Taking a gap year and applying later is usually a positive in the admissions process. Admissions offices really like it when you’re applying a year out of high school because, in most cases, you’re going to be more mature. That being said, you want to use your gap year as best as possible - i.e. to do something meaningful that will really impact your application. So if you’re doing it for figure skating, that’s great, but you want to make sure that that decision will add value to your application.