Kazuki Tomono | Page 41 | Golden Skate

Kazuki Tomono

No problem, I completely understand the anxiety over Kazuki's next season! 😅

But although Kazuki didn't get the third spot as he wanted, he did manage to hold on to the 4th man position despite all the changes in this training, that's no mean feat! As Surimi pointed out, that Rostelecom medal will probably count, too.

Next season's Japanese men field will be a lot more crowded, but I have faith in Kazuki!

As for the assignments, on one hand it would be nice if Kazuki had one with both Yuzuru and Sota, But at the same time it would be very tough competition... So I'm conflicted! 😂
 
^ I bet you can hear the puff of relief from my direction all the way in Britain xD
But yeah, Kazuki's two GP spots should be safe either way.
 
AQFS said:
Seems Kazuki is announcing he will have some support from "SEV" :thumbsup:

https://www.instagram.com/p/BwcOOLxH6rm/
Click to expand...

Yes, I've seen that! I had never heard of them, but apparently they are a manufacturer of devices that enhance sport performance and recovery - using a sort of metal technology? Sorry, I couldn't understand the technical part very well... :laugh: I also noticed he was wearing his *sponsored* Central Sports training shirt! Glad to see him getting support! :yahoo:

On a different note, check out this cute fan art of Kazuki and Sota: https://twitter.com/nozomi500k4/status/1119284088110587905
It recreates this classic moment from last year's Hero & Future show: https://www.instagram.com/p/BmqeHjPDLQi/
 
I wonder what kind of agreement Tomono-kun made with SEV, but here is a list of SEV supported(supporting?) athletes. He may be on this page later, if he decides to continue wearing one?
https://www.sev-sports.com/support.html
I do recognize those necklaces worn by volleyball players, but never paid much attention before. Googled results contain too many not-so-trust-worthy pages, but it seems the most famous with SEV is actually an actor, Sho Aikawa, who is always wearing one around his neck.

KiraraChin said:
but apparently they are a manufacturer of devices that enhance sport performance and recovery - using a sort of metal technology? Sorry, I couldn't understand the technical part very well... :laugh:
Click to expand...
I can't either. They say they use "天然鉱石/natural ore?" and some other various kinds of metals together to cause this electromagnetic radiation or whatever...:confused: Whatever it is, if it supports him and he feels better wearing one (or more), then it sure helps him!

Now, Hanyu-kun/Phiten, Shoma/Colantotte, and Tomono-kun/SEV in figure skating.
It makes me wonder if those necklace companies are supporting the skaters, or rather, it's the skaters that are supporting the companies by wearing one.:laugh:
 
That's a good point, Tsurara! Currently he wears his colantotte neckless for exhibition/training, and no neckless at all in competition, so it will be interesting to see if he will start wearing a SEV neckless, and how often! I will be sad if he stops wearing the colantotte neckless, though, because it was a present from Shoma and it probably has sentimental value.

From what I could gather, SEV is a more niche product than Phiten and Colantotte... But it's nice to see it's used by many athletes and even a famous actor! From what I've seen, it seems that Kazuki is the first figure skater they support, is that correct? It's the same with Central Sports... It's so nice to see that Kazuki attracts brands that are normally not hugely associated with figure skating! It's a real proof he has charisma, and it's good for the sport as well :luv17:
 
AQFS said:
A kind fan posted some pictures from the magazine featuring Kazuki in Rostelecom Cup (Check the thread for other shots) :love:

https://twitter.com/mywhirlwindkid/status/1119920898138492931
https://twitter.com/mywhirlwindkid/status/1119921279614640133
https://twitter.com/mywhirlwindkid/status/1119932004718374912
https://twitter.com/mywhirlwindkid/status/1119941140478709762
Click to expand...

