2023-24 Japanese figure skating - pairs and ice dance

[surimi]

Miura/Kihara out of Skate America due to Ryuichi's injury:

Autotranslation: I'm looking forward to the day when I can see them perform again! I want you to focus on your treatment first. Pair "Rikuryu" absent from Skate America; Kihara diagnosed with lumbar spondylolysis; "Practice as soon as possible"
Wishing Ryuichi a quick recovery!

 

[Sai Bon]

Here's a link to their Mario RD: it's amazing

Wow, I'm impressed!

 

[skim1001]

Does Japan have an ice dance team eligible for YOG? South Korea will only use one if its quota and Japan is next to get one. Just wondering

 

[cohkaix]

Does Japan have an ice dance team eligible for YOG? South Korea will only use one if its quota and Japan is next to get one. Just wondering

What's the age limitation for participating in YOG? Other than Sara Kishimoto & Atsuhiko Tamura, the other Jr. team to skate at Western Sectional is Kaho Yamashita & Yuto Nagata (both are at colleges?)

 

[skim1001]

Jan 1, 2006 to Dec 31, 2009

 

[mikeko666]

Jan 1, 2006 to Dec 31, 2009

Thank you. Atsuhiko, Kaho and Yuto were all born in 2004, so there is no team who is eligible for YOG.

 

[mikeko666]

Novice nationals ice dance result (FD only, Japanese, English)

1. 吉田　菫／小河原　泉　Sumire Yoshida / Ibuki Ogahara　54.10
2. 八幡　奈乃花／武正　侑駕　Nanoha Yahata / Yuga Takemasa　43.89
3. 竹内　心優／土屋　悠希　Miu Takeuchi / Haruki Tsuchiya　42.60

This is Sumire and Ibuki's third and last novice national title.

 

[rabidline]

Oriental Bio (the sponsor company of Yuma Kagiyama, Kao Miura and Rion Sumiyoshi) has signed a contract with Shingo Nishiyama and Azusa Tanaka. Excellent news!

 

[Dreamer57]

Senior rhythm dance results (close scores!):

 

[mikeko666]

Final result of Senior Ice Dance at National Qualifier

https://twitter.com/figureskatingm1/status/1718460261844320362

Results and Protocols (Japanese, English)

1 Utana Yoshida / Masaya Morita 173.11
2 Azusa Tanaka / Shingo Nishiyama 171.06
3 Misato Komatsubara / Takeru Komatsubara (Tim Koleto) 170.62
4 Ayano Sasaki / Yoshimitsu Ikeda 131.81
5 Akari Kinoshita / Takahiko Tamura 114.58
6 Yuri Kunimura / Kaiji Sakabe 101.21

Misato fell during the dance spin in FD (level 2 - GOE). I don't think they were well prepared for this competition.
I'm not really sure how they received -3.00, though.
UPDATE: It looks like Misato and Tim had an illegal movement each in ChSl which was considered a Fall.

 

[synesthesia]

Misato fell during the dance spin in FD (level 2 - GOE). I don't think they were well prepared for this competition.
I'm not really sure how they received -3.00, though.
UPDATE: It looks like Misato and Tim had an illegal movement each in ChSl which was considered a Fall.

Thank you for the clarification regarding KoKo's deduction - I was confused about it too.


Congratulations to Utana and Masaya, who were wonderful in the RD (I haven't seen any of the FDs yet). Winning Western Sectionals is a big deal, considering how the young, upcoming teams were often underscored in the past, not standing a chance against their established seniors.

This is a lovely post competition interview with them:

リンクサイド：「かなだい」の次を背負いたい　アイスダンス「うたまさ」の覚悟 | 毎日新聞

フィギュアスケートの全日本選手権アイスダンス予選会は29日、広島市のひろしんビッグウェーブでフリーがあり、リズムダンス（RD）2位の「うたまさ」こと吉田唄菜（うたな）選手、森田真沙也選手組（木下アカデミー）が103・81点、合計173・11点で逆転優勝した。

mainichi.jp

Machine translation:

Ice dance 'Utamasa' ready to carry the torch after 'Kanadai'

Figure skating
Mainichi Shimbun 2023/10/29 19:14 (Last updated 10/29 19:35)


On 29 October, the All-Japan Figure Skating Championships Ice Dance Qualifying Round was held at Hiroshin Big Wave in Hiroshima City, with the second-placed Rhythm Dance (RD) pair of Utana Yoshida and Masaya Morita (Kinoshita Academy), aka Utamasa, winning with 103.81 points and 173.11 points in total, an upset victory.

