Andrew Sass: 'My childhood love for skating remains strong'

Pride Month is a global solidarity movement for the LGBTQ+ community. U.S. Figure Skating is celebrating equality by amplifying the voices of athletes who identify as part of this community.

Black skates or white skates. Man steps or lady steps. Ladies free skate or men's free skate. In many aspects, figure skating is gendered. While plenty of skaters are male or female, there are some who are non-binary, which means neither male nor female.

After skating in individual events throughout childhood, IceSymmetrics team member Andrew Sass found his groove in adult synchronized skating. 

"As a kid, performance anxiety often impacted my attempts to pass my tests and compete," Sass remembered. "Synchro allows me to be myself, while also competing as part of a team. It's the best of both worlds."

Another perk to synchronized skating is that all skaters compete together, regardless of gender. 

"I definitely prefer to compete in events that allow any gender of skater to participate," said Sass, who identifies as masculine-leaning non-binary.

"Before I'd ever heard the term non-binary, I thought I might be a transgender man and took steps to come out and transition accordingly," Sass recalled. "But being seen as a man never quite felt like it fit (same for being seen as a woman). The moment I first learned about non-binary identities, I instantly recognized that it applied to me."

While synchronized skating and national showcase have provided Sass with competitive outlets that don't require selecting one gender or another, being non-binary in the skating world presents challenges.

"I haven't found it difficult to fit in, but it's also worth noting that I'm relatively comfortable being viewed as male on the ice, as well as off of it," Sass said. "When I transitioned, I still had my junior and senior free skate tests to take, as well as five levels of pattern dance. I was comfortable with adhering to the requirements for male skaters. Other non-binary skaters may not be. I hope we continue having conversations about how to ensure that non-binary and gender-nonconforming skaters feel welcome within our sport. We are an integral part of this community."

In addition to competing and testing, Sass gives back to the community as an official. He holds test judging appointments for gold singles and bronze dance. 

"I'd had a chance to interact with several judges while volunteering at Vaca Valley FSC's competitions, and I quickly became curious about what it took to become a judge," Sass said. "The process to start trial judging is super simple. I was soon sitting in on test sessions on the way to earning my first appointment. I'm a detail-oriented person and I love how much of a technical eye judging requires, but my favorite part of judging is getting to be a small part of a skater's journey as they progress through the sport."

While in law school, Sass passed the senior moves in the field test. Later, he passed his junior and senior free skate tests at age 33. 

"My childhood love for skating remains strong, and I hope I can always be involved in this sport in some capacity. Don't ever let anyone tell you you're too old to achieve your dreams!" said Sass, who takes his position as a role model seriously. "I try to set examples of good sportsmanship, whether I'm performing at synchro nationals (U.S. Synchronized Championships), judging at a local test session or stepping onto a freestyle session to practice my ice dance patterns."

Off the ice, Sass has incorporated his love of the sport into his career as a young adult author.

"To date, I have one published novel, Ana on the Edge, but I have more in the pipeline," Sass said. "Placing the main character, Ana, within the sport of figure skating allowed me to highlight how a kid's journey of self-discovery doesn't exist in a vacuum. They still have a lot of other stuff to juggle, like old and new friendships, worries about finances as they advance within the sport, etc. I hope Ana's story and others like it help illustrate that trans, non-binary and gender-nonconforming kids deserve to be their authentic selves while participating in sports."

Other recent works by Sass include a personal essay in Allies: Real Talk About Showing Up, Screwing Up, and Trying Again and a short story in This is Our Rainbow: 16 Stories of Her, Him, Them, and Us. His second novel, Ellen Outside the Lines, will be released in spring 2022, followed by his third novel, co-written with Nicole Melleby and titled Camp QUILTBAG*, which will be available in spring 2023. 

Sass is autistic, and his experience has influenced the themes within his books. 

"I didn't learn that I'm autistic until adulthood," he said. "Now that I'm aware, I look back and see ripples of it. Growing up, I struggled with both fine and gross motor skills. My mom had to help me tie my skates until I was 13 or 14, and learning skating skills didn't come as easily to me as they did for my peers. There was also a social component where I struggled to connect with other kids both on and off the ice. Additionally, small things that neurotypical people tend not to notice could completely distract me from my performance at a competition, like slight differences in rink lighting at a competition venue compared to the rink where I practiced."

Drawing from personal experience, he created Ellen Outside the Lines, which follows an autistic 13-year-old on a study abroad trip. 

"At one point early on in the story, Ellen observes, 'being autistic isn't bad or abnormal, it's unique and different,'" Sass said. "I fully endorse that view, both within the context of Ellen's story and as applied to my own life."

After finishing law school, Sass worked as a technical writer and a legal editor before taking the leap to become a full-time author. 

"I haven't looked back," Sass stated. Being an author allows Sass to pursue his passions, connect with others and have more flexibility to travel with his boyfriend, Deven.

When asked about Pride Month, Sass responded with a wise perspective. 

"Pride started as a riot, at a time when it wasn't safe to be publicly queer," he said. "Pride Month is a time of celebration, of course, but also of reflection. I'm privileged to get to be myself in every aspect of my personal and professional life, but others in my community may not be as fortunate. On top of celebrating getting to be my authentic self, Pride Month offers me an opportunity to stop and consider how I can be a better ally to more marginalized members of my community." 

To learn more about personal pronouns and why they matter, visit mypronouns.org.