Thank you!
The contrast between Kazuki being the sunshine vs Yuzu in his competition mode got me giggling :D
https://twitter.com/mywhirlwindkid/status/1119929843565510657?s=21
 
A friend of mine pointed me out that SEV is actually majorly known to automobile and bike racers and they not only use SEV for racers' body conditioning but also auto-parts like engines and so on, too, like since 2000s...Now I remember seeing all those SEV sticker attached products in car parts shops :palmf:
https://www.sev.info/news/2018/09/05.html
Hiroyasu Shimizu is an ex-speed skater and gold medalist (Nagano) and now as a racer he got support from SEV last fall. (I should mention that Sho Aikawa is also a racer, so I guess that explains why. There is also a legendary racer who's a heavy SEV user and advertiser.) If any of your friends are interested in motor sports (especially those in Japan, like Super Formula or Super GT) or just Japanese car parts in general, they may have heard of the brand. (Mind you, many might find it occult, just like Phiten necklaces. And they are generally very expensive.)

KiraraChin said:
I will be sad if he stops wearing the colantotte neckless, though, because it was a present from Shoma and it probably has sentimental value
Click to expand...
I know :nod: :console:
He may wear both, who knows? lol But if this support agreement is sponsorship, then he may not have a choice and Shoma would understand that. Besides, he may not wear one in competition (some athletes say they mainly wear those during training, some say they wear them all the time), or if a bracelet or belt or even a sole can be hidden and we may not be able to see them. He he, we will find out the next season!
 
AQFS said:
A kind fan posted some pictures from the magazine featuring Kazuki in Rostelecom Cup (Check the thread for other shots) :love:

https://twitter.com/mywhirlwindkid/status/1119920898138492931
https://twitter.com/mywhirlwindkid/status/1119921279614640133
https://twitter.com/mywhirlwindkid/status/1119932004718374912
https://twitter.com/mywhirlwindkid/status/1119941140478709762
Click to expand...

Thank you so much for this, the whole thread is :love:

khtmyzr said:
Thank you!
The contrast between Kazuki being the sunshine vs Yuzu in his competition mode got me giggling :D
https://twitter.com/mywhirlwindkid/status/1119929843565510657?s=21
Click to expand...

I know, right? :laugh:
I also loved this one: https://twitter.com/mywhirlwindkid/status/1119942176803151872 :luv17:
Tsurara said:
A friend of mine pointed me out that SEV is actually majorly known to automobile and bike racers and they not only use SEV for racers' body conditioning but also auto-parts like engines and so on, too, like since 2000s...Now I remember seeing all those SEV sticker attached products in car parts shops :palmf:
https://www.sev.info/news/2018/09/05.html
Hiroyasu Shimizu is an ex-speed skater and gold medalist (Nagano) and now as a racer he got support from SEV last fall. (I should mention that Sho Aikawa is also a racer, so I guess that explains why. There is also a legendary racer who's a heavy SEV user and advertiser.) If any of your friends are interested in motor sports (especially those in Japan, like Super Formula or Super GT) or just Japanese car parts in general, they may have heard of the brand. (Mind you, many might find it occult, just like Phiten necklaces. And they are generally very expensive.)
Click to expand...

Wow, thanks for the info, Tsurara! It seems it's quite a niche, high-end product! :cool2:
SEV already started posting about Kazuki, too! There was a post on instagram/Twitter: https://twitter.com/sevsports_info/status/1120233100376543234
And they retweeted a fan art of Kazuki wearing SEV: https://twitter.com/sevsports_info/status/1120145293985501184

I noticed that SEV Sport's following on Twitter increased after the announcement of the deal with Kazuki. His power!!!! Not gonna lie I started following them too... :biggrin: :biggrin:

On other news, did you guys see this? Someone did an animated version of Kazuki's Riverdance!!
https://twitter.com/azuki_nita/status/1119927035286020097
The artist said she hasn't finished the arm movements yet, but it's sooooooo cool!!!
 
