact on Pj and helped create in her a desire to one day follow in their footsteps … a dream for the future perhaps.

But first … her education off the ice.

Attending the Toronto French School nurtured Pj’s talent for languages and, following high school, inspired her to a BA in modern languages from the University of Toronto. After graduation, with French, German, Spanish and Russian in her bag of tricks, she found herself working in the hotel hospitality business … but after four years … skating’s voice was calling.

Pj says her decision to coach was purely mercenary. “After my marriage and the birth of my first child, I thought I could make more money in less time … and be more present for my family.”

Although she had done some coaching in city programs during her university years, it wasn’t until she was hired at the University Skating Club when she realized that coaching was her super power. “I loved it,” admits Pj, “so much that I expanded my time to coach at other clubs … Mississauga, Port Credit and eventually at North Toronto.”

Pj considers herself lucky, “Coaching was the springboard to a multitude of exciting possibilities. At that time,” she recalls, “the business of skating was growing, and with it, I had some ideas that I thought were worth exploring.”

One of those ideas and a proud accomplishment for Pj was the development of an all-male Synchro Team, Ice Nightmare.

“This was back in the days when it was still called Precision Skating,” says Pj. “The idea was to create a number as an homage to the real thing, focused on great skating but with an approach that was slightly ‘off’ … and unexpected … a comedy.”

The skater line-up had exceptional talent and even included national team members, an exciting assignment for Choreographer Susie McGrigor.

“The very first number was skated to music from the musical Robin Hood,” laughs Pj. “The guys were all dressed like complete goofballs with tunics made from garbage bags tied at the waist with a yellow rope belt. They all wore felt Robin Hood pointy hats with a little feather … except for one skater … supposedly the least talented … who wore a football helmet.”

That original Ice Nightmare performance was designed to be a one-off but the response was so overwhelmingly positive with requests to perform, the team decided to continue and to skate for charity. Anything earned was donated to the Breast Cancer wing at the Credit Valley Hospital in Mississauga.

Other new ideas, her hard work to make them happen, plus her courage to find out HOW to make them happen led into everything else special for Pj and her growing career. From being an author … to an announcer … to a social media person … to a writer for CBC sports … and to a commentator both domestically and internationally, she counts much of her success due to the lessons learned in skating.

“The sport has taught me a lot about life. I’ve learned the value of patience and the wisdom to know there are no shortcuts to success.

“If you put in the work, you may still feel life’s unpredictability … some days you’re the bug … some days you’re the windshield … but you will always know you prepared to the best of your ability.

“Win or lose … that’s always something to celebrate!”