Thirteen-year-old Skylar Lautowa-Peguero has been skating since she was 3 years old, but for the last two years, she's been patiently waiting for the opportunity to be old enough to compete on the ISU Junior Grand Prix of Figure Skating circuit.

The wait is finally over for the 2025 U.S. junior silver medalist. In her first season of eligibility, Lautowa-Peguero is preparing to represent Team USA at her first JGP event in Latvia, Aug. 27–29.

"It feels exciting," Lautowa-Peguero said. "I'm looking forward to learning new things, meeting new people and having new experiences. I'm proud that I got this assignment."

Both Lautowa-Peguero and her coach and mother, Julia Lautowa, see this next step in the young skater's career as a culmination of determination and effort. Lautowa, who competed for Austria and was a seven-time national champion and 1998 Olympian, has watched her daughter work toward this international assignment. With only six spots available for U.S. women, earning one was even more meaningful.

"For her to get this initial assignment right away speaks volumes," Lautowa said. "In Milwaukee, she did a fantastic job and earned her spot."

Part of Lautowa-Peguero's assignment to JGP Latvia included her performance at the 2026 U.S. Junior Team Cup in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in July. She made a statement with a second-place finish in the short program and a third-place effort in the free skate and overall, demonstrating her ability to compete among the best at her level.

Now that she has the spot in Latvia, Lautowa-Peguero is putting in the work to make the most of it. She's focused on her jump consistency, increasing the number of program run-throughs and working on improving her spins. Her goals for Latvia are straightforward from there.

"I definitely want to raise my components, skate as clean as I can and have fun," she said.

Lautowa-Peguero will bring two contrasting programs to Latvia. Her short program features music by 80s Latin pop icon Gloria Estefan. Lautowa-Peguero wears a bright yellow dress that she hopes will help her stand out. The upbeat piece wasn't originally the skater's choice, but when her choreographer approached her with the music, Lautowa-Peguero leaned in.

"I trusted her judgment that it was a good music piece, and I actually really like it," she said.

Her free skate is a piano piece that features slower music. Lautowa-Peguero is particularly excited to showcase her footwork and spins in the short program and the choreography of her free skate.

As she continues to develop her own style on the ice, Lautowa-Peguero also looks toward skaters who possess qualities she hopes to show in her own skating. One is Olympic champion Alysa Liu.

"She's calm no matter what, and she approaches everything like it's normal and never looks nervous," Lautowa-Peguero said.

Those mental qualities emulate traits Lautowa sees her daughter grow into each day on the ice. She said Lautowa-Peguero continues to add to her workload, becoming increasingly aware of the areas she wants to improve upon.

"She's definitely gotten a lot stronger mentally," Lautowa said. "And she's learned to work harder every day."

Those improvements in skating skills and mentality didn't appear overnight. Lautowa-Peguero believes her previous competitive experiences have prepared her for the JGP circuit, particularly competing at the U.S. Championships. Her recent first-place finishes at the 2026 Coupe de Printemps and 2026 Bavarian Open at the advanced novice level also add to her growing skating resume.

"I felt a lot of pressure at nationals and I was very nervous," she said. "I've done a lot of international competitions, so hopefully I can take that experience into this competition."

Helping Lautowa-Peguero develop her skills is a robust team primarily out of the Ice House in Hackensack, New Jersey, one of them being her mother. At the rink, Lautowa is her coach, but once they're home, roles change, and skating stays at the rink.

"At home, I'm just a mom all the time," Lautowa said. "We don't take any skating, practices, or anything back home. But at the rink, I don't want to be a mom at all."
As they prepare Lautowa-Peguero for her JGP debut, Lautowa's advice to her daughter is simple: "Have fun."

"I hope she learns as much as she can and knows that this is just the first out of many to come."

For Lautowa-Peguero, when she finally steps on the ice for the first time, she hopes it comes as easy as practice.

"I hope I feel the same as any other competition," she said. "I'm hoping I don't feel that much pressure or nervousness. I hope I can keep it in the back of my mind that I've prepared a lot for this."