Her foray into ice-skating was really done out of boredom as a 46-year-old mother.

Now 82, Dr Gin Lee Wee Kit gracefully and effortlessly drifts across the ice at Kallang Ice World at Kallang Leisure Park.

At an age where many would avoid taking part in strenuous activities, Dr Gin regularly takes to the ice, pirouetting and twirling on the ice with joyful abandon.

Despite hitting the golden years, her interest in ice-skating has not died down.

"When the first ice rink here opened in Jurong in the mid-70s, my son and daughter, who was 12 and 10 respectively, were keen to learn," said the avid figure skater.

She signed them up for courses at the rink in Jurong, which opened in 1974, and sent them for lessons regularly without fail.

Then one day, as she was sitting there watching them float around on the ice, she wondered, "Why don't I try it out for myself?"

Her interest has endured ever since.

When the rink closed in 1976, her passion survived despite being, well, frozen out.

She was right back at it when a new rink, Fuji Ice Palace, opened in 1989 at the former Rex cinema building.

The doctor, who was in her early 60s by then, relocated her clinic from International Plaza to Paradiz Centre, just to feed her ice-skating passion.

She also changed her working hours at International Plaza Clinic, to fit in her hobby into her daily schedule.

She would skate every morning before going to work in the afternoon.

To her dismay, the rink shut down in 1993.

However she, together with many avid skaters, didn't have to wait long before they could get their fill of ice-skating again.

The next year, Fuji Ice Palace opened again at Jurong Entertainment Centre.

"The reopened Jurong rink was very good. There were instructors from China," recalled Dr Gin.

As to how she got started in taking part in competitions, it's quite a funny story.

When skating, Dr Gin met many people of all ages.

"The young ones were very cute, and their mothers were very friendly," said Dr Gin.

"Six of the mothers told me if I flew to Jakarta to take part in an ice-skating competition, they would start picking up the sport."

So that's how, in her 70s, Dr Gin started taking part in ice-skating competitions.

She even surpassed all expectations and won a gold medal in figure skating in that one.

Her only qualms?

"I had to tell them my age during registrations," joked Dr Gin.

She added that the six mothers who had challenged her really did take up the sport, but eventually dropped out one by one.

Dr Gin doesn't really care about the competitions themselves when she's competing.

"I love music, and this sport incorporates it. I'm one of those who really enjoy my sport, as opposed to those who take part solely for competing," she said.

Her son and her eldest daughter stopped skating when the rink at Jurong closed.

Her husband tried skating, but stopped after suffering a skating injury.

Among her achievements, are emerging joint-first in the Skate Singapore ice-skating competition 2005, and winning the gold medal in the Skate Asia competition in Shenzhen, China, in 2007.

Dr Gin stresses that a lot of patience is needed for the sport, and one has to be very alert and aware of his surroundings.

"In a game like tennis, you will have opponents that play a part in deciding your next move. But in ice-skating it's all up to yourself."

She advises newbies to accept that falls will surely happen, and to be careful of holes or mounds in the ice.

"Also, be very careful of those I'd call drunkards on ice," joked Dr Gin, referring to those who skate against the flow of traffic or into other skaters' paths.

For those who think ice-skating is a simple sport, Dr Gin says that you can get injured and even break bones if you're not careful.

"My son broke his wrist when he was young," she said. "I always remind younger skaters that you're carrying a knife on your boot."

Great exercise

Dr Gin also says that ice-skating is a great form of exercise, especially for the legs.

The retiree lives with her husband and their three pet dogs.

Nowadays her routine consists of her morning skate, before going off to pick her two grandchildren from school.

She then goes home and does any paperwork for the household, before her Latin dance lessons held in her home.

Dr Gin added that her family members don't worry much about her, saying: "They know I'll look after myself. After all, my children skate too."

Her elder daughter, Ms Karina Gin, 45, an associate professor of civil and environmental engineering at the National University of Singapore, is completely behind her mother's involvement in the sport.

"I think she's pretty remarkable for her age," said Ms Gin.

"It might be a bit dangerous as she might fall and break something, but I'm confident as she has had many years of experience."

She is glad her mother has a hobby and that her interest keeps her active into old age.

Ms Gin, who was a national ice-skating champion in the 1970s, recalled the day her mother joined them on the ice.

"Mummy joined us as it was cold and she could have frozen up just sitting there doing nothing," she said.

It seems nothing can stop this petite ex-doctor from stepping into her size-four skates and drifting off into her icy, musical wonderland.

This article was first published in The New Paper.