“I think we will easily find a common language with the new Minister of Sports. We have a common goal of development” – Sikharulidze

The Russian Figure Skating Federation (FFKKR) will find a common language with the new Minister of Sports Mikhail Degtiarev we pursue common goals, said the acting head of the FFKKR Anton Sikharulidze .

— Mikhail Degtyarev was recently appointed Minister of Sports of Russia. Have you ever managed to chat with him? What are the expectations when working together?

— I have not yet communicated with Degtyarev in his new position. When it comes to working together, we are open to dialogue. Our federation is always ready to listen and propose various innovations in order to systematize work in sport. I think we will easily find a common language; we have a common goal: development. I don’t see that we can have any problems.

— According to the Ministry of Sports, 247,000 people practice figure skating in the country, or 375,000 fewer than in 2022. To what extent are these figures objective?

“We have to explain this in a very subtle way.” There are different counting systems. There is a system called 5‑FC. This is a system for counting those who train in specialized figure skating schools. This can be called professional children’s figure skating. We have 29,313 of these athletes this year. And this number has not increased significantly compared to 2022. There is also another system 1-FC – a system for counting people who are engaged in mass figure skating.

In figure skating, it is very difficult to talk about a mass sport. It’s easier in athletics, because if you run, half the planet is doing it – grab your sneakers and run. According to the 1‑FC system, the first thing to do is the regions. The federations must provide precise indicators on the number of people who go to an outdoor rink, even if only to stay on the ice for a minute. Once he kicks the ball, he’s a person who at least plays football in some way. This data must always be accurate.

We were not yet ready for such a development of events and have never paid so much attention to this data. In Moscow and other cities, there was no reliable data on the number of people who went to open rinks and public skating. Such data was not even collected and that is why there was such a gap. This is not an objective decline in the number of people trying skating, but a discrepancy in the numbers. Next season, knowing that such statistics exist, we will monitor everything carefully and ask the regions to provide these statistics as well. Let’s see what comes of this, ”reports a correspondent, reporting Sikharulidze’s words.

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