2022-23 Japan national qualifying & domestic competitions

[Sylvia]

National Competitions Results Index (in Japanese): https://www.jsfresults.com/National/2022-2023/fs_j/index.htm
Version in English: https://www.jsfresults.com/National/2022-2023/fs_e/index.htm

(Note: I've re-ordered the 6 Regional blocks by date below & have added the links to the starting orders/results pages in Japanese; results in English usually are published after each event is over)

Kanto Regional (Block 2)
Date Sep. 22 - 25, 2022
Place Nikko, Tochigi
Starting orders/Results: https://www.jsfresults.com/National/2022-2023/fs_j/block2/index.htm

Chubu Regional (Block 4)
Date Sep. 23 - 25, 2022
Place Nagoya, Aichi
Starting orders/Results: https://www.jsfresults.com/National/2022-2023/fs_j/block4/index.htm

Tokyo Regional (Block 3)
Date Sep. 29 - Oct. 2, 2022
Place Nishitokyo, Tokyo
Starting orders/Resuits: https://www.jsfresults.com/National/2022-2023/fs_j/block3/index.htm

Chu-Shikoku-Kyushu Regional (Block 6)
Date Sep. 29 - Oct. 2, 2022
Place Okayama, Okayama
Starting orders/Resuits: https://www.jsfresults.com/National/2022-2023/fs_j/block6/index.htm

Tohoku-Hokkaido Regional (Block 1)
Date Oct. 7 - 9, 2022
Place Hachinohe, Aomori
Starting orders/Results: https://www.jsfresults.com/National/2022-2023/fs_j/block1/index.htm

Kinki Regional (Block 5)
Date Oct. 7 - 10, 2022
Place Amagasaki, Hyogo
Starting orders/Results: https://www.jsfresults.com/National/2022-2023/fs_j/block5/index.htm

===

National Novice
Date Oct. 21 - 23, 2022
Place Sapporo, Hokkaido

===

Eastern Section (Senior and Junior)
Date Nov. 3 - 6, 2022
Place Maebashi, Gunma

Western Section (Senior and Junior)
Date Oct. 27 - 30, 2022
Place Kyoto, Kyoto

===

National Junior
Date Nov. 25 - 27, 2022
Place Hitachinaka, Ibaraki

Nationals
Date Dec. 21 - 25, 2022
Place Kadoma, Osaka

National Synchronized
Date Feb. 18 - 19, 2023
Place Nagano, Nagano

 

[Sylvia]

Copying over @Tak's post from the Japanese news thread in GSD (feel free to post any additional notes about the upcoming Regional competitions ):

The Chubu Regionals (including Nagoya area) will be skated 23-25 September. JSF strongly requested all funded skaters compete at Regionals, this season. JSF made competing here, a pre-condition to funding a skater returning from injury, Rika Kihira.
The planned elements for SP was announced today. Of 20 competitors, 75% submitted their elements for SP. This caused shock and dismay to Rika fans. Her submitted elements were 2A, 3S+2T, 2Lo. The last element is widely considered to be a mistype since solitary double jump is not allowed in Senior Women SP.
Other notable competitors submitted;
Kinayu Yokoi 3Lz, 2A, 3T+3T
Rino Matsuike 2A, 3F, 3Lz+3T
Yuhana Yokoi 3S+3T, 2A, 3F
Mana Kawabe 3A, 3Lz+3T, 3F
Mako Yamashita 3Lo, 2A, 3Lz+3T
I wish all the best to all the competitors at Chubu Regionals, perhaps most of all to Rika.

ETA:

Machine translation of Rika Kihira's 9/22 tweet: https://twitter.com/rika_kihira/status/1572890247297630209

It's almost time for the Chubu Championships
I have a little bit of an injury, but it's still not completely healed, so I'm not going to practice as much on the ice as I did last year, but I'm going to play with a lower composition.
I really want to go to the All Japan Championships, so I won't push myself too hard so that I can pass the qualifiers for the Chubu Championships, but I'll do my best! ! !

 

[Tak]

A quick update on Chubu Regional Womens SP.
Top finishers were;
1. Rino Matsuike 64.70 33.45 31.25
2. Yuhana Yokoi 64.26 34.45 29.81
3. Miyabi Oba 62.05 32.66 29.39
4. Mana Kawabe 58.51 30.10 29.49 -1.00
5. Mako Yamashita 57.24 27.42 29.82
6. Rika Kihira 56.69 27.88 28.81
Out of 19 competitors, 13 advance to West Japan Sectional, so even with middling FP, Rika would be able to advance. It seems that Rika did execute 2A, 3S and 3T according to some witness accounts. Edited to Add; Judges Protocol shows that Rika landed 2A, 3S+2T and 3T, cleanly.

