Why are figure skaters reluctant to announce their retirement? Column by Elizaveta Khudaiberdieva

The sporting life of a figure skater is short. To bear colossal loads physically and to cope with everything psychologically is possible only at a young age or with a very serious attitude to the issue and a team of doctors and specialists. This is why junior figure skaters are often more stable, more technical, emotionally stable and higher in the final results table.

In figure skating, it is very difficult to understand when a skater’s career begins, since you have to start from the cradle. Well, you took a four-year-old child to the rink, he learned how to make lanterns, how to turn a cog… And when does the so-called sports career begin? It is not easier with language about completion.

Figure skating has always been one of the most popular sports in our country. Ask your older relatives what they know about it and they will most likely tell you about the amazing Georgian dance of Linichuk – Karponosov, choreographed by Belousov and Protopopov and the tears of Irina Rodnina at the Olympics. But at that time, skaters skated longer and, somehow, announcing the end of their career did not seem particularly necessary. After many years, the form has changed. Much more often, athletes inform their fans that they are taking a break. And, as a rule, they never return to the competitive scene. So, they have not yet officially announced their completion, but have taken a break from their competitive activity: Alina Zagitova, Evgenia Medvedeva, Anna Shcherbakova, Alexandra Trusova, Elizaveta Tuktamysheva, Victoria Sinitsina and Nikita Katsalapov, etc. What is the reason for this trend?

1. Betting on salaries in the Russian national team.

An athlete who announces the cessation of his sporting activities is immediately withheld from his salary by the FFKKR. Before you start scolding them for how cunning and greedy they are, let’s find out.

The salary system works like this: first earn, then receive. The skater takes a bet after achieving a result by entering the national team – and only after that he receives a salary throughout the season. Everything is fair. In this case, questions appear only to those who sincerely realize that they will never compete again, but strongly ask to remain in the national team, without revealing their true intentions to the management. 120,000 rubles is never too much, you know.

2. Advertising contracts.

An active athlete is always more popular and more interesting for an advertiser. Companies enter into contracts with skaters in the hope of presenting the brand during broadcasts on federal channels and popularizing it among potential buyers abroad.

3. Lack of certainty.

But let’s not look for traps everywhere. Often an athlete absolutely does not sincerely understand whether he should continue or whether it is better to close the door to professional sports and move on. The clearest example is Liza Tuktamysheva. It is very difficult for a world, European, Russian and Grand Prix final champion, isolated from international competitions, to find the motivation and strength to skate. But Lisa does not hide it and always honestly admits that in the current situation it is very difficult for her to be a professional athlete.

Don’t forget another important detail: medals and competition adrenaline come and go, but you always want to eat. It’s a sin to complain about salaries in figure skating; the federation does everything so that athletes can live luxuriously, and this is a huge motivation for the new generation of skaters.

What can I say about all this myself?

A question of crucial importance for all adult and accomplished skaters of the Russian national team today: where to find the motivation, and most importantly, the strength and health to continue skating?

Okay, let’s leave the subject of international tournaments aside. Let’s say that we all believe that the Olympic Games in Milan in 2026 will take place with the participation of Russian athletes (in neutral status or not), and that the motivation to continue skating is as direct as possible. But it’s easy to consider that most skateboarders can earn more money in just a month of shows in Russian cities than in a single full-fledged competitive season… By winning all the tournaments, of course.

Let’s say I am the silver medalist of the Russian Championship, the Spartakiad of the strongest, the winner of two stages of the Russian Grand Prix. 1,664,000 rubles + bonus from FFKKR – this is how much I earned last season after deducting taxes and interest. I find it contrary to ethics and confidentiality rules to announce the amount of bonuses from the federation, as well as the income from shows in Russia and China. What did you think, I flew to Europe on vacation?!

The main thing is that the amount is higher – prize money + salary, open data, you can check it. Wow, Elizabeth, huh?

Even if I have to rent an apartment in Moscow, otherwise it will take me at least two hours to get there, buy food for something and, if possible, monitor the health of my teeth – fillings are expensive these days . But I’m alone, remember that? And someone already wants to start a family, find their person and have children – and there is simply no time in the day for this, where is the money? Who already created it? They have girlfriends, wives, parents and children who need and want to ensure a happy and prosperous life, but in fact we can only offer a state of eternal fatigue, a clear schedule of competitions and the possibility potential to earn money from competition prizes. . Do you remember the situation with Semenenko and Gumennik? The points are the same, but the locations are different :).

It is quite difficult to understand and explain to an adult skater why he needs this, first of all for himself. Constant diet, refusal of spontaneous family evenings, same income due to lack of energy and time, maintaining weight, shape, psychological stability.

To be honest, it was hard to return to the ice after the holidays. The body generally refused to accept the fact that it had to remember what a load was and push itself at least to the minimum speed. And I’m only 21, it’s terrible! My partner is one of the historical members of today’s national team; he will be 29 in September.

With a slight crack in our joints, but by no means in our souls, we remembered the performances of new dances and, I swear, literally from the first practice to the music, everything changed: we have motivation, and where to start – you already understood, and the body is again in uniform, and long pieces of iron on the feet – again comfortable slippers. And I honestly realized: “This is my choice, and my choice is to ride now.”

No one will force an athlete. No amount of money or persuasion will force you to take up figure skating under pressure. And as long as you enjoy the ice, the training process, the feeling of music, as long as you have something to say to the viewer and, first of all, to yourself, you will do it, despite all the difficulties. Figure skating will always be in you, even if you have finished your career or put it on hold.

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