Balancing Act: Sofia Dzepka Navigates the Challenges of Training and Education This Season

Russian figure skater Sofia Dzepka shared her experience of balancing her studies and training.

— You mentioned that you take your studies seriously; how is that going for you?
— To be honest, I have very little time due to my training schedule. I try to use every opportunity to make some progress in my studies.

— How do you manage to juggle intensive training and academics?
— This season has been particularly challenging, to be honest. The workload at school has increased a lot because all the teachers, especially in core subjects, are preparing us for the Unified State Exam (USE). They assign a substantial amount of material, and I simply don’t have enough time to tackle everything, which leads to a bit of a lag in my schoolwork.

— Are you studying in a regular school or online?
— Yes, I attend a regular school with in-person classes. It’s quite tough (laughs).

— How does your training day look under these circumstances?
— On an average day, I have one training session, then school, and another training session. I come back quite late and try to squeeze in some homework after getting home. Sometimes I’m not able to do it, and I go straight to bed because I return quite late.

— Do your teachers make any concessions for you?
— Yes, some teachers do. I would say most of them are understanding. I’ve been with many of them since fifth grade, so they are accustomed to my demanding schedule and often give me some leniency.

— What kind of concessions, if you don’t mind sharing?
— They allow me to do some assignments for grades at home because usually, we only receive grades for written work done in class. So, I can complete some tasks at home and bring them in.

— Have you ever had to sacrifice training for your studies or vice versa?
— Yes, definitely. I’ve missed school for training and, conversely, skipped training due to important assignments that needed to be completed, as Sofia Dzepka noted in her conversation with Championship correspondent Margarita Salnikova.