In a post-match interview, they showed their determination to further boost the booming Japanese ice dance scene.




The key is to "try to do both for now".

Yoshida: We made small mistakes in many places, but we were able to correct them together and put it all together. I think that part was good.

Morita: Of course we were aiming for first place in terms of performance, but we didn't give 100% of what we could do, so we'll make corrections for All-Japan.



　--You formed the team in June this year and finished it up in a short period of time.

Yoshida: Originally, it was easier for two people to skate. We have been training together towards the same goal and we have had support from various teachers and trainers. I think the most important factor was that we grew together as a team.

Morita: I knew from the first tryout (held at the end of April) that we would be a good match. It felt it when we were skating, and when I held her and put my hand in hers, it felt like it just clicked naturally. I feel that the compatibility is very good.

Yoshida: The RD has a "diagonal step" where we let go of our hands and skate together. I'll do some checking, but even though we're not skating together, I feel like our basic movements and actions match up really well. I think we have good chemistry.



　--About the free dance program "Phoenix".

Morita: (Italian former ice dancer) Massimo Scali gave us a creative choreography. It took us a long time to interpret it. We are studying every day how to express the non-existent creature called 'Phoenix' and from what angle it should be shown to make it look more beautiful. I would like to deepen my interpretation of the music a bit more before the All-Japan Championships, and improve the perfection of the program.

Yoshida: (The story of the program) We discussed it ourselves and decided on it, starting with the birth of a phoenix, which seemed suspicious...?

Morita: It's a bit weird and a bit weak.

Yoshida: We will express the strength of the phoenix, the joy and pain of being able to fly. We try our best to express the story of how it dies in the end but is reborn again.

Morita: We are practicing with the aim of gradually improving our skating. We are bursting with energy in RD, and attacking slowly in Free skate. However, I think I would like to create a little more variation in expression so that the parts that are calm are [skated] calm[ly].



　--Do you have an eye not only on the All-Japan Championships but also "beyond"?

Yoshida: At the moment I'm thinking about All-Japan. I think I can do more this time, so I'd like to improve my performance rather than the result.

Morita: I feel the same way. I think my physical condition is different in each competition, but I hope I can give my 100% performance in each competition.



　--I hope you can give a 100% performance, so that you are satisfied with it at that moment in each competition.

Yoshida: I need to broaden my range of expression. The world [international teams] is very strong in this area. I want to emphasize more on the character we want to be and the way we want to skate.



　--[What happens] when the two of you don't agree?

Yoshida: We don't disagree that much, do we?

Morita: There are times when my opinion and Utana's opinion differ a little, or when we think "this is easy to do, that's not easy to do". In those cases, we try both and create a form that we are both happy with. We also ask (coach) Cathy (Reed). We generally talk about it together and do it in a way that is easy for us to do.



　--Six couples competed in the senior competition this year. The Japanese ice dance world has become more active.

Yoshida: I was very happy that there were six couples and that we had two groups (with three skating pairs each). Everyone was really enjoying the dance. I hope we can continue to do our best while engaging in friendly competition with everyone else.



　--What do you think, as an athlete, is the reason for the increase in the number of couples?

Morita: I think it would be good if there were more couples not only in senior, but also in junior and novice, but there are some circumstances in Japan that make it difficult (to ice dance). There are not so many ice dance athletes (compared to overseas).

But I think the "Kanadai" couple (Kana Muramoto and Daisuke Takahashi), who retired last season, have raised our profile. I hope that we can carry on and not only maintain this popularity, but also convey the appeal of ice dance to everyone.

Azusa and Shingo are strong for a new team as well, especially since Azusa is completely new to the discipline.

I enjoyed Ayano and Yoshimitsu too, they are a good match with both partners possessing performance quality and good basics. I would argue that they were a bit shortchanged in the RD - the overly huge score gap between them and the top three wasn't justified, imo.

Lastly I was peasantly surprised to see Akari and Takahiko. I thought they had split.



