2024-25 Japanese Nationals: Info & Pre-game Chat

[gsk8]

Skate Picks are up

2024-25 Japanese Nationals

2024-25 Japanese Nationals: Skate Picks - Entries (Japanese) | Men and Women (English) Deadline: Dec 20, 2024 @ 02:30 (UTC) Add your predictions Click on the "Add Prediction" button (top right above this thread). Use the dropdown box for each discipline to select your placements. Make sure...

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@tsuyoboogie Please update your entries above if there are changes as I linked the English version to your posts.

 

[Anna K.]

Ice Dance Entries

1	吉田 唄菜 森田 真沙也	Utana Yoshida Masaya Morita	Kinoshita Academy Kinoshita Academy
2	久根下 未暁 ルーシェ 聖夜 アレック	Mia Kuneshita Seiya Alec Roueche	Meiji Jingu Gaien Pre FSC Meiji Jingu Gaien Pre FSC
3	佐々木 彩乃 池田 喜充	Ayano Sasaki Yoshimitsu Ikeda	Nihon University Seibu Higashifushimi FSC
4	田中 梓沙 西山 真瑚	Azusa Tanaka Shingo Nishiyama	Oriental Bio Oriental Bio

Ice Dance Entries by SB Total Score
Listed by ISU SB or SB earned at the National Championship Qualifying Competition

Rank	Entry		Affiliation	SB Total Score	SB Total Score Event
1	吉田 唄菜 森田 真沙也	Utana Yoshida Masaya Morita	Kinoshita Academy Kinoshita Academy	174.47 171.59 (ISU SB)	Qualifying Competition ISU CS Nebelhorn Trophy
2	田中 梓沙 西山 真瑚	Azusa Tanaka Shingo Nishiyama	Oriental Bio Oriental Bio	163.99 151.27 (ISU SB)	Qualifying Competition ISU GP NHK Trophy
3	佐々木 彩乃 池田 喜充	Ayano Sasaki Yoshimitsu Ikeda	Nihon University Seibu Higashifushimi FSC	133.83	Qualifying Competition
4	久根下 未暁 ルーシェ 聖夜 アレック	Mia Kuneshita Seiya Alec Roueche	Meiji Jingu Gaien Pre FSC Meiji Jingu Gaien Pre FSC	103.06	Qualifying Competition

Is there any explanation why junior dancers do not take part although a junior pair and junior singles do?
I looked up Junior Nationals dance results. Five teams competed and all of them scored better than #4 Senior team:

1. Sara Kishimoto/AtsuhikoTamura 146.17
2. Sumire Yoshida/Ibuki Ogahara 139.91
3. Kaho Yamashita/Yuto Nagata 137.22
4. Ayumi Shibayama/Tomoki Kimura 133.38
5. Mihana Nakajima/Eisuke Kumano 103.55

 

[Ivana]

Is there any explanation why junior dancers do not take part although a junior pair and junior singles do?

Junior and senior rhythm dance elements are different, I assume the junior ice dance couples do not have senior rhythm dances ready for one competition. For pairs and singles it's "easy" to switch, for ice dance not so much.

 

[tsuyoboogie]

Is there any explanation why junior dancers do not take part although a junior pair and junior singles do?
I looked up Junior Nationals dance results. Five teams competed and all of them scored better than #4 Senior team:

1. Sara Kishimoto/AtsuhikoTamura 146.17
2. Sumire Yoshida/Ibuki Ogahara 139.91
3. Kaho Yamashita/Yuto Nagata 137.22
4. Ayumi Shibayama/Tomoki Kimura 133.38
5. Mihana Nakajima/Eisuke Kumano 103.55

I don't know much about Ice Dance but I believe it's simply because of the difference in required elements for Junior teams compared to Senior teams
With Singles and Pairs it's not as difficult to adjust elements/layouts to comply with Senior program requirements

 

[Anna K.]

Junior and senior rhythm dance elements are different, I assume the junior ice dance couples do not have senior rhythm dances ready for one competition. For pairs and singles it's "easy" to switch, for ice dance not so much.