KiraraChin said:
SEV already started posting about Kazuki, too! There was a post on instagram/Twitter: https://twitter.com/sevsports_info/status/1120233100376543234
And they retweeted a fan art of Kazuki wearing SEV: https://twitter.com/sevsports_info/status/1120145293985501184

I noticed that SEV Sport's following on Twitter increased after the announcement of the deal with Kazuki. His power!!!! Not gonna lie I started following them too... :biggrin: :biggrin:
Click to expand...
He he, I know, so did I (I got no twitter but on instagram!)
But the way they introduced Tomono-kun on their instagram, it doesn't sound like a sponsorship, but just giving him devices for free for the time being, maybe for him to try them on and see if he likes them or not as a try-out, before having any official agreement? Not really sure. Need to check them out for another while to see if they release an official announcement on this.

KiraraChin said:
On other news, did you guys see this? Someone did an animated version of Kazuki's Riverdance!!
https://twitter.com/azuki_nita/status/1119927035286020097
The artist said she hasn't finished the arm movements yet, but it's sooooooo cool!!!
Click to expand...
Hey, that's incredibly cool!
 
Tsurara said:
He he, I know, so did I (I got no twitter but on instagram!)
But the way they introduced Tomono-kun on their instagram, it doesn't sound like a sponsorship, but just giving him devices for free for the time being, maybe for him to try them on and see if he likes them or not as a try-out, before having any official agreement? Not really sure. Need to check them out for another while to see if they release an official announcement on this.
Click to expand...

Yeah, it would be interesting to know what kind of agreement they have. I would say by the way both Kazuki and SEV posted on their social media profiles, there is a contract involved. SEV also posted about Kazuki on their website: https://www.sev-sports.com/20190423.html
I had also posted on Twitter that Kazuki got a new sponsor (in English), and SEV liked my tweet! :o:
https://media.giphy.com/media/NORFfJzhC6iPe/giphy.gif :laugh:

One thing is for sure, they're getting lots of attention because of Kazuki! Their follower numbers increased, and their posts about Kazuki got lots of likes and retweets! I have seen also fans saying that they are going to buy SEV products to support Kazuki. In fact, a fan bought a SEV product and included a note in support of Kazuki, and SEV replied, which is really nice! https://twitter.com/_yonoki_/status/1120535915942883328
 
(Excuse me for suddenly post in Kazuki's Fanfest)

Regarding the "special reinforcement group", it seems that skaters have to be fulfill either one of the criteria...
1. 1st-3rd in Japan Nationals
2. assigned for 2 Senior GP series
3. with SB on par with the abovesaid skaters (1. and 2.)

Please note that in there were no official updates for the qualification criteria after year 2012. Some fans have found exceptions in the past few years. On the other hand, skaters could be promoted after GP assignments. Wasn't Kazuki promote to special reinforcement category in the previous season?

Thus, base on those criteria, Kazuki is not "replaced by" Takahashi...

Source: (Japanese)
http://skatematome.com/post-1536/
https://figureskating.tsupate.com/p1338/
 
gacchan said:
(Excuse me for suddenly post in Kazuki's Fanfest)

Regarding the "special reinforcement group", it seems that skaters have to be fulfill either one of the criteria...
1. 1st-3rd in Japan Nationals
2. assigned for 2 Senior GP series
3. with SB on par with the abovesaid skaters (1. and 2.)

Please note that in there were no official updates for the qualification criteria after year 2012. Some fans have found exceptions in the past few years. On the other hand, skaters could be promoted after GP assignments. Wasn't Kazuki promote to special reinforcement category in the previous season?

Thus, base on those criteria, Kazuki is not "replaced by" Takahashi...

Source: (Japanese)
http://skatematome.com/post-1536/
https://figureskating.tsupate.com/p1338/
Click to expand...

Thanks for pointing that out, but Wakaba Higuchi doesn't fullfil any of the criteria and she's still in the Special Strengthening category for Ladies (good on her).