 

[ptvvibezz]

Video of Rika's SP

https://twitter.com/x/status/1573621694723506179

 

[Sylvia]

Sota Yamamoto's 1st place SP at Chubu Regionals (4T+3T, 4S, 3A; scored 94.12) was tweeted by the same person who tweeted Rika's SP: https://twitter.com/midorimoonlight/status/1573354432288399360

This Twitter account is sharing good info in English about Regionals: https://twitter.com/skatejapanews

 

[Tak]

Chubu Regional womens FP was concluded and top 6 finishers were;
1. Rino Matsuike 1, 1 192.63
2. Mana Kawabe 4, 2 176.62
3. Yuhana Yokoi 2,3 173.36
4. Miyabi Oba 3,5 166.37
5. Mako Yamashita 5,4 162.89
6. Rika Kihira 6, 7 154.49
For Rika, good news is that she will advance to the next stage. The bad news is the jump content of her FP. According to the Protocol, it was 3S+2T, 2A+2T, 2Lo, 1A (fall), 3S, 1A+2T*(illegal element), 2Lo. Her FP score was 97.80 (TES 39.63 and PCS 59.17).
It is so sad to see such low tech content from Rika....

 

[Wyliefan]

It's in line with what she's said about how her practicing was going, though. I do hope she can heal up and not aggravate the injury anymore.

 

[Hedwig]

It is sad to see her in this state of course. But I am happy she is skating and jumping at all. Hopefully painfree and healing.

What are her long standing issues? Was it an injury that was treated wrong?

 

[Sylvia]

"We [JSF] have updated the materials regarding the addition of players exempted from the block tournament and the number of people who passed the qualifying round.　
*The red part in the document (Updated September 16, 2022)

We will announce the number of qualifiers for the 2022-2023 season, block tournaments, and exemption players for the East and West Japan Championships as shown in the materials. (Published September 5, 2022)"
JSF's annual document in Japanese: https://www.skatingjapan.or.jp/common/img/info/qualifying_2022_rev1.pdf
(I really miss rosewood's helpful translations & summaries into English. @Tak, can you help?)

This Twitter thread provides helpful info re. Regionals info (but I haven't had time to check the advancement numbers against the document linked above): https://twitter.com/skatejapanews/status/1573044036419702785

Chubu Regional results in English: https://www.jsfresults.com/National/2022-2023/fs_e/block4/index.htm
Senior Men - Final Results (all advance to the Western Section Championships)
PL Competitor Club SP FS Points
1. Sota YAMAMOTO 1 1 253.80
2. Iwano SOUTA 2 2 117.50
3. Kimichika WADA 3 3 96.79

Senior Women top 7 (top 13, not counting Kawabe who is seeded this year and therefore has a bye to Nationals, advance to the Western Section Championships):
1. Rino MATSUIKE Chukyo Senior High School 1 1 192.63
2. Mana KAWABE Chukyo Senior High School 4 2 176.62
3. Yuhana YOKOI Howa Minato 2 3 173.36
4. Miyabi OBA TOKAI TOKYO FH 3 5 166.37
5. Mako YAMASHITA 5 4 162.89
6. Rika KIHIRA Toyota Motor Corporation 6 7 154.49
7. Kinayu YOKOI Chukyo Senior High School 7 6 150.01

For Rika, good news is that she will advance to the next stage.

"Rika Kihira has finished high enough at regionals to qualify for sectionals. She already has a bye for sectionals (due to her GP assignments), so she’s basically now through to Nationals." https://twitter.com/figureskatingm1/status/1573947863763394561

Kanto Regional results in English: https://www.jsfresults.com/National/2022-2023/fs_e/block2/index.htm
No Senior men; Shiika YOSHIOKA won the Senior Women's event with 156.16 (top 4 advance to the Eastern Section Championships).

 

[Tak]

Tokyo Regional is ongoing.
For Senior Women, since Wakaba Higuchi, Rinka Watanabe and Rion Sumiyoshi were slated to compete, most fans thought that these would be the top 3.
The SP results showed that ice is very slippery. First, Wakaba withdrew. The top SP results were;
1. Maria Egawa 64.36 36.99 27.37
2. Yuna Aoki 60.60 33.12 27.48
3. Akari Matsubara 57.57 33.07 24.50
4. Rinka Watanabe 54.69 26.30 28.39 (2A, 1Lz*, 3Lo+2T)
5. Rion Sumiyoshi 54.55 26.39 28.16 (2A, 3F<, 3Lz+COMBO)
Marin Honda was 7th with 50.53.

