The ISTAT analysis / 2024 Sport Report on sports dropout among 10–24-year-olds in Italy paints a stark picture. Girls show higher dropout rates than boys, with the average age of withdrawal from sport being around 14 for girls and 15 for boys.
The reasons for dropping out are divided as follows: 41.9% due to lack of time, 39.1% due to loss of interest, 16.2% because of school commitments, with the remaining share linked to new interests.

To explore this topic further and understand how sport can be experienced in a flexible and passionate way even at university age, today we are joined by Francesca Bonino: a former dancer and high jumper, now an enthusiast of fitness, running and mountain trekking, as well as a medical student at the University of Turin.

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1. From Dance to Athletics: Changing Sport Without Giving Up

Hi Francesca, it’s a pleasure to have you with us! While many girls your age gave up dance, you chose to change sport instead. Tell us about this transition…

Hi everyone, it’s my pleasure to talk about myself while discussing sport and culture. The change came at the start of secondary school. I loved dance and practised it for eight years, but as I grew up the environment became too competitive: at 13 I felt the pressure of having to constantly measure up, when all I really wanted was to enjoy myself.

In the meantime, at school I had tried the high jump for the inter-school championships and I absolutely loved it: it was fun, it fascinated me, and unexpectedly I even won a few medals. Already being familiar with the local athletics scene through my brothers, it felt like a natural choice.

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Changing sport obviously meant adjusting training schedules, routines and competitive commitments, yet you have always managed to maintain a very high academic standard… how did you manage to do it?

I was already used to organising myself with dance, which I practised five times a week. At secondary school, I simply adapted that same mindset: I would come home from school, study until training, and if needed, finish things after dinner.

It never felt like a burden because training was my way to unwind, let off steam, and have fun. For years, I managed to attend almost every session; in the last two years, when necessary, I skipped a few, but always with the mindset of not letting my day consist of just school and studying.

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2. University and Sporting Life: Finding Your Own Path

Is choosing a university a bit like choosing a sport? Did you find your path straight away?

Choosing a university was far more complicated than choosing a sport. It was a long process, starting only in the final year of secondary school, with no clear starting point. To find my way, I read the descriptions of all the courses at the Polytechnic and many courses at the University of Turin. That’s how I realised I would enjoy pursuing a scientific or mathematical path.

I took both the Polytechnic and Medicine entrance exams and passed them, with scores that would have allowed me to enrol in either faculty. However, in those months I realised that the idea of studying Medicine fascinated and excited me a little more, and in the end, that tipped the balance in favour of that choice.

So no, I didn’t find my path straight away. In fact, when time was running out, I chose the option that felt most interesting and aligned with my interests, hoping I wouldn’t make a mistake — and today I can say it was the right choice.

It wasn’t even comparable to choosing a sport: deciding to take up dance had been natural—I enjoyed dancing and wanted to learn. The switch to athletics happened almost spontaneously: I had left dance but still wanted to stay active, and at school I had tried the high jump, which I immediately enjoyed.

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When you moved for university, you had to change your sporting activity, but unlike the statistics, you didn’t reduce your practice—in fact, you expanded it. Tell us how that happened…

Since I could no longer attend the athletics club in my hometown, I joined a gym in Turin, which I go to during term time. On weekends, I often return home, so I train “my way”: when I can, I attend the club’s sessions, otherwise I join activities suggested by friends and family, such as trekking, climbing, or running.

This sporting freedom has led me to try many new activities, especially last summer. I discovered that I really enjoy mountain trekking, and in recent months I’ve also started training to run a half marathon.

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How many hours of lectures do you attend each week in Medicine? Can you describe a typical day for us…?

In Medicine, over these three years I’ve usually had around 20 hours of lectures per week, four hours a day from Monday to Friday, alternating between morning courses for two weeks, from 8:30 am to 1:00 pm, and afternoon courses for two weeks, from 2:00 pm to 6:00 pm.

When I have morning lectures, I wake up and go to university, then return home for lunch. After a break—watching a film or reading a book—I study or review my notes. This is followed by the most flexible part of my day, when I usually go to the gym, meet friends, or take care of household chores (one of the downsides of living away from home).

On days when I have afternoon lectures, my routine is quite similar, but with morning and afternoon reversed: I still wake up fairly early, around 8 am, so I can study before heading to class. In these cases, sometimes I go to the gym in the morning, other times in the evening right after lectures—it depends on the other commitments I have that day.

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3. Sport During Your Studies: Limitation or Resource?

Is sporting activity during exam periods an obstacle or an opportunity to take a break?

At the start of the exam period, I can study all day without problems, and going out to do sport often feels like a waste of time. For this reason, I find it hard to train with the same frequency as when I have lectures or no imminent exams.

However, after several weeks into the exam period, sport becomes an opportunity to take a break and unwind; this is partly because after days of long study sessions and reduced physical activity, mental fatigue builds up and motivation to study decreases, but also because I start to feel the physical effects of sitting for many hours a day without training.

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Academic commitments increase, yet you manage to expand your activities and general interests. What’s your secret?

Honestly, I don’t even know myself. I think it mainly comes from the fact that I enjoy trying new things and doing different activities, so when someone suggests something I’ve never done, I almost always say yes. Besides, I get bored easily staying still or at home—my way to relax and unwind is to go out with friends and stay active.

For example, on the day of an exam, I usually don’t study (unless it’s really necessary), and my way of relaxing and making the most of this free time is to go for a walk or a run around Turin.

I must also say that it helps a lot to be surrounded by positive people who share my desire to go out and try different activities, and lately I’ve found a few like that.

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4. Francesca’s Advice Between Exams and Sporting Goals

Give a piece of advice on how a young person can balance school and sport…

My advice is to plan your study schedule in advance—what to study and how long it will take—so you can pace yourself and finish everything in time to also have moments dedicated to sport, with the awareness that even if studying feels heavy or tiring at the moment, a period of relaxation will follow.

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What will your next university exam be? Is it as challenging as your next sporting goal?

My next university exam is in clinical methodology, covering all the techniques needed to reach a diagnosis based on a patient’s signs and symptoms. It has a reputation as the toughest exam in the entire medical course and the one most students fail, plus it’s split into two written papers and an oral exam. I know it will be stressful to take and long to prepare for, so I’m quite apprehensive about it.

My next sporting goal, on the other hand, is to take part in a half marathon—also a challenge that, given my current level, feels difficult to complete and will require a lot of training. Even so, it seems much easier and more achievable to me than my next exam.

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Let’s finish with a song that can’t be missing from your training playlist…

Although I tend to change the songs in my playlists often, lately I’ve been enjoying “She Doesn’t Mind” by Sean Paul.

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Thank you, Francesca, for sharing your experience and showing that it’s possible to balance studies, sport, and passioneven during the most demanding periods of life. Your example is a valuable message for all girls and boys facing the challenge of never giving up on sport, despite the difficulties.

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The future is bright,
Scirocco TF

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