Audrey Lu Wins Mabel Fairbanks Skatingly Yours Fund Elite Athlete Award

After a challenging start to her year, pairs skater Audrey Lu has a lot to celebrate. After winning bronze at the 2022 Toyota U.S. Figure Skating Championships in January, Lu and her partner, Misha Mitrofanov, were determined to improve upon their performances as they headed to the ISU Four Continents Figure Skating Championships 2022 in Tallinn, Estonia. The pair won gold after finishing first in both the short and free skate. Now, Lu is the recipient of the Mabel Fairbanks Skatingly Yours Fund's top elite athlete award of $20,000.
 
"I am so grateful and so honored to be the winner," Lu shared. "Just knowing that I am representing [Mabel Fairbanks] with this award…it's an amazing feeling. I can see myself in her. We both have a lot of determination, commitment, passion and grit. [When I decided to apply for the Fund], it was an opportunity to share my story."
 
Established in January 2021, the Mabel Fairbanks Skatingly Yours Fund was created to support the training and development of promising figure skaters who identify as Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC). Through the generous lead gift from the Lisa McGraw Figure Skating Foundation, the Fairbanks Fund granted awards to Starr Andrews, Lindsay Thorngren and Samuel Eckenroed as the inaugural recipients last year. This year, Lu is joined by junior men's skater Jacob Sanchez (promising recipient) and intermediate ladies' skater Kate Pressgrove (developmental recipient).  
 
"During the Fund's application process, we ask athletes to share with us why they feel they're deserving of the award; their financial needs; and challenges they have experienced," said Ouida Robins, a selection committee member and member of the U.S. Figure Skating Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Task Force. "Financial need is a big component for us, but we also really look for those skaters who 'embody' characteristics of Mabel – like perseverance, resilience, tenacity – that's also really important to us."
 
Lu first fell in love with skating when she was 4 years old and started as a singles skater. By the time she was a teenager, she had already had a successful career but decided she would have more opportunities if she switched to pairs. According to Lu, switching to pairs was one of the biggest challenges for her. Not only did she have to learn a number of new elements, she also had to overcome her fears in the new discipline. 

"Every day that first year was so hard, but having my mom and my support team and system behind me helped," Lu said. 
 

According to Robins, the Fund's selection committee was extremely impressed by Lu's meticulous planning and organization and her "extraordinary" commitment to the sport. Two weeks before the U.S. Championships, Lu and Mitrofanov had an accident while practicing a death spiral. Mitrofanov's blade sliced Lu's face, resulting in an eight hour trip to the emergency room, stitches and time off the ice. Nonetheless, Lu was determined to fight for a medal. Despite not having their desired performance, Lu reflected on the experience and how she could improve at Four Continents.
 

"I thought about this award and how Mabel Fairbanks had gone through so much more," said Lu. "She never gave up. Her determination just made me want to keep fighting."
 

Fairbanks became the second Black and Indigenous member of the U.S. Figure Skating Hall of Fame in 1997, second only to her student and 1979 World pairs champion Tai Babilonia who was inducted in 1991. Before that, much of Fairbanks life was shaped by poverty, bigotry and racial segregation. She was repeatedly denied entrance to skate in New York's ice facilities and was not allowed to compete in the sport. As a result, Fairbanks produced her own ice shows and events to shatter the race barrier she and fellow BIPOC skaters encountered. Later, Fairbanks became a renowned coach and mentor to a number of U.S. champions and Olympians before passing away in 2001.
 

"Mabel had such an impact [and] the Fairbanks Fund really speaks to how Mabel lived her life and consistently gave assistance to BIPOC skaters," Robins explained.

As a coach, official and club president, Robins has seen a number of diverse skaters leave the sport over the years due to the financial burden. Lu, herself, is planning to use her award to fund off-ice strength training, conditioning and dance classes.

"There has been a focus to be attracting more skaters of color into the sport, but there has also been an issue of retaining them."
 

Since the establishment of the Fund, the number of BIPOC athletes who applied for awards has nearly tripled. Robins hopes the awareness for the Fund continues to grow while providing inspiration and opportunity for the sport's up-and-coming skaters as Lu and fellow award recipients carry on Fairbanks' legacy.   
 

"There has been an increase of Asian-Americans in figure skating, and I feel grateful to be a part of that," Lu, who identifies as Chinese-American, said. "As a person of color, I feel for the struggles other BIPOC people have had to endure. I think it's important we keep standing up for ourselves and standing for justice. My challenges don't even compare to what Mabel went through, but, because of Mabel, I know I can get through anything."