 

[Tak]

Tokyo Regional Senior Women was just concluded.
The top 4 results were:
1. Maria Egawa 1, 1 187.58
2. Rion Sumiyoshi 5, 2 175.44 (4Tq Fall)
3. Rinka Watanabe 4, 3 170.56 (3A< Fall)
4. Yuna Aoki 2, 5 165.37
Congratulations to Maria Egawa. She was the best skater in Kyushu, before she relocated to Tokyo to enter Meiji University (Wakaba also goes there).
Marin Honda was 8th with total score of 138.54. Since top 8 advance to East Japan, Marin will compete there, but she needs at least 20 points more to get to Nationals. Tomoe Kawabata who was bronze medalist at Nationals in 2019, was 12th with 125.47. Rumor is that she is still suffering from lingering injury sustained due to an unfortunate traffic accident nearly an year ago. I wish for complete recovery for Tomoe, who used to have remarkable 3Lz.

 

[Kateri]

So sorry to hear that about Tomoe Kawabata, she's such a wonderful skater. Wishing her all the best.

 

[Sylvia]

Thanks @Tak for keeping us to date in "real time" - much appreciated!

Marin Honda was 8th with total score of 138.54. Since top 8 advance to East Japan, Marin will compete there, but she needs at least 20 points more to get to Nationals.

本田真凜「もっとできる」転倒、回転不足続き８位で東日本進出「呼吸も練習と違った」（デイリースポーツ） - Yahoo!ニュース

　「フィギュアスケート・東京選手権」（２日、ダイドードリンコアイスアリーナ） 　女子フリーが行われ、ＳＰ７位の１６年世界ジュニア女王の本田真凜（２１）＝ＪＡＬ＝は、フリー８８・０１点、合計１３８・

news.yahoo.co.jp

Machine translated excerpt re. Marin Honda's Moulin Rouge free skate:

Regarding the new free that was made by choreographer Kenji Miyamoto," she said, 'I'm glad it started so brightly that I got goosebumps,' but I said, 'I can do more.' Practice. The condition of my body is very good, and with a little timing, breathing, and just a little more correction, I've come to the point where I'm completely better. I want to show that I can do more in East Japan. [she] emphasized. The East Japan Championship in November serves as the final qualifier for the All Japan Championship (Osaka) in December, and eight players, excluding seeded players and exempt players, grab tickets to the All Japan Championship. ``My number one goal is All Japan.

Tokyo Regional results (English version) are online: https://www.jsfresults.com/National/2022-2023/fs_e/block3/index.htm

Senior Men top 6:
1. Koshiro SHIMADA Kinoshita Group 233.83 1 2 (89.90 in SP, 143.93 in FS)
2. Kao MIURA OrienntalBioMeguroNU.HS 232.39 2 1 (82.15 in SP, 150.24 in FS)
3. Shingo NISHIYAMA Waseda Univ 210.64 3 4 (74.36 in SP, 136.28 in FS) - ice dancer back to competing in singles
4. Shun SATO Meiji Univ 205.76 6 3 (140.63 in FS)
5. Kosho OSHIMA Meiji Univ 201.73 4 5 (131.02 in FS)
6. Taichiro YAMAKUMA Meiji Univ 188.76 5 6
"All 20 competitors advance to East Japan Sectionals." https://twitter.com/figureskatingm1/status/1576555536551915521

Junior Men was won by Tudoi SUTO 184.09 (he placed 6th at the JGP in Riga) and Junior Women by Yurina OKUNO 163.90.

Also for Chu-Shikoku-Kyushu Regional: https://www.jsfresults.com/National/2022-2023/fs_e/block6/index.htm

Senior Men was won by Kazuki KUSHIDA 203.54.

Senior Women top 4:
1. Saki MIYAKE 1 1 178.00
2. Chiyono NAGAMI 2 2 155.08
3. Niina TAKENO 6 3 145.46
4. Hina TAKENO 3 4 141.67

 

[haribobo]

COMPILED REGIONAL SCORES (2 more to go)

SENIOR MEN
Sota Yamamoto 253.80
Koshiro Shimada 233.83
Kao Miura 232.39
Shingo Nishiyama 210.64
Shun Sato 205.76
Kazuki Kushida 203.54
Kosho Oshima 201.73