I don't know much about Ice Dance but I believe it's simply because of the difference in required elements for Junior teams compared to Senior teams
With Singles and Pairs it's not as difficult to adjust elements/layouts to comply with Senior program requirements

That's right. They'd need to prepare 3 programs instead of 2. It might be complicated if they are beginners who just recently switched to ice dance even if they are age eligible for seniors. Talking about which, wasn't there a single skater Ayumi Shibayama who competed internationally a few years ago? Is it the same skater?

 

[cohkaix]

That's right. They'd need to prepare 3 programs instead of 2. It might be complicated if they are beginners who just recently switched to ice dance even if they are age eligible for seniors. Talking about which, wasn't there a single skater Ayumi Shibayama who competed internationally a few years ago? Is it the same skater?

Yes, that's the same Ayumi. She switches to ID this season, although she still skates as single skaters (didn't pass the qualifications for the Nationals...)

 

[denise3lz]

Ayumi Shibayama injured her knee joint (posterior cruciate ligament) in last April.
Because of she could not jump as single skater, started Ice Dance instead.

 

[rabidline]

Ayumi Shibayama injured her knee joint (posterior cruciate ligament) in last April.
Because of she could not jump as single skater, started Ice Dance instead.

Just like Azusa Tanaka before her...

 

[tsuyoboogie]

Just a heads up~
I'm working on broadcast info right now and so far it seems the only way to watch the entire competition live is through Fuji On Demand (FOD)
Still waiting on some of the channels to post their program schedules so I can confirm but I believe most of the Men's and Women's later groups will be aired taped delayed

 

[rabidline]

The shortlist for the assignments are out earlier:

https://www.skatingjapan.or.jp/common/img/info/fs_senkoutaishou2024_1213-1.pdf

 

[Anna K.]

The shortlist for the assignments are out earlier:

https://www.skatingjapan.or.jp/common/img/info/fs_senkoutaishou2024_1213-1.pdf

According to my gadget, Google translation can't be applied. That's sad even given that Goggle translation isn't perfect

 

[YuBluByMe]

According to my gadget, Google translation can't be applied. That's sad even given that Goggle translation isn't perfect

The selection pool is exactly as expected.

…except that JFed seems to be extending the net beyond their original criteria for their Worlds selections. For example, Higuchi is listed as a third skater for the “top 2 GPF finishers” and Sumiyoshi is listed as a fourth skater for top 3 season’s best. However, both skaters have asterisks by their names. I haven’t the slightest idea what the asterisk means, but my educated guess is that the meaning has something to do with their not actually meeting the criteria.

Anyone know for sure what the asterisk means?

 

[denise3lz]

*上位の選考により繰上がりの可能性あり
May be moved up depending on the top selection.

 

[Jumping_Bean]

The selection pool is exactly as expected.

…except that JFed seems to be extending the net beyond their original criteria for their Worlds selections. For example, Higuchi is listed as a third skater for the “top 2 GPF finishers” and Sumiyoshi is listed as a fourth skater for top 3 season’s best. However, both skaters have asterisks by their names. I haven’t the slightest idea what the asterisk means, but my educated guess is that the meaning has something to do with their not actually meeting the criteria.

Anyone know for sure what the asterisk means?

This is something they started doing last season, as a result of having to select Rinka for Worlds in the 2022/23 season despite her poor Nationals performance due to her being the only skater apart from Kaori and Mai to fulfill any of the criteria.

As @denise3lz said, it gives JSF discretion to add skaters to the selection pool if skaters ahead of them in the criteria were already selected. In theory, this makes sure that there will never be a situation again in which only three skaters can be selected for three available spots.

