I don't usually gravitate towards slice of life, but kind of wanna give this a go. Was thinking of a wannabe reporter, still in school, working for the college's paper or something, or freshly graduated and in an internship for a small local paper. Maybe used to have a sibling/partner who skated, but hasn't herself. Originally came around when reporting on the aftermath of the storm, but somehow smells The New Big Thing what's with famous people buzzing around and the contest. May or may not develop an amateur level interest in the sport itself later on, depending. But if the skaters at the park ever get super famous, she wants to make sure she's the first to write about them!

Would that work?