Kazuki Tomono | Page 312 | Golden Skate

Kazuki Tomono

Meanwhile, I am still reeling from the shock of reading here on GS that JSF are not assigning to any Challengers other than Kinoshita this year! Like, seriously, the other two events they deigned to assign to are a joke - they don't send to Golden Spin unless a skater hasn't been competing much, and Challenge Cup is not a SB competition (or Asian Open for that matter). So, to get a SB chance at a Challenger, all the Japanese boys will likely need to face Shun and Nakata with their rep and PCS, which also means they can foget about winning a CS event again... Like little Nats, only slightly expanded by some foreign skaters thrown in - how exciting. And whoever gets the host spot at NHK will probably have to face the biggest aces Japan has at Kinoshita. Just great.
And my own chances of seeing either Kazuki or Sota in pretty much their last competitive season are gone. Thanks for nothing JSF!!! I truly didn't think that Japan getting a Challenger would mean that Japanese fans would be spoiled rotten by the amount of stuff they can physically see, while European fans lose the chance to see their Japanese faves unless they shell out hefty amounts of money for GP series. I'm so gutted and furious RN I can't even 😭 🤬
 
@surimi you're right, it's absolutely ludicrous what JSF is doing. Japanese skaters are missing out on so much - standing points, SB opportunities and also building reputation in front of international judges! As you said on Sota's thread, it seems like the attitude is ever more 'keep Japanese skaters for Japan', with competitions and content being mainly domestic and behind paywalls. We're missing out on so much just because we are international fans :cry:
 
@surimi you're right, it's absolutely ludicrous what JSF is doing. Japanese skaters are missing out on so much - standing points, SB opportunities and also building reputation in front of international judges! As you said on Sota's thread, it seems like the attitude is ever more 'keep Japanese skaters for Japan', with competitions and content being mainly domestic and behind paywalls. We're missing out on so much just because we are international fans :cry:
I hate it. So many skaters will loose their opportunity to get some nice SB and ranking points (not to even mention learning experience), which is crucial for grand prix spots next season. Especially ice dance teams, it's so hard to move up and not possible without competing as much as possible. I thought that after last Olympics JSF will be determined to push the ice dance development, seeing how close they were from team gold. No, what for. So many promising teams were formed recently and I'm afraid we won't see them much and they may not survive to the next olympics. Training ice dance is extremely expensive and without fed's support, opportunity to compete and sponsors it may just not be possible for longer time. And yes, they can blame it on weak yen but hello, I'm pretty sure JFS has more resources than majority of other feds. I hate this strategy, it's so bad both for fans and for skaters.
 
I hate it. So many skaters will loose their opportunity to get some nice SB and ranking points (not to even mention learning experience), which is crucial for grand prix spots next season. Especially ice dance teams, it's so hard to move up and not possible without competing as much as possible. I thought that after last Olympics JSF will be determined to push the ice dance development, seeing how close they were from team gold. No, what for. So many promising teams were formed recently and I'm afraid we won't see them much and they may not survive to the next olympics. Training ice dance is extremely expensive and without fed's support, opportunity to compete and sponsors it may just not be possible for longer time. And yes, they can blame it on weak yen but hello, I'm pretty sure JFS has more resources than majority of other feds. I hate this strategy, it's so bad both for fans and for skaters.
Yeah. It's so ironic that in the age where ISU are saying that fans are looking for 'narratives', Japan is essentially hiding their skaters from the world as much as possible.

Japan has many great characters/narratives, but in Kazuki's case specifically, their obsession with lowballing him at every opportunity is costing them money in both the short and long term: he's a skater with immense normie appeal, popular with children and an excellent communicator. He has literally pulled sponsors into the sport that had never sponsored figure skating before. But it seems he gets punished instead of rewarded 🤐
 
Japan has many great characters/narratives, but in Kazuki's case specifically, their obsession with lowballing him at every opportunity is costing them money in both the short and long term: he's a skater with immense normie appeal, popular with children and an excellent communicator. He has literally pulled sponsors into the sport that had never sponsored figure skating before. But it seems he gets punished instead of rewarded 🤐
Kazuki is so loved around the world. Maybe we should crowdfund his trips to senior B competitions.
 
Kazuki is so loved around the world. Maybe we should crowdfund his trips to senior B competitions.
Alas that's the problem. From what I read in several places, Japanese Skaters aren't allowed to compete abroad with their own (their Sponsors') funds, only JSF who has lost a lot of money after a decade lowballing Yuzuru Hanyu forcing him away, and are continuing their mischief with Kazuki Tomono and other Skaters who don't happen to come from the right region (or a coach father) and so on.
 
@surimi you're right, it's absolutely ludicrous what JSF is doing. Japanese skaters are missing out on so much - standing points, SB opportunities and also building reputation in front of international judges! As you said on Sota's thread, it seems like the attitude is ever more 'keep Japanese skaters for Japan', with competitions and content being mainly domestic and behind paywalls. We're missing out on so much just because we are international fans :cry:
Why did they decide to do this?
 
Alas that's the problem. From what I read in several places, Japanese Skaters aren't allowed to compete abroad with their own (their Sponsors') funds, only JSF who has lost a lot of money after a decade lowballing Yuzuru Hanyu forcing him away, and are continuing their mischief with Kazuki Tomono and other Skaters who don't happen to come from the right region (or a coach father) and so on.
Lowballing? What’s that? What is considered the right region in JSF eyes?
 
Kazuki's new FP. It's already sooo good! I think it may turn to be Kazuki's iconic one. I love how it builds and explodes in the steps and choreo SQ.

As a Brit, seeing Kazuki skating to Freddy Mercury's voice makes me emotional 🥺

I absolutely love it. The first half is a bit empty, but the second half more than makes up for it! I'm curious about the layout too - is he doing only two quads? That 3A with a counter entry (hello Yuzu!?) was to die for 🔥

Excuse me while I go and watch it again, and again, and again...
 
Just came back from doi😆
Kazuki really devoted himself into this program! Although I think he hasn't practiced too much(?) so some of his footwork was still kinda rough. Anyway he succeeded a lot in Quad salchow, amazing!
And another lovely episode with Sota. Kazuki skated before Sota and everytime he would show up at audience seats to watch Sota's program as soon as he could. During 6.27 morning he even poked his head out of the curtain in the backstage to watch Sota.
He did counter 3a at jump challenge time at the last show. A beautiful one.
 
Lowballing? What’s that? What is considered the right region in JSF eyes?
It's not really something for a Fan Fest but historically, Skaters from Nagoya have been favoured (being the elsewhere-born son of a Nagoya coach of course ticks the box), both in scoring and in assignments. Also, JSF right now are living on the money accumulated during the 2013-2023 decade (Yuzuru Hanyu left JSF in 2022 and owed 10% of his earnings to them, plus he was filling big arenas, and probably allowing them higher billings to TV channels and sponsors), I don't know if there's anything left right now. Published JSF accounts from the end of this era were also showing that while Speed Skating was bringing 30% of the money and Figure Skating 70%, in the expenses it was the reverse: 30% for Figure Skating (no Pairs or Ice Dance school earlier in the period, for instance) and 70% for Speed Skating, nothing was too beautiful or expensive to try to get Speed Skating medals. So, now JSF has to reduce expenses even in what's necessary, for instance not sending Junior Skaters to Junior Grand Prix up to Japan's allowance earned with last year's results.
 
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