Alexander Enbert: “Our new programs will pleasantly surprise our fans”

Alexander Enbert, figure skater, silver medalist of the Pyeongchang Games, Team Tournament (in pair with Natalia Zabiyako) met with students of the Kurchatov School in the framework of the Olympic Patrol project.

– Is this your first experience of communicating with children?

– Yes. Before coming to the Moscow school, Natasha (Zabiyako) and Volodya (Tarasov) and I, we were a little worried, but everything went just fine. I want to thank the ROC for the invitation to the Olympic Patrol! The project was very interesting and important. Particularly I want to say that I was pleasantly surprised by the students’ awareness in such serious issues as, for example, the dependence of sport on politics in the modern world.

– Did the students ask any unexpected questions?

– Some asked about doping control and influence of politics on sports. Frankly, I think that such topics do not bother 10-year-olds.

– When you were a child did you have the opportunity to meet with the athletes at school?

– Only at the skating rink. I practiced at the Yubileyny sports palace in St. Petersburg. There was the only high-level sports school in the city, where figure skating was taught. It was attended by Alexey Urmanov, Alexey Yagudin, Evgeny Plushenko, Anton Sikharulidze, Alexey Tikhonov at that time. I was lucky to see them on the ice and in the locker room almost every day. Perhaps some of the famous athletes came to my school, but I spent more time at the rink than at a school desk.

– Your coach, Nina Mozer, said that she takes a break from work at least for six months. In this regard, how will your preparation for the next season be arranged?

– We have not discussed it with Nina Mikhailovna. I am sure, however, that she will not leave us. Even while on vacation, the coach can make training plans and some adjustments to the working process. In addition, Nina Mikhailovna has very good assistants. Our large team, we call it the Mozer Team, includes choreographers, doctors and other highly qualified specialists.

– Are you training or resting now?

– I had a small vacation  after the World Championship in Milan, and now Natasha and I are back on the ice. The old programs are no longer relevant and new programs have not yet been delivered, we must think about new links and elements. We are doing the things, that we usually do not have time for, when creating the new programs. At the same time, we do not train any particular elements or step sequences now. There are common ideas that we try to implement on the ice. Everyone wants to be original, and we are no exception.

– There is much talk about the upcoming changes in the figure skating rules, which will affect the free program. What do you know about this?

– So far, there is very little information. I heard that one or more elements will be cut, and the free program will become shorter, and points for the quadruple throw jumps can be revised. The question is, in what way. On the one hand, athletes’ health is major priority. But at the same time, we can not stop the technological progress. So, a compromise is needed.

– It is possible to stage new programs, without knowing the rules of the game.

– Certainly not. The sooner decisions are made, the better. I would not want to remove  let’s say some rotation from the ready-made program.

– What do you intend to do with the music?

– We have some drafts, but we will keep them to ourselves in the meantime. We will try to change a little, keeping our best images. The fans will be pleasantly surprised.