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Tokyo Summer Cup

20-22 August

among skaters: Ami Nakai, Aiko Motoe, Yurina Okuno, Yo Takagi, Rion Sumiyoshi, Rinka Watanabe, Yuna Aoki, Wakaba Higuchi, Tomoe Kawabata, Ibuki Sato, Sakura Odagaki, Taichiro Yamakuma, Reo Ishizuka

 

Every competition in Tokyo without Momoka is such a punch right into my heart.:sadPooh:

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2 hours ago, sweetwater said:

Sota Yamamoto has transferred to Team Machiko Yamada/Mihoko Higuchi. His program music for this season are Yesterday by Beatles (SP) and Io Chi Saro by Andrea Bocelli (FS)

 

 

 

He's gone through so many coaching changes during just 1.5 years. I hope he can stay with Higuchi/Yamada at least until he finishes university. Good luck to him.

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Some updates on Team Japan

 

- It's officially confirmed that no JPN skaters will take part in the JGP series due to the quarantine requirements upon returning to Japan. On this note, you have to wonder what will happen to skaters who have to compete abroad and return to Japan right after, like Yuzu. Also, has the ISU prepared for a scenario where skaters have to withdraw from the GP series due to entry restrictions and quarantine upon returning? 

- Satoko has withdrawn from Autumn Classic. She will be staying in Japan for a little longer. On the same note, no JPN skaters are sent to either Lombardia Trophy or Autumn Classic. On a slightly related note, P/C has withdrawn from ACI as well. I had a feeling more skaters would withdraw before and it turns out my hunch is true.

- JSF is planning to send skaters to Asian Open Trophy and several JPN skaters have expressed their interests in attending the event. However, it is not certain if this will happen because a) it's uncertain what Covid prevention measures will be taken by local authorities, also infection rates; and b) JSF is prioritizing participation in the GP. JPN may send skaters to later challenger events but this is also uncertain. 

- Sota is promoted to Strengthening A category while Miura/Kihara will move to special strengthening. 

Source: https://www.sponichi.co.jp/sports/news/2021/09/01/kiji/20210901s00079000454000c.html

https://www.daily.co.jp/general/2021/09/01/0014642028.shtml

https://www.sponichi.co.jp/sports/news/2021/09/01/kiji/20210901s00079000449000c.html

https://twitter.com/figureskatingm1/status/1432961406593236993

 

 

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5 hours ago, Umebachi said:

Poor Kao Miura. He is so disappointed that he will not be able to compete in JGP.  Others are commenting to try to console him. 
 

 

 

 

Sad for Kao. He was aiming for JGPF in Osaka. I think he had a good chance of qualifying.

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I feel very sad for junior skaters. Missing JGP twice in a row can have a long lasting effect on the junior field in Japan. I don't know how they will continue skating daily without losing their motivation completely. I wish JSF would have found a solution which is also good for their athletes. There were exemptions for foreign skaters for WTT for example, even though it was already a few months ago and the situation might be different now.

Kao's disappointment is completely understandable, he could got into the final which will be in Japan anyway.

 

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7 hours ago, sallycinnamon said:

I feel very sad for junior skaters. Missing JGP twice in a row can have a long lasting effect on the junior field in Japan. I don't know how they will continue skating daily without losing their motivation completely. I wish JSF would have found a solution which is also good for their athletes. There were exemptions for foreign skaters for WTT for example, even though it was already a few months ago and the situation might be different now.

Kao's disappointment is completely understandable, he could got into the final which will be in Japan anyway.

 

COVID-wise, the situation is probably worse as a whole than in April.

https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/country/japan/

Nearly half of the population here got vaccinated since then, so the situation has improved in that respect, but now, we are facing stronger opponents. It is hard to predict how long it will take to flatten the curve.

 

Having read the recent news, I am almost sure that JSF decided to forgo sending their athletes to international competitions because of the suspension or abolition of the athlete track system that would exempt athletes from full quarantine. I mentioned the system briefly earlier in the General Skating Chat thread, so I am not going to repeat it, but share some English articles about it for reference.

Although it was developed mainly for the participants of Tokyo2020, if you read the second article, you will see that it has been applied to other athletes, and has been suspended during an SoE.

 

Japan to Exempt Foreign Athletes from 14-Day Quarantine (Published on September 23, 2020 by Jiji.com)

https://sp.m.jiji.com/english/show/7452

Government to suspend athletes' coronavirus entry exemptions (Published on January 14, 2021, by Kyodo)

https://english.kyodonews.net/news/2021/01/f9a0a19a7a63-government-to-suspend-athletes-coronavirus-entry-exemptions.html

Athletes could receive exemptions to enter Japan when state of emergency lifts (Published on February 27, 2021)

https://www.insidethegames.biz/articles/1104787/japan-tokyo-2020-olympics-exemptions

 

COVID-wise, Osaka in this April, actually, was not in a good situation, but WTT took place nevertheless because it was scheduled between two state-of-emergencies, (Our second SoE was January 8-March 21, and the third SoE was April 25-May 31. WTT was April 15-18) and that was when our government needed some achievements in holding large-scale sporting events in bubble systems to go on with Tokyo2020. So I would not take WTT as an example of JSF worked to accommodate foreign skaters. That said, I wholeheartedly agree that they should prioritize their skaters' well-being, and I hope they will figure out ways to help their skaters in this situation.

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