So, I must say I think they are being extremely unfair to Kazuki...
 
gacchan said:
(Excuse me for suddenly post in Kazuki's Fanfest)

Regarding the "special reinforcement group", it seems that skaters have to be fulfill either one of the criteria...
1. 1st-3rd in Japan Nationals
2. assigned for 2 Senior GP series
3. with SB on par with the abovesaid skaters (1. and 2.)

Please note that in there were no official updates for the qualification criteria after year 2012. Some fans have found exceptions in the past few years. On the other hand, skaters could be promoted after GP assignments. Wasn't Kazuki promote to special reinforcement category in the previous season?

Thus, base on those criteria, Kazuki is not "replaced by" Takahashi...

Source: (Japanese)
http://skatematome.com/post-1536/
https://figureskating.tsupate.com/p1338/
Click to expand...

No worries, thank you very much for the explanation.
I didn’t think it was the matter of Kazuki being ‘replaced’ at all and thought it’s only natural Dai was in the special category for his Nationals placement and I have no issue with that. :)
Can you help explain how the third criteria about SB works? Because if Dai’s SB was at Nationals(?), then couldn’t Kazuki’s SB at Rostelecom be considered on par with Dai’s? In that case he could’ve been added as the fifth skater in the special group?
I’m just confused why in the ladies they could put five skaters in the category with Wakaba being the fifth skater when she placed 5th while Kazuki placed 4th and her SB, from what I understand, is even further from the 1-4th place skater than Kazuki. (Don’t get me wrong, I’m fully in support of Wakaba being in the special group and that she has been struggling due to injury, but if we go strictly by the criteria as you’ve mentioned, she wouldn’t have been qualified for the special category as well) (and please correct me if I’m misinformed). Sorry for the lengthy response and thank you!
 
As for the next part, Chotto matte ne~! (Sorry, later tonight or maybe tomorrow)

khtmyzr said:
That part about speaking English had me put on a motherly smile while reading... And that part about him being the flower boy at 4cc made me go to youtube to see if I could catch a glimpse of him at the end of someone’s skate :laugh:
Click to expand...
I can actually vouch for him that Tomono-kun's English is quite good (relatively) as a 'Japanese' univ student who never studied abroad! I mean, the way he pronounced English words in one of the videos I've seen (though he was 'reading' texts from his phone) did sound like someone who actually knew what he's saying :agree:
And please share if you find him in 2013 4CC!!!


gacchan said:
On the other hand, skaters could be promoted after GP assignments. Wasn't Kazuki promote to special reinforcement category in the previous season?
Click to expand...
I think He was approved as S for WC results (=2 GP spots guaranteed) then.

>on JSF's funded skaters list

As gacchan pointed out, the list may have more skaters added/changed after their selection meeting sometime before summer. And when Tomono-kun gets 2 GP spots, he *may* get promoted to S again, I think. (EDIT: I edited this part to stop being too optimistic and removed misinformation)

As for Wakaba's case of injury, in my opinion, her previous records (and reputation) were good to keep her there. (There is an exceptional side-rule for this written. as in "実績のある選手が、怪我等によって(=Due to injury)上記の基準を満たせなかった場合には、別途考慮し、強化選手に加える場合がある")

(EDIT: I removed this part, it was very inappropriate of me to compare someone's achievements. I'm terribly sorry.)

Don't worry, he'll be promoted to S soon (I really hope so), and I don't think they're purposely being unfair with him :)
 
Last edited:
The same understanding they have torwads Wakaba could be extended to Kazuki.

He secured three vital spots for Japan at WC 2019. He won a GP medal for Japan last season, the first Japanese man to win a major international senior medal apart from Shoma/Yuzuru in a while. He's in the Top 24 for both World Rankings and SBs. His SB is on par with the score of both 2nd and 3rd place at Nats.

I mean, even if he's promoted later, what kind of message does this send to him? "You won a GP medal, but it's not enough"? "We don't believe you will get two assignments"? This is cruel IMO.
 
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