Laney Diggs

Melanie Paige "Laney" Diggs (born October 9, 1992) is an American figure skater. She has competed twice at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships and represented the United States internationally.

Personal life

Melanie Diggs, nicknamed Laney, was born in San Jose, California. She is of Japanese, Norwegian, Swedish, and British descent. She attends Palos Verdes Peninsula High School.

Career

Diggs began skating after watching Michelle Kwan compete at the Olympics. In the 2004-2005 season, competing on the novice level, she placed 8th at her regional championship and did not qualify for the 2005 U.S. Figure Skating Championships.

In the 2005-2006 season, Diggs won the pewter medals at her regional and sectional championships, qualifying her for the 2006 U.S. Figure Skating Championships on the novice level, where she placed ninth.

In the 2006-2007 season, Diggs moved up to the Junior level, but placed 5th at her sectional championship and did not advance to the 2007 U.S. Figure Skating Championships.

Diggs moved up to the senior level in the 2007-2008 season. She won her regional championship and won the silver medal at her sectional championship. She qualified for the 2008 U.S. Figure Skating Championships and placed 20th.

In the 2008-2009 season, Diggs won the silver medals at her regional and sectional championships and placed 10th at the 2009 U.S. Figure Skating Championships. She was assigned to the 2009 International Challenge Cup and placed 6th in her first international competition.

Coaching changes

Early in her career, Diggs was coached by Tiffany Chin in Simi Valley, California, with her programs choreographed by Alex Chang. She changed coaches to Frank Carroll, Christa Fassi and Galina Barinova in El Segundo, California. Chang remains her choreographer. She recently switched coaches yet again to Angela Nikodinov and Ivan Dinev in Torrance, California

Programs

Competitive highlights

• N = Novice level; J = Junior level