With a total score of 158.61, senior Kevin Shum placed 20th overall in the Junior Men’s category at the 2015 International Skating Union (ISU) World Junior Championships in Tallinn, Estonia on Mar 7.

A member of the St. Moritz Skating Club, he was selected to compete for the US skating team in Tallinn after winning a silver medal for junior men at the 2015 U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Greensboro, North Carolina on Jan. 23.

“Stepping onto the arena ice for my first practice was amazing,” Shum said. “The stadium is brand new and the ice quality was perfect, so it was a great start to my week at the championships.”

In his short program, Shum placed 16th out of 40 with 61.61 points skating to “Invierno porteño” by Gidon Kremer. His score nearly surpassed his personal record of 61.79 and allowed him to advance to the free skate round.

In his free skate (long program), he placed 22nd out of 24 with 97.00 points skating to music from Thor: The Dark World by Brian Tyler. Shum was the third-highest scoring American in both events.

“I was injured before and during the event so I wasn’t able to skate my best,” Shum said. “But I was there for the experience, as this was my first world championships, and not for placement, so I was happy that I was able to just enjoy the process and not really focus on a desired outcome.”

Although it is now the offseason, he  is continuing to train and prepare new programs for the coming season starting summer.