It's great to see Japanese ice dance being in such a good state after initially fearing the opposite after multiple splits/retirements at the end of last season!

 

[skim1001]

Miura/Kihara have withdrawn from NHK Trophy

 

[Sai Bon]

Miura/Kihara have withdrawn from NHK Trophy

Oh bummer...poor Ryuichi.

 

[surimi]

Wishing Ryuichi to get well eventually, no matter how long it takes. :[ Hopefully we can still see them at WC. Will they get special consideration even if they skip Nationals? I hope they do. And Sumitada and his partner can go to senior WC? I've lost track of them a bit and I didn't watch JGP, but I think I recall Sumitada has aged out of juniors anyway.

 

[skim1001]

Will they get special consideration even if they skip Nationals? I hope they do. And Sumitada and his partner can go to senior WC? I've lost track of them a bit and I didn't watch JGP, but I think I recall Sumitada has aged out of juniors anyway.

Most likely yes. RikuRyu have not competed at nationals since 2019 and were still sent to worlds. YunaSumi, last I checked, are only doing double throws and twist so RikuRyu is Japan's only top pair skater right now.

 

[surimi]

Most likely yes. RikuRyu have not competed at nationals since 2019 and were still sent to worlds. YunaSumi, last I checked, are only doing double throws and twist so RikuRyu is Japan's only top pair skater right now.

Thanks! I wonder if they'd still be able to go to WC, given that RikuRyu have won Japan 3 spots. Perhaps Yuna and Sumitada can improve fast enough to get the WC minimums by March? It would be a good experience for them, so if they're ready and promising at Nationals, I hope JSF invests in an outing abroad for them to get their minimums in time.

 

[mikeko666]

Congratulations to Utana and Masaya, who were wonderful in the RD (I haven't seen any of the FDs yet). Winning Western Sectionals is a big deal, considering how the young, upcoming teams were often underscored in the past, not standing a chance against their established seniors.

I LOVE Utana and Masaya's FD. It's a story of a phoenix, very original and ambitious work by Massimo Scali.
The last 1/3 of their FD.

Azusa and Shingo are strong for a new team as well, especially since Azusa is completely new to the discipline.

I thought the gap between Utana/Masaya and Azusa/Shingo for FD would be wider.
I agree with J4, who is an ISU judge.

Skating Scores: Latest Figure Skating Results, Scores, Rankings & Statistics

The best resource for Figure Skating scores and stats on the web.

skatingscores.com

 

[figureskatingandrainbows]

Wishing Ryuichi to get well eventually, no matter how long it takes. :[ Hopefully we can still see them at WC. Will they get special consideration even if they skip Nationals? I hope they do. And Sumitada and his partner can go to senior WC? I've lost track of them a bit and I didn't watch JGP, but I think I recall Sumitada has aged out of juniors anyway.

Meagan Duhamel said during an interview with AnythingGOE that the injury isn't too bad and they're currently back to training and slowly building up their elements. Apparently it's a rather uncommon stress fracture that really won't affect his skating because it won't be aggravated by their normal programs, only extreme positions like a layback position, so they can get back to training while it heals.

 

[Dreamer57]

Thanks! I wonder if they'd still be able to go to WC, given that RikuRyu have won Japan 3 spots. Perhaps Yuna and Sumitada can improve fast enough to get the WC minimums by March? It would be a good experience for them, so if they're ready and promising at Nationals, I hope JSF invests in an outing abroad for them to get their minimums in time.

I'm pretty sure that Yuna and Sumitada are scheduled to compete at NHK, I would be thrilled if they achieved the minimums for 4CC there. I think it is good that JSF are willing to give them a host spot.

If I remember rightly the exemptions are granted to world medallists, so RikuRyu as champions should definitely be safe!

 

[surimi]

I'm pretty sure that Yuna and Sumitada are scheduled to compete at NHK, I would be thrilled if they achieved the minimums for 4CC there. I think it is good that JSF are willing to give them a host spot.

If I remember rightly the exemptions are granted to world medallists, so RikuRyu as champions should definitely be safe!

Yes they are, I've just checked :] Fingers crossed then; it would be cool to see two Japanese pairs at WC (possibly even three in the future, when Honda and his partner go senior). Something unthinkable several seasons ago.