 

[Jumping_Bean]

According to my gadget, Google translation can't be applied. That's sad even given that Goggle translation isn't perfect

WCh, Sr. men

Sr. men 3 spots	Criteria	Candidates (in order of ranking)
1st spot	1. Nationals - champion	TBD	--	--	--	--
2nd spot	2-A. Nationals - 2nd & 3rd	TBD	TBD	--	--	--
	2-B. GPF: top 2 placements	Yuma Kagiyama	Shun Sato	--	--	--
	2-C. Top 3 by Season's Best score (ISU)	Yuma Kagiyama	Shun Sato	Kao Miura	*Sota Yamamoto	--
3rd spot	3-A. Skater(s) left out from 2nd spot selection	TBD	TBD	--	--	--
	3-B. Top 3 by World Standing (ISU)	Yuma Kagiyama	Shun Sato	Kao Miura	*Sota Yamamoto	*Kazuki Tomono
	3-C. Top 3 by Season's Ranking (ISU)	Yuma Kagiyama	Shun Sato	Sota Yamamoto	*Kao Miura	*Koshiro Shimada
	3-D. Top 3 of average scores (from selected international/domestic competitions)	Yuma Kagiyama	Shun Sato	Sota Yamamoto	*Kao Miura	*Kazuki Tomono

* Means that skaters can be considered if skaters ahead of them have already been selected.

WCh, Sr. women

Sr. women 3 spots	Criteria	Candidates (in order of ranking)
1st spot	1. Nationals - champion	TBD	--	--	--	--
2nd spot	2-A. Nationals - 2nd & 3rd	TBD	TBD	--	--	--
	2-B. GPF: top 2 placements	Mone Chiba	Kaori Sakamoto	*Wakaba Higuchi	--	--
	2-C. Top 3 by Season's Best score (ISU)	Kaori Sakamoto	Mone Chiba	Wakaba Higuchi	*Rion Sumiyoshi	--
3rd spot	3-A. Skater(s) left out from 2nd spot selection	TBD	TBD	--	--	--
	3-B. Top 3 by World Standing (ISU)	Kaori Sakamoto	Hana Yoshida	Mone Chiba	*Rinka Watanabe	*Mai Mihara
	3-C. Top 3 by Season's Ranking (ISU)	Mone Chiba	Kaori Sakamoto	Hana Yoshida	*Wakaba Higuchi	*Rino Matsuike
	3-D. Top 3 of average scores (from selected international/domestic competitions)	Kaori Sakamoto	Mone Chiba	Rion Sumiyoshi	*Wakaba Higuchi	*Hana Yoshida

WCh, Sr. pairs

Sr. pairs 3 spots	Criteria	Candidates (in order of ranking)
1st, 2nd and 3rd spot	A. Nationals - champions, 2nd & 3rd	TBD	TBD	TBD
	B. Top team by World Standing (ISU)	Riku Miura / Ryuichi Kihara	--	--
	C. Top team by Season's Best score (ISU)	Riku Miura / Ryuichi Kihara	--	--

WCh, Sr. ice dance

Sr. ice dance 1 spot	Criteria	Candidates (in order of ranking)
1st spot	A. Nationals - champions, 2nd & 3rd	TBD	TBD	TBD
	B. Top team by World Standing (ISU)	Utana Yoshida / Masaya Morita	--	--
	C. Top team by Season's Best score (ISU)	Utana Yoshida / Masaya Morita	--	--

 

[Jumping_Bean]

4CC, Sr. men (3 spots)

Criteria	Candidates (in order of ranking)
A. Top 10 at Nationals	TBD	--	--	--	--
B. Top 6 World Standing (ISU)	Yuma Kagiyama	Shun Sato	Kao Miura	Sota Yamamoto	Kazuki Tomono	Nozomu Yoshioka
C. Top 6 Season's Ranking (ISU)	Yuma Kagiyama	Shun Sato	Sota Yamamoto	Kao Miura	Koshiro Shimada	Kazuki Tomono
D. Top 6 Season's Best Score (ISU)	Yuma Kagiyama	Shun Sato	Kao Miura	Sota Yamamoto	Tatsuya Tsuboi	Kazuki Tomono
E. Top 6 Average Score	Yuma Kagiyama	Shun Sato	Sota Yamamoto	Kao Miura	Kazuki Tomono	Tatsuya Tsuboi

