Hailey KOPS

Father Steven (Ice hockey): Grew up playing in Philadelphia, PA.

Mother Lisa (Figure skating): Skating coach at South Moutain Arena in West Orange, NJ.

Brother Corey (Ice hockey): In 2015-16 played for the Raanana Hitman of the Israeli League, and in 2017 played for the Kalkaska Rhinos in the United States Premier Hockey League in Michigan.

Brothers Max Kops (Football/soccer): Played at TSF Academy in New Jersey and overseas in Barcelona.

Brothers Evan and Ty (Football/soccer): Played youth soccer.

Debut:

2021 Cranberry Cup International (Pair skating - 11th), with Krasnopolsky
2018 Golden Spin of Zagreb (Pair skating - 8th), with Tsoglin

Choreographer:

Galit Chait Moracci (ISR)

National team:

2016

Start:

2004 in New York City. Her mother is a figure skating coach and the second she was walking, she was in skates. (Athlete, 10 Dec 2021)

Reason:

"Once I started competing, I realized that I had a love for performing along with the competition and adrenaline, and at around 11 or 12-years-old one of my coaches [at the time] told me, ‘I am going to get you to the Olympics.’ And others started saying I had a lot of potential in the sport,” Kops said. (jns.org, 22 Dec 2021)

Ambition:

Personal goals: To start nursing school following the 2021/22 season. (Athlete, 10 Dec 2021)

Beijing 2022 goals: “My personal goal is to skate clean, get to the finals and try to get a medal. Every time I get on the ice whether at a small or big competition, I try to do the best that I can.” (jns.org, 22 Dec 2021)

Training:

She and her partner train in Hackensack, NJ in the United States of America.

Memorable:

Qualifying an Olympic spot for Israel at Nebelhorn Trophy 2021. (Athlete, 10 Dec 2021)

Hero:

Her coach Galit Chait Moracci. (Athlete, 10 Dec 2021)

Influence:

Her mother and her coach Galit Chait Moracci. (Athlete, 10 Dec 2021)

Ritual:

Always prays before competing. (Athlete, 10 Dec 2021)

Philosophy:

"Patience, optimism and persistance." (Athlete, 10 Dec 2021)

General Interest

KOPS/KRASNOPOLSKY
Teamed up in summer 2021 on the suggestion of Israeli Skating Federation president Boris Chait. (timesofisrael.com, 28 Dec 2021)

OLYMPIC QUALIFYING
Earned one of only three spots available at the Olympic qualifying event Nebelhorn Trophy in September 2021 after skating together for only three months. (timesofisrael.com, 28 Dec 2021)

COMPETING FOR ISRAEL
At age 13, Israel’s Ice Skating Federation invited her to try out for team Israel. The federation holds its year-round training near her New Jersey home, as Israel has limited ice skating facilities. Out of her love for Israel, she tried out, made the team, and shortly thereafter obtained her Israeli citizenship.

“It had always been a dream of mine to skate for Israel. As a Jewish religious girl raised modern Orthodox, I know that Israel is our home. It was always part of my plan to try to skate for Israel." (jns.org, 22 Dec 2021)

COMING BACK
After she and Tsoglin ended their career in 2019, after having achieved success on an international level, she - who had suffered several knee injuries and missed out on experiences as a teenager - decided to walk away from the sport as her heart wasn’t completely in it. She went to Israel to study for one year and skated only a little bit. Decided to come back to skating when federation president Boris Chait called.

“I didn’t go to high school and didn’t have a normal teenage life, so I decided to hang my skates up. It wasn’t fair to my team if I wasn’t ‘all in’ anymore." (jns.org, 22 Dec 2021; timesofisrael.com, 28 Dec 2021)

HER FAITH
She is Sabbath observant and must balance being in the Orthodox Jewish world and the competitive skating world at the same time. At first, this was a very difficult challenge, but over the years she has learned to adjust. "It’s nice for me to feel that I can still be religious and compete. In the past, it was very difficult, but now it’s normal for me to keep Shabbat, keeping kosher, and it’s something I really want to hold on to.” (jns.org, 22 Dec 2021)

PREVIOUS PARTNER
Skated with Artem Tsoglin 2016-19.

ACCOMPLISHED COACHES
Coach Galit Chait Moracci (ISR) is the 2002 world ice dance bronze medallist (with Sergei Sakhnovski). Coach Robin Szolkowy (GER) is the 2010 and 2014 Olympic bronze medallist and a five-time world champion in pair skating (with Aljona Savchenko).

Milestones

Competed at three World Junior Championships (2016-2019) with Tsoglin, with their best result of seventh in 2019.

2016 ISU Junior Grand Prix Cup of Mordovia (International junior debut - Pair skating - 9th, with Tsoglin)

Social Media

https://www.instagram.com/haileykops/

Legend

:: Gold Medal Event

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