“Once there was a boy—about 13 years old—who lived in a very small town. Each morning he’d get up before school, lace up his skates, and go out onto the tiny little pond that was in front of his house. Before it was time for the school bus to pick him up for school, this boy would practice skating. The space was so tiny he could only go a little way in each direction from the middle of the pond. Because he couldn't go very far or very fast, he learned to leap and jump, whirl and twirl and spin. Day after day he'd practice. Most days he'd also hurry to put on his skates after the school bus brought him home and he'd practice until his mother or father called him to come into the house for supper.

Leap. Leap. Leap.
Jump. Jump. Jump.
Whirl. Whirl. Whirl.
Twirl. Twirl Twirl.
Spin. Spin. Spin.

Every day, all winter long he'd practice. People driving past would see him and think how hard he was working at his skating.

Sometimes the older boys or girls would go by and one or two would call out a smart alecky name, or kind of make fun of him. Secretly, they thought he was practicing harder than they ever would.

It didn't matter what others said, the skater knew he loved skating on the tiny pond. It was where he felt free and wonderful.

One day, the skater's neighbor, wise Miss Anna, walked through the snow over to the little pond where the skater was busy practicing his twirls and jumps. Miss Anna was very old and very kind and it was not easy for her to walk at all, especially in the snow. "I have seen you practicing," Miss Anna said. "I want you to have this silver top that my Grandfather gave me when I was just a little girl." Into the skater's hand, Miss Anna placed a shiny little top. "Watch it spin," she said, "it reminds me of you."

“Thank you,” said the skater as he looked at the shiny top in his hand. Miss Anna was already walking back across the snowy meadow as the skater slipped the top into his pocket and returned to practicing.

That night, the skater placed the silver top on the table next to his bed. He gave it a twist of his fingers and the top began to spin like it was magical. It was as if the top was on a cloud, and a gentle breeze blew it. It just kept spinning. Spinning. Spinning. It was still spinning when the skater fell asleep.

Each night, the skater would fall asleep with the little silver top spinning silently next to him.

One day, the skater's Father showed him a notice in the newspaper from the big city. 'Ice skating championship' it said. The announcement told about a contest for skaters that would be held next month at the giant arena in the big city. "If you'd like to enter the contest, your Mother and I will help you and go with you, " his father said.

The skater thanked his father and said he'd think about it. He went out to the pond to leap and jump, whirl and twirl and spin.

When he came into the house for supper, the first thing he said was "Yes, I'd like to enter the skating contest."

He sent in the form and entry fee. Mother reserved a hotel room in the big city. Grandmother said she’d stay with the other children during the contest.

Waiting for the day to come, the skater kept practicing on the tiny pond. Pinpoint Pond he had begun to call it. Pinpoint Pond was what he had written on the contest entry form on the line where it said to tell where you skated.

The day came. The drive from his home to the big city was exciting and scary. More cars. Bigger buildings. Lots of people. Noise and activity everywhere.

The hotel was very tall. From his room way up high, he could see hundreds of lights and hear all kinds of city sounds. That evening in the fancy dining room at the hotel, the skater could hardly eat. His stomach was all wiggly and jiggly. He was thinking about the contest. Even in the big city, the skater placed the silver top next to his bed and gave it a gentle twist. It was spinning as he fell asleep.

The skater was up before the sun. He sat quietly and thought about Pinpoint Pond. He closed his eyes and he could see himself on the pond—leaping and jumping, whirling and twirling and spinning. He could smell the clear pine air. He could hear the pond’s silence. He could imagine it all just like he was really there.

He knew the other skaters in the contest had skated on much bigger ponds. Some had practiced on lakes. Some had even taken lessons and had coaches and skated every day at a big arena. "Ah well," he thought, " I'll just image I'm on Pinpoint Pond and do the best I can." He put the little silver top into his pocket and went off to the contest.

All the skaters lined up and the judges sat down in front of them. The judges looked very serious. No one was smiling.

Each skater drew a piece of paper out of a box. Each paper had a number on it and that was the number that told in which order the skaters would perform. There were 15 boys entered in this part of the contest, and the skater picked the paper that said —15. He would be skating last.

"Welcome to the Diamond Jubilee Ice Skating Championship," the announcer said over the loud speaker to the hundreds and hundreds of people in the arena to watch the contest.

Each skater was introduced as his turn to skate came.

Nicholas from Russia skated first. He went all over the ice in the big arena. He would skate fast and far and end in a leap. He'd skate fast and far and end in a jump. He'd skate fast and far to another side of the arena and end in a whirl or twirl. The spotlights followed him up and down and around the ice.

The next skater was Miko from a far away sounding country of Estonia. He, too, skated all over the arena.

After Miko, a boy named Lee from China skated very well.

Then Hans from Holland and Gregor from Germany went up and down the ice as the spotlights followed them.

The next three skaters were from Canada. Then two skaters from faraway states, and four from the city where they were skated up and down the ice.

All the boys skated far and fast. The spotlights raced around the arena keeping up with their speed and following their motion as they traveled all around the ice in the big arena.

Then it was time for skater number 15. "All we know about entry number 15 is that he calls himself The Spin Skater from Pinpoint Pond," said the announcer. The skater gulped. He told himself to imagine that he was home on Pinpoint Pond, practicing like he did every day before the school bus came.

He went onto the arena ice and skated to the center. All of the spotlights were on him. The crowd seemed curious. They became silent.

