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Julia Sauter, aged 25, is the skater who finished 10th at this year’s European Championships. She represents Romania, has 3 jobs to support her career as a figure skater.
Of German origin, she is trained by two Romanians, she lived in Brașov for a year and saw Romanians struggling with their bills, something that “sad me, it’s a shame, because Romanians are extraordinary people and the country is gorgeous”. Julia won six senior international medals and five titles at the Romanian national championships.
“My coaches, Marius Negrea and Roxana Luca Hartmann, are former Romanian skaters who now train right in my hometown, Ravensburg. In Germany, the figure skating system is very complex and if you don’t do a certain number of jumps by a certain age, you are removed from the elite program. Marius discovered my talent and tried to open a door for me while I was competing for Romania. It was a long process, but when it happened I was extremely happy that I took advantage of that opportunity, to be able to represent Romania,” Julia told an interview for welovesport.ro.
Julia says that life as a skater is expensive and that she personally covers 95% of the costs.
“It’s a very expensive life and you have to pay for your own training, physiotherapy, choreography, summer training, ice costs, proper nutrition, figure skating outfits and of course competitions. You have to take absolutely everything into account and it really depends on where you train. I think if you take everything into account, you end up with costs of 5,000 – 10,000 euros per season, but this is only an average cost without being the best (yet). I know there are skaters in Canada who pay a little around 30,000 euros every season.”
Julia has three jobs to support herself. “At a school, I teach dance classes with children, then in the evenings and on weekends, when my schedule allows, I work with a catering company and also work as an ice coach and choreographer. The latter is the job that truly fulfills me. I also successfully completed a nutritionist course to work on my education as well.”
Julia has lived in Brasov for one year, and even knows some words in Romania „Eu sunt Julia/My name is Julia”, „pâine/bread”, „am înțeles/I understood”, „Ce faci? How do you do”, „La revedere/Good bye”.
What does she think of Romania? “The first impression was one of deep regret because it is a poor country with too many people barely managing to live from day to day. I also think that many Romanians do not realize the beauty of this country, its riches and delicious food. I wish there were better circumstances for all. At the same time, my heart broke for all the homeless puppies.”
She is married to an athlete who is in hokey and has a dog.
