2018-2019 State of Japanese Men's Skating | Page 10 | Golden Skate

2018-2019 State of Japanese Men's Skating

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There was a time when Ladies' skating was in the same situation in Russia.

I don't think one pair, and one big achievement (unless maybe a world or olympic title) can change the popularity of a category. Pairs and dance will become more marketable if the fed works for that.
 
Not to mention it takes many years for a team to be in perfect synch. It's not like you can simply switch.

Furthermore, lots of the Japanese male skaters don't have the right physique to be in pairs. I can't imagine Kazuki, for example, as a pair skater unless it's a same sex pair and he's the one being thrown :p
 
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There are some 1,70m. It's the height of Cong Han who is a World champion and olympic medalist, and has enough strength to do quad twist and quad throw. And there are many 1,50m like Sui among Japanese ladies.
 
I apologize for always being so late, off topic and long winded with my replies. I considered moving this post to a more appropriate thread but decided to just keep it here for now.

yume said:
I wonder why JSF doesn't push some boys, and girls, to pairs or ice dance.
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CanadianSkaterGuy said:
Not marketable. Takahashi and Tran won World bronze and the Japanese fans barely blinked. Singles skating achievements will (for a long time, I predict) be what is valued and acknowledged the most in Japan.
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Not sure if JSF actively scouts skaters for Ice Dance and Pairs (they definitely should) but it seems they do hold tryouts for Ice Dance quite regularly. There's currently a decent amount of Japanese ID teams however, most still lack the necessary skills and experience to be internationally competitive. Pair teams however, are virtually non existent.

My understanding is that in Japan the main issue hindering the development of both disciplines is the lack of proper training environment (available coaches and rinks where they can train). It's difficult as is for single skaters to get ice time which is why so many practice very early in the morning. Takeshi Honda mentioned in an interview that up and coming single skaters often need to share the ice with regular paying customers and are not allowed to jump during these sessions since it's dangerous. Imagine trying to learn Pair elements in this situation. And of course, not all teams can afford to train overseas.

There may be little focus on Pairs and Ice Dance by Japanese media however, I've seen a lot of support from fans for skaters of these disciplines.
Elaborate, custom made banners were prepared in anticipation of the Utana Yoshida and Takumi Sugiyama's JGP debut last season. And when Yuka Orihara and Kanata Mori crowdfunded for costs to train in Canada last year, generous contributions by fans helped them surpass their goal of 1,000,000 yen within just one day.
Unfortunately, both teams have already split, Yoshida/Sugiyama before they could make their Junior debut.

Many Japanese men who currently compete in Singles also have Ice Dance experience~ Yoshimitsu Ikeda, Junya Watanabe, Tsunehito Karakawa, Naoki Oda, Kazuki Kushida, Takumi Sugiyama and Kenta Higashi to name a few. I'm unsure of why so many men rotate in and out of Ice Dance but for this reason, I feel that JSF's hesitation to financially support these disciplines is understandable.
 
Is there any easy solution to the problem, such as building more rinks? Probably a silly question but I had to ask. :scratch2:
 
I just watched the Asian Open stream and from the bits that the constantly lagging stream showed me, I quite like that Shusuke Nakamura boy :luv17: I looked it up and he's been Japan's Novice B champ for two years in a row? How old is he? Would love to know more about him if anyone has any info to share :) :thank:
 
It seems that Sota's new FP is 'Nobunaga Concerto'! I looked it up and it seems it's an anime song, but not sure...

On other news, Kazuki performed his Riverdance for the first time at today's 'The Ice'! The reports were overwhelmingly positive, and apparently he's using a different music cut than Jason and Rika :)
 
I'm so over the moon for Sota! From 6th to first, and getting his 3A back in the process too. The program is quite nice - I dig the music. I hope they give him the host spot for NHK (and maybe another challenger? Is that possible?)

Sad Mitsuki couldn't hold on to his third place.
 
Congratulations to Sota! He put up quite a fight for that 1st place. Good for him. Can't get over how tall he looks. I liked the program and especially the way some of the movements were timed along with the strong accents of the music. Now if he can just stay healthy and that ankle can stay strong! :clap:
 
Sota, you darling, darling man. He is such a fighter! And I was so worried but turned out well.

It's almost a full circle that the very jump that brought so much harm ended up being the one thing that brought him this giant step in his recovery. I am so tickled pink for him and here's hoping this is going to give him a good boost mentally to keep going. Hopefully JSF looks at this success and gives him another assignment, those points will matter so much in the future.

I know better but I will say that there is that NHK open spot. At least he did his best.
 
Another challenger assignement in late september would be a good start.
 
Danny T said:
I'm so over the moon for Sota! From 6th to first, and getting his 3A back in the process too. The program is quite nice - I dig the music. I hope they give him the host spot for NHK (and maybe another challenger? Is that possible?)
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I've read that a skater can get up to 3 Challengers within one season, not sure if that was correct though. 2 Challengers within 2 months is def possible: last year Keiji and Ryuju went both to AO and Nepela.
That said, I'm not sure the suggested late September would be a good idea due to Chuubu regionals taking place at the end of September. I guess he has to participate, and even if he wasn't obliged to, he'd likely want to, as it's held in Howa where he trains. Mid-September Challengers, Lombardia and US Classic, would probably work better for him. But I'd rather they let him rest and send him to Tallin in Nov/Dec and then one of the spring comps. (though I admit, the NHK spot would be a dream, especially given his music choices)
 
About the possibility of future competitions for Sota -

For domestic competitions: He's obligated to take parts in both regional (Chubu) and sectional (Western). That's the only way for him to get to National by the end of the year (only top 3 from last year's National are considered seeded skaters and can get a bye)

For the TBD spot from NHK: personally I also hope the spot can go to Sota, esp. now he's winning a CS event. The only thing that came to me is that JSF did hold a try out for the host spot on the ladies' side from NHK last month (cf. Rika Kihira's case), so there's no reason that JSF didn't do the same for the men's. Supposing there was such try out, who'd be some possible contenders for that other than Sota? Ryuju? Jun Suzuki? BTW, if Sota does get the spot from NHK, he'll be able to skip Western section.

For other CS events: I also assume it's possible, but for now I'm not sure how JSF assigns skaters to some of the CS events. But do consider the event list by JSF here (in Japanese): https://www.skatingjapan.or.jp/figure/event.php, it's also within my impression that, once GP season starts, JSF rarely sends their skaters to other CS events. And so far only Golden Spin (CS) is listed, after Finlandia (CS).
 
^ Thank you for the informative post! Re. top 3 qualification, there are exceptions too, aren't there? I'm thinking of Yuzuru here. And what about Kazuki, it's surely impossible for him to finish SC on Oct 28 and be ready for Western sectionals on Nov 1?

I'm very surprised at no Tallinn in the list, given that it isn't close to any sectionals whereas the Golden Spin ends just 12 days before Nationals.

I personally would also love a contest between Sota, Jun and Ryuju for the 3rd spot. :luv17: But I guess first Daisuke needs to say he doesn't want it, because none of the trio can compete with him.
//ETA- ooh, looks like Ryuju just won Iizuka Cup for the 4th time in a row. Congrats, and if there's a 3rd spot contest, it's just gotten more interesting. :devil: And apparently Yamakuma now has a 3A too? Or was it just my laziness to look up the kanji in the article//
 
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