Oh, thank goodness - that's the way to go!
Figure skater Ikura Kushida to focus on ice dance next season; this season she competed in both ice dance and singles, saying, “I want to see how far I can go by focusing on one discipline.”
ETA:
フィギュアスケートのアイスダンスで昨年の全日本選手権２位の櫛田育良（木下アカデミー）が3日、名古屋市中区で行われた中京大の入学式に出席した。新シーズンはアイスダンスに専念することを明らかにし「世界選手権や四大陸選手権に […]
deepedgeplus.kyodonews.jp
Machine translation:
Ikura Kushida Focuses on Ice Dancing: Pursuing Studies at University That Will Lead to Her Post-Retirement Goals [Chukyo University Entrance Ceremony]
Koshiro Shimada
Ikura Kushida
Ikura Kushida (Kinoshita Academy), who placed second at last year’s All-Japan Figure Skating Championships in ice dance, attended Chukyo University’s entrance ceremony held in Naka Ward, Nagoya, on the 3rd. She announced that she would focus solely on ice dance in the new season and expressed her determination, saying, “I want to compete in the World Championships and the Four Continents Championships.” Since last season, she has teamed up with Koshiro Shimada (Kinoshita Group) to take on the challenge of ice dance. They aimed for the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics but were unable to qualify.
The full text of Kushida’s comments is as follows.
—Congratulations on your admission.
“Thank you.”
—Please share your thoughts now that you’ve officially become a college student.
“I truly believe I’ll be able to do many things at university, both in skating and academics, so I’m really looking forward to it.”
—Did you enroll in the Department of Competitive Sports within the Faculty of Sports Science?
“Yes, that’s correct.”
—What kind of four years do you hope to have?
“I hope to focus on figure skating while also studying subjects that align with my interests and will help shape my future.”
—The Winter Olympics will be held in the French Alps during your final winter as a university student. Do you feel a strong desire to make this the culmination of your college experience?
“I do.”
―This season, you competed in both singles and ice dancing. Will you continue doing both?
“After giving it a lot of thought, I’ve decided to focus solely on ice dancing.”
―So next season, you’ll be competing in ice dancing as a pair with Shimada.
“Yes.”
―Last season, you fell just short of achieving the minimum score required for the Four Continents Championships. What are your goals for next season?
“My goal is to be selected for international competitions, to achieve the qualifying scores for the Four Continents and World Championships there, and to compete in both the World Championships and the Four Continents.”
—So, competing in international events and clearing the qualifying scores is the first hurdle.
“Yes, that’s right.”
—You were just one step away.
“Yes.”
—What kind of improvements do you plan to make?
“First, the basics like skating fundamentals and our synchronized skating as a pair—starting with those foundational elements. We haven’t finalized the program yet, but I hope we can keep refining it throughout the season.”
—Did you watch the World Championships?
“Due to various circumstances, I could only catch bits and pieces here and there.”
—Among those snippets, were there any parts you felt were necessary for you?
“There are several.”
—What stands out the most?
“Everything was different, really. I felt that our skating and sense of unison were what we lacked the most.”
—Whose performance made you think that?
“Everyone’s…”
—Is your base in Kyoto (Kinoshita Academy)?
“Yes. For now, anyway. It might not be permanent, but we’ll be training in Kyoto.”
―I imagine commuting is quite a challenge.
“Well, a new system has been introduced where we can take some classes on-demand, so I’ll make use of that and do my best.”
―Will you be using the arenas in Uji and Chukyo simultaneously?
“I think we’ll mainly be skating in Uji.”
―Now that the season is over, what did you take away from it?
“Since it was our first season, we really only gained experience. Competing in these events helped me identify our weaknesses for next season, and seeing other teams was also very inspiring.”
―What kind of advice has Shimada given you?
“Hmm… nothing in particular (laughs). We do talk about things like the direction of our training goals.”
―What was the main reason you decided to focus solely on ice dancing?
“I’m about to start college, and nothing’s decided yet, but I’m considering going abroad for training for a short period. If that happens, I wouldn’t be able to do singles, so I wanted to focus on ice dancing and see just how far we can go.”
―So, the basic plan is to train in Uji with Coach Cathy Reed and go abroad for short-term training stints?
“That’s what I’m thinking.”
—You mean just the two of you, you and Shimada?
“Yes.”
—What are your criteria for choosing a university?
“I want to balance both my studies and skating. I really want to work hard on my skating with the goal of the Olympics four years from now, so I’m looking for a place where I can manage both. Since seniors like Riku Miura have graduated from there, I hope to learn from her example and do my best.”
—Do you have any ideas for next season’s programs?
“We haven’t finished either program yet; we haven’t even started creating them. As for the rhythm dance, the rules have finally been released, so I think we’ll probably start working on it once the entrance ceremony is over and I return to Uji.”
—Has your first competition of next season been decided?
“Nothing has been decided yet.”
—Have you decided on the music for next season’s rhythm dance?
“It’s called ‘Rhythm and Waltz’…”
—Will you ask Coach Cathy to choreograph it?
“Yes, for the Rhythm Dance.”
—Is the Free Dance still in the works?
“Yes.”
—What kind of year do you want next season to be?
“Next season, I want to work hard so we can become a team that can truly compete on the world stage and achieve results in international competitions.”
—Is there anything you’d like to try at university? Aside from skating.
“I’d like to study things that will lead to what I want to do in the future.”
—What do you mean by “what you want to do”?
“This is about after I retire, but I want to produce ice shows. So I’d like to study things like management, how to use social media, and other PR-related skills—basically, anything that involves that kind of work.”
—So in an ice show, you’d be more on the production side rather than skating as a professional?
“I’d produce it and then skate in it myself, haha.”
—So it would be similar to Shoma Uno’s “Ice Brave”?
“Yes.”
—What do you want to focus on during the off-season?
“Learning new lifts and elements, and doing a lot of basic, fundamental training. Also, since there’s pattern dancing next season, I’m practicing that a lot.”
—Aside from international competitions, is your goal to win the All-Japan Championships?
“Of course.”
—I suppose last year’s All-Japan Championships were a bit disappointing for you?
“Well, we still felt like we were trying to catch up to Utamasa [the pair of Utana Yoshida and Masaya Morita]. Of course, we wanted to win. But since it was our first time competing against Utamasa and we saw the gap between us, we wanted to use that experience to build toward next season.”
—You mean in terms of skating, lifts… and overall expression as well?
“Yes.”
—Now that you’re starting college, have you made any new changes?
“I bought a new computer (laughs).”
—Did you get advice from anyone when registering for classes?
“I registered after getting advice from Mina Taniguchi (coach of the Chukyo University Skating Club).”
—Have you been close with Coach Taniguchi for a long time?
“We’re not close (laughs) (press corps laughs too). It’s more like, ‘I wonder if we’ve ever even spoken before?’”
—Which language did you choose for your language course?
“At first, I was taking French, but because of a new program, the only on-demand option available was Chinese, so I switched to Chinese.”
—At the Four Continents Championships, Kao Miura greeted everyone in Chinese at the Kiss & Cry. With the China Cup coming up, it would be great if you could greet people in Chinese there too.
“I’m interested in it, so I’m looking forward to it.”
Its very hard to compete in two different skating disiplines. Thanks to our Japanese fans here, I can go and watch them/her in a number of Japanese competitions this season.
