GUAM’S FIRST EVER FIGURE SKATERS?

By Patrick Lujan

We’ve had some Guam rooted athletes venture on to the ice rink to play hockey, but figure skating?

Being the first from Guam could hold true for Alyssa and Leela Chan, both born on Guam before taking up the sport in their new home in south New Hampshire.

After settling down in the northeastern part of the US a decade ago, mom Marissa Blas Chan (from Yigo) and dad Alan Chan (from Harmon) were looking for something their young daughters could do on the weekends.

Their first taste of competition was in swimming, taking to the St. John’s pool on Guam. With the change of scenery and living, they shifted their sport from liquid to solid H2O.

Enter figure skating.

“We were wondering what we can do on a Saturday. We just gave it a shot,” Marissa remembers about the move to New Hampshire.

As the girls developed a liking to the new sport, the evolution turned into more investments: private lessons, athletic trainer, off-ice coach, jump coach, 50-mile weekend treks to the Skating Club of Boston.

“It’s been pretty costly,” mom said frankly. “They are competitive at a national level, but not on the Olympic track. We don’t want the stress of wanting to go to the Olyumpics, but to do well and the artistry.”

MEETING NEW GOLD MEDALIST

Speaking of Olympics, Alyssa got a chance to meet newly minted Olympic gold medalist Alysa Liu this past weekend. The 14-year-old Alyssa is part of the 2x National Theater on Ice team, Team Allegro. Liu was a special guest at the Ice Chips Show in Norwood, Massachusetts. Alyssa got a chance to meet Alysa.

“It’s a big deal to meet her and even get a selfie,” Marissa said about the meet up. “She got to meet her on the ice after the show was done. She was very gracious to stick around and pose with the skaters.”

“Meeting Alysa Liu for the first time was a surreal experience,” Alyssa said. “You have to take the aura she has online and dial it up by ten in order to actually capture her full fabulousness in person.”

Note: Fabulousness is now a word.

BUMPS ‘N BRUISES

If you’ve ever been on a pair of blades on slippery ice, one would know the degrees of difficulty. It was no different for the Chan sisters at a young age.

“When they first started out, it was watching your kids fall down again and again and again. There’s no glory or instant gratification. You got to get back up again,” Marissa said. “I’d look at them and say, ‘;you don’t have to do this. You’re falling down, hurting your hips and ankles’. Thank God they have training off the ice with harnesses, etc. They haven’t had any major injuries, thanks goodness, but after a hard session, they have bruises all over their legs.”

Sounding like a young adult already, Alyssa explains her love for the sport. “I love the struggle that comes with figure skating, and the satisfaction I get when I’m on the ice. It reminds me that I’m human, and grants me the freedom to express myself on the ice. It has taught me a lot about what it means to be coachable, and has taught me more about self love.”

In 2025, Alyssa was an Excel National Finalist, finishing in 5th place.

12-year-old sister Leela was a national champion at the age of 8. She recently hung up her blades to take up volleyball.

Meanwhile, Alyssa will continue to represent Guam with hopes of bumping into another Guam skater.

“They identify themselves as CHamoru and Chinese, which is nice,” Marrisa said about her daughters. “They look more Chinese than anything else, though.”

Grandparents: Tom & Marianne Blas of Sinajana, Suk Pin & Chuong Chan formerly of Harmon