SAN ANTONIO -- Local figure skater Austin Borjas-Ewell has increased his chances of competing in the U.S. Figure Skating National Championships, possibly Team USA, as well as future Olympic Winter Games.

  • Local figure skater is recognized for his accomplishments
  • Honored by the San Antonio Figure Skating Club with a permanent U.S. Figure Skating banner
  • Next competition is at sectional championships

He recently placed fourth in the 2019 Southwestern Novice Men’s Regional Championship, allowing him to advance and compete in the 2019 Midwestern Sectional Figure Skating Championship this month, November 13-17.

“Every time I’m out here, I just have to remember how short of a time it’s been, and just enjoy it,” Borjas-Ewell said.

On Monday, as part of a warm send-off, Borjas-Ewell was honored by the San Antonio Figure Skating Club with a permanent U.S. Figure Skating banner installation recognizing his 2018 Southwestern Intermediate Men Gold Medal win.

“The last seven years have been amazing and to grow up around such amazing people is unbelievable,” he said.

Borjas-Ewell’s success in the Southwestern Regional Championships was the third of five competitive levels within the U.S. Figure Skating qualifying system. This will be his fourth trip to the Midwestern Sectionals, but his first time competing at the novice level.

“He’s only two levels away from the Nationals, Skate America, Worlds, the Olympics. He’s only two levels away,” Cindi Ezzo, Borjas-Ewell’s figure skating coach said.

At the sectional championships, Borjas-Ewell will compete against other regional medalists at his level to vie for a top four finish, which would secure him a spot at the 2019 U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Detroit in January.

“Going into it, I’m just trying to stay in a place where I’m mentally relaxed and not trying to put so much pressure on myself,” Borjas-Ewell said. “I really just want to go and have fun.”

While the majority of competitive figure skaters have been on the ice since before they can remember, Borjas-Ewell joined the sport relatively late at the age of ten. He was adopted from Cambodia when he was six-months-old and discovered figure skating during a family vacation in Maryland a decade later.

“It kind of stuck with me and then I ended up really liking it, so then for the next few years that we were going, it just kind of stuck with me,” Borjas-Ewell said.

Eventually, his parents decided that he needed to choose an extracurricular activity to stay active and he immediately decided on skating.

His fathers, David Ewell and Mariano Borjas, quickly picked up many of the complexities of the highly specialized sport, but continue to have to study up on other facets such as the extremely involved scoring system and the small differences between types of jumps.

They also began pouring every penny they could into paying for skates, ice time, costumes, coaching, competition entries and travel. He raises money through a Rally Me account to help fund his skating career. 

Borjas-Ewell trains for almost two hours every weekday, coaches on Saturdays and often skates even on Sundays. But it’s worth it for an 18-year-old chasing international, and even Olympic, skating dreams.

“Team U.S.A. is a really, really big goal that I want to aim for,” Borjas-Ewell said.

Although he hopes to study sports medicine eventually, after high school graduation he plans to take a postgraduate year to focus on skating, possibly in other parts of the country.

Austin’s progress and competition results can be tracked in the U.S. Figure Skating’s Fan Zone.