4CC, Sr. women (3 spots)

Criteria	Candidates (in order of ranking)
A. Top 10 at Nationals	TBD	--	--	--	--
B. Top 6 World Standing (ISU)	Kaori Sakamoto	Hana Yoshida	Mone Chiba	Rinka Watanabe	Mai Mihara	Rion Sumiyoshi
C. Top 6 Season's Ranking (ISU)	Mone Chiba	Kaori Sakamoto	Hana Yoshida	Wakaba Higuchi	Rino Matsuike	Rinka Watanabe
D. Top 6 Season's Best Score (ISU)	Kaori Sakamoto	Mone Chiba	Wakaba Higuchi	Rion Sumiyoshi	Hana Yoshida	Rino Matsuike
E. Top 6 Average Score	Kaori Sakamoto	Mone Chiba	Rion Sumiyoshi	Wakaba Higuchi	Hana Yoshida	Rinka Watanabe

 

[Jumping_Bean]

JWCh, Jr. men

Jr. men 3 spots	Criteria	Candidates (in order of ranking)
1st spot	1. Jr Nationals - champion	Rio Nakata°	--	--	--
2nd & 3rd spot	2-A. Jr Nationals - 2nd & 3rd	Sena Takahashi	Taiga Nishino	--	--
	2-B. JGPF: top 2 placements	Rio Nakata°	Sena Takahashi	--	--
	2-C. Sr Nationals: top 3 placements	TBD	TBD	TBD	--
	2-D. Top 3 by Season's Best score (ISU)	Rio Nakata°	Sena Takahashi	Shunsuke Nakamura	Haru Kakiuchi
	2-E. Top 3 of average scores	Rio Nakata°	Sena Takahashi	Taiga Nishino	Shunsuke Nakamura

°Skater has been selected for the team

JWCh, Jr. women

Jr. women 3 spots	Criteria	Candidates (in order of ranking)
1st spot	1. Jr Nationals - champion	Mao Shimada°	--	--	--
2nd & 3rd spot	2-A. Jr Nationals - 2nd & 3rd	Kaoruko Wada	Ikura Kushida	--	--
	2-B. JGPF: top 2 placements	Mao Shimada°	Kaoruko Wada	Ami Nakai	--
	2-C. Sr Nationals: top 3 placements	TBD	TBD	TBD	--
	2-D. Top 3 by Season's Best score (ISU)	Mao Shimada°	Ami Nakai	Kaoruko Wada	Mei Okada
	2-E. Top 3 of average scores	Mao Shimada°	Ami Nakai	Kaoruko Wada	Mei Okada

JWCh, Jr. pairs

1st spot

Sae Shimizu / Lucas Tsuyoshi Honda°

JWCh, Jr. ice dance

1st spot

Sara Kishimoto / Atsuhiko Tamura°

Reserve: Kaho Yamashita / Yuto Nagata

 

[4everchan]

I like the way they do this.

 

[YuBluByMe]

This is something they started doing last season, as a result of having to select Rinka for Worlds in the 2022/23 season despite her poor Nationals performance due to her being the only skater apart from Kaori and Mai to fulfill any of the criteria.

I felt so strongly about their selections that year that I wrote JFed a letter and I wasn’t the only one. The criteria’s been tweaked since then so no complaints about this from me. My only quibble would be for them to just extend the criteria to top 4 SB and top five WS then. In this way, there wouldn’t be any need for “just in case” additions.

 

[Sai Bon]

Just a heads up~
I'm working on broadcast info right now and so far it seems the only way to watch the entire competition live is through Fuji On Demand (FOD)
Still waiting on some of the channels to post their program schedules so I can confirm but I believe most of the Men's and Women's later groups will be aired taped delayed

Such a bummer. I would really like to watch, but after using FOD once, I haven't been able to re-register (could be my credit card, many merchants don't seem to like it).