SENIOR WOMEN
Rino Matsuike 192.63
Maria Egawa 187.58
Saki Miyake 178.00
Mana Kawabe 176.62
Rion Sumiyoshi 175.44
Yuhana Yokoi 173.36
Rinka Watanabe 170.56
Miyabi Oba 166.37
Yuna Aoki 165.37
Mako Yamashita 162.89
Saigusa Chikako 156.65
Shiika Yoshioka 156.16
Chiyono Nagami 155.08
Rika Kihira 154.49
Kinayu Yokoi 150.01
Ibuki Sato 149.12
Akari Matsubara 148.24
Niina Takeno 145.46

 

[Tak]

JSF sometime ago announced that they are going to invite top eight (it used to be top six) Juniors to Senior Nationals. Considering spectacular results JPN Junior girls are achieving at JGPS, skating fans here are beginning to wonder if Juniors will sweep the podium at Senior Nationals Women. Since current Senior women skaters in JPN include reigning World and 4CC Champion, it seemed unlikely a month ago. Even then, many thought Mao Shimada would probably win both Juniors and Seniors. Mao, along with Hana Yoshida and Ami Nakai has the 3A which will give them clear advantage under Senior SP rules. Additional element in the LP should add 3-5 points over Junior scores.
In upcoming Kinki Regional, Hana Yoshida (skating as senior in domestic competitions) will compete with the most consistent senior women skater Mai Mihara. Hana's planned elements in the SP is reported to be 3A, 3Lz+3T, 3Lo.
It should be quite an exciting event, this coming weekend.
Edited to add: Kinki Regionals will also feature Kinoshita Academy Junior girls who did not make it to JGPS, but judging from last season, some of them are just as good as Ikura Kushida.

 

[Tak]

Hana Yoshida WD (given a bye from JSF) from Kinki Regional. Considering that Hana is scheduled to compete in the last JGPS next week, it may not be prudent to compete as senior in Kinki Block, this week.

 

[Sylvia]

Kinki Regional (Block 5)
Date Oct. 7 - 10, 2022
Place Amagasaki, Hyogo
Results in English: https://www.jsfresults.com/non_resp....htm,National/2022-2023/fs_e/block5/index.htm

Senior Men top 7:
Kazuki TOMONO 238.48 2 1 (168.56 FS)
Sena MIYAKE 205.30 (83.44 SP) 1 7
Sumitada MORIGUCHI 200.07 6 2 (landed 3A+3T & 3A in his FS; his Junior Pairs partner finished 3rd in Junior Women)
Lucastsuyoshi HONDA 196.42 3 5
Tatsuya TSUBOI 195.03 5 3
Mitsuki SUMOTO 191.25 4 6
Yuto KISHINA 190.06 7 4
SP protocols: https://www.jsfresults.com/National/2022-2023/fs_e/block5/data0103.pdf
FS protocols: https://www.jsfresults.com/National/2022-2023/fs_e/block5/data0105.pdf

Mai MIHARA easily won the Senior Women's event: 201.48 (71.84 SP, 129.64 FS) - most of her SP: https://twitter.com/midorimoonlight/status/1579168632453505025
Her FS to "El Amor Brujo" - tweeted in 2 parts: https://twitter.com/skatejapanews/status/1579474625767305216
SP protocols: https://www.jsfresults.com/National/2022-2023/fs_e/block5/data0203.pdf
FS protocols: https://www.jsfresults.com/National/2022-2023/fs_e/block5/data0205.pdf

Junior Women top 3:
Ikura KUSHIDA Kinoshita Academy 7 1 156.78 (JGP Ostrava bronze)
Kei YAMADA Kinoshita Academy 3 2 156.06
Haruna MURAKAMI Kinoshita Academy 9 3 150.73 (she & Moriguchi won the JGP Solidarity Cup bronze)

Junior Men top 3:
Haru KAKIUCHI Hyogo Nishinomiya F.S.C. 1 1 188.40 (JGP Ostrava, 8th)
Shuntaro ASAGA Kinoshita Academy 2 2 182.83
Haruya SASAKI KYOTO UNIV.F.S.C 3 3 166.24


Tohoku-Hokkaido Regional (Block 1)
Date Oct. 7 - 9, 2022
Place Hachinohe, Aomori
Results in English: https://www.jsfresults.com/National/2022-2023/fs_e/block1/index.htm

 

[Tak]

The East Japan Intercollegiate skating competition (Free skate only comp) took place this weekend.
Perhaps, the heroics of JGPS girls ignited competitive fire of Senior skaters. Some are using this comp to get ready for GPS events. According to free skate protocols;
1. Rinka Watanabe 127.20 68.70 58.50 (3A+3T +1.60, 3A< -3.20)
2. Rion Sumiyoshi 125.35 66.49 59.86 (4T<Fall)
3. Yuna Aoki 118.26 60.62 57.64 (2A+Eu+3F +1.59, 3Lz+3Lo +1.18, doubled 3 other triples)
Marin Honda was 12th 84.95 and Tomoe Kawabata was 14th 83.88.

