“The increase in the number of amateur competitions shows positive dynamics in figure skating” – Bobrova

Olympic ice dancing champion Ekaterina Bobrova told that the increase in the number of competitions at the amateur level demonstrates positive dynamics in figure skating as a whole.

According to the Ministry of Sports of the Russian Federation, 247 thousand people are officially involved in figure skating in the country, which is 375 thousand fewer than in 2022.

— As a former professional figure skater with Olympic experience, I especially deeply understand the reasons for such a change in the statistics of figure skating in the country. I share the opinion of Tatiana Anatolyevna Tarasova that the current lack of access to international competitions does not stimulate both the process of playing sports and the desire to achieve high results.

Since the 2023/24 season as president Association for the Development of Mass Figure Skating I am involved in the development of figure skating in terms of mass (popularly amateur) figure skating. Amateur figure skaters are children and adults, people of various professions who come to the ice at any age, get on skates and even begin to participate in competitions. It is in this segment that we are witnessing a renewed interest in figure skating. Families come to the ice.

This year, Ilya Averbukh, with the participation of the vice-president of our association, Maria Orlova, organized for the first time “Popular Ice Skating”, which found a great response among amateur figure skaters. The number of figure skating competitions for amateurs (in the sense of mass sports) in the country over the past 3 years has shown positive dynamics.

Mass figure skating is at a favorable time to attract more skaters, when it is necessary to create the right environment, the right support. For children and adults. I am absolutely convinced that with proper state support, the number of people involved in mass figure skating in the country can be significantly increased. And we, as the Association for the Development of Mass Figure Skating, will make all necessary efforts to ensure that figure skating exists and develops to preserve the health and active longevity of our citizens, as defined in development strategies physical education and sport in the Russian Federation until 2030,” Bobrova told .