The music he had chosen to play while he skated began. He couldn't see Mother and Father, but he knew there were somewhere in the hundreds of people. He kept imagining he was on Pinpoint Pond and he touched his pocket and felt the shiny top as he began to skate.

The skater performed just like he was at home. He stayed right in the center of the arena. There he leaped. He jumped. He whirled. He twirled. And most of all, he spun.

He raised his arms and spun. He put out his arms and spun. He leaped and spun. He jumped and whirled and spun. He twirled and spun. He was spinning fast. He was spinning slow. He was spinning high. He was spinning low. The music was spinning around him. His thoughts of Pinpoint Pond were spinning within him.

The spotlights didn't move an inch. All lights were directly on the skater as he was leaping high and jumping beautifully and whirling and twirling and spinning, spinning, spinning —right in the center of the ice.

People watching didn't move; there was not even a twitch. Some had sparkles of happy tears twinkling down their cheeks they thought his spinning was so beautiful. Mother and Father could hardly sit still in their seats, they were so proud.

As the music ended, the skater started his last glorious spin. Arms low, arms out, arms high, leaning way back, arms over head, bending low— he was spinning, spinning, spinning— faster and faster and faster until it was hard to even see him. He was like a flame flickering on a candle. He was glowing. He was bright. He was breathtaking. It was as if he was on a cloud, being spun by a gentle breeze.

As the music stopped, the spinning also slowed to a stop. Then, as if with one great voice and one thundering clap, the hundreds of people rose to their feet and cheered. The called 'Bravo, Spin Skater!" They threw bouquets of flowers onto the ice. They didn't stop clapping for a long time. The whole arena seemed to be spinning.

When the judges showed their scores, they actually smiled. Skater number 15 got the highest points. The announcer said, "The gold medal for first place has been won by the Spin Skater of Pinpoint Pond." Everyone cheered, called out, and clapped again and again. Father and Mother called so loudly that the skater spotted them high in the balcony. He waved to them as the gold medal was placed around his neck.

The other skaters shook his hand and told him that they admired his skating. As he left the ice, the judges shook his hand and said they had never seen such leaping, jumping, whirling, twirling and spinning. They were still smiling.

"We can't even find Pinpoint Pond on the map," the announcer said to the people watching the contest on television. "This young man has performed like a world champion. He came from a place we haven't heard of, we can't find it on the map, and it must be very small to have a name like Pinpoint Pond. Yet he has skated magnificently. We’re up here in the announcer’s booth looking down on the ice and what we see are the glorious circular patterns left there by this marvelous spin skater - the circles are all woven together and look like exquisite lace work. He has really left his mark. He has proven that doing things differently and being the best at what you do is a winning combination no matter who you are or where you live."

The skater went home with his gold medal in a velvet-lined box. His parents told him how proud they were, and he thanked them for believing in him and encouraging him to enter the contest.

Grandmother and the other children were waiting at the door when the car arrived home. They all hugged him and patted him on the back. They all wanted to hold the gold medal. They all wanted to tell him how proud they were when they saw him on the television.

It was getting dark and the skater was tired from so much excitement and the long drive home from the big city. He was getting ready to go to bed when he heard lots of horns honking outside and saw lots of lights coming through the trees.

All the family went to the door and looked out. There in the front yard, circled around Pinpoint Pond were all the people from town. They had parked so that their headlights were shining on the pond. They honked and cheered and clapped as the skater stepped onto the front porch. "Come skate for us, " called one of the boys that sometimes made fun. "You're our champion of Pinpoint Pond."

The skater laced up his skates. His father plugged in the tape recorder for music. Onto Pinpoint Pond the skater went and for his community he performed like a champion.

The night was silent. The stars were bright. The moon sent a path of light to Pinpoint Pond. The skater was wonderful. He leaped. He jumped. He whirled. He twirled. He ended with spinning, spinning, spinning. His friends and neighbors clapped and clapped. They cheered and told him how proud they were. They stood near one another and looked at the wonderful circles left on the ice. They passed his medal around and touched it as if each one of them had won it.

The skater never went to another contest. He was too busy and too happy right at Pinpoint Pond. Parents brought their children and asked him to teach them to spin. Middle aged couples who had forgotten how to spin asked him to help them learn to spin again. And wise Miss Anna said she wouldn't be able to do much, but could he teach her to spin just a little. The skater was especially happy to help Miss Anna learn to spin, and a special smile would pass between them as they'd gently spin on the ice together.

Now each winter, when all the summer visitors who come to town leave and maybe even think that nothing special goes on while they're away, the town people wait for the ice to be just right on the little ponds, the tiny lakes, and the teeny streams. Then all over town, people start skating—and most of them are spinning. And if you could see all this activity from above, you’d see wonderful circles being created in the ice all over town.

Once each winter, the whole town gathers at Pinpoint Pond to celebrate the skater, and even more, to celebrate what he taught them —that anyone can be really good at something, even if you're doing something in a very small space, and anyone can be a champion, every if its in a very small place.

Early each winter, the shiny top is passed on to someone who is practicing very hard and by the end of winter that person can spin just like they were filled with magic. Year after year, more and more people learned to spin and the little town rejoices that they do something no place else does quite as well. Sometimes people from away travel to the town just to cheer at all the spinning, and just to see all the beautiful patterns the people create together.

And, that’s the story of The Spin Skater of Pinpoint Pond.