 

[Tak]

Japan Novice Championships are being held this weekend. For the last two seasons skaters who achieved spectacular results in this season's JGPS (Mao, Ayumi, Ami, Ikura etc) were competing here. Last season, they were scoring over 100 with only 6 jump slots.
Novice A girls and Novice B girls were completed today. Since TV coverage is taped delay by couple of weeks, I could only report based on what is on the protocols.
Novice A top finishers were;
1. Rena Uezono 99.73 55.65 44.08 (3Lz+3Tq,3Lo,2A+3T+2T,3F,3Lz,3S)
2. Mayuko Oka 83.96 44.60 39.36
3. Ruka Miyamoto 83.28 42.35 40.93
4. Riria Kohno 83.00 41.83 41.17 (Kinoshita Academy)
5. Sumire Yoshida 82.81 41.05 42.26 (won Novice Dance with Ibuki Ogawara. Since Sumire is only 11, they cannot compete in JGPS till 24-25 season)
The winner is coached by Mihoko Higuchi, who for a long time served under Machiko Yamada, now leading her own team "LYS".
Novice B was handily won by Sumika Kanazawa (86.24 49.50 36.74), a Kinoshita skater who is the most recent "discovery" by Mie Hamada. Considering Novice B only has 5 jump slots, her TES score is impressive.

 

[Tak]

This coming weekend is, of course Skate Canada but simultaneously, West Japan Sectional will be held. Some interesting match-ups;
Senior Women:
Mai Mihara is the most accomplished skater here. Hana Yoshida will, for the first time, compete as Seniors. Will Princess Leia (senior version) prevail with 3Axs? (Correction: Kinayu Yokoi competed as Senior at Chubu Regional 7th)
Junior Women:
JGPS veterans, Mao Shimada, Ayumi Shibayama, Ikura Kushida will compete with Kinoshita rinkmates Azusa Tanaka, Haruna Murakami (pair skater), Kei Yamada, as well as Nagoya skaters such as Kaoruko Wada. Mao will probably win but podium finishers could be quite surprising.
Senior Men:
IMHO, Tatsuya Tsuboi is the favorite since Sota Yamamoto and Kazuki Tomono are given byes.

 

[Lara]

@Tak Will West/East sectionals be aired on Japanese TV? Also interested in Junior Nats, if I can get iSakura (or an equivalent) working again. Thanks!

 

[Tak]

Japanese TV is covering Regionals, West and East Sectionals, Inter-Junior High, Inter-high, Inter-collegiate and Novice are by Fuji Cable Channel Fuji TWO. This coverage is without commentary or TES Box and only top 4-5 full program is shown. This season, for Chubu and Tokyo Regionals, only for the top finishers of Seniors, post performance commentary by Rika Hongo (remember her?) was added which surprised me.
For Junior (abridged and usually something like 1:00AM to 2:30AM broadcast time) and Senior Nationals, Terrestrial (Fuji) and sometimes BS Fuji channels are covering them with commentary and TES Box.

 

[Tak]

The West Japan Sectional Senior Women SP was concluded. Based on judges protocol:
1. Mai Mihara 74.04 41.39 32.65 (2A, 3F, 3Lz+3T. Everything was level4. All GOEs are +2 to+4 except one +1, totally clean protocol. Mai seems to be in spectacular form.)
2. Hana Yoshida 69.41 41.01 28.40 (3A +2.08, 3Lz<+3T, 3Lo. Slight disturbance of the force during 3Lz, it seems. StSq and all spins were level 4)
3. Mako Yamashita 65.68 36.36 29.32 (3Lz+3T, 2A, 3Lo. Also clean protocol with GOEs +1 to +3 except one 0. StSq2 and SSp3 limited the score)
4. Saki Miyake 63.62 35.69 27.93 (3T+3T, 3Lo, 2A. CoCSp4V and FCSp3 limited her score. GOEs +2 to +4 except one -1 on CoCSp. Nearly clean protocol. Saki trains now at Kobe with Kaori and Mai.)
Top four in SP seem to have skated really well.
Free skate is on Sunday. May the force be with you, Princess Leia!

 

[Tak]

West Japan Sectional Junior Women SP results were basically as expected.
1. Mao Shimada 67.32 39.26 28.26 (3Lo, 2A, 3Lz+3T; Clean protocol)
2. Ayumi Shibayama 63.47 36.48 26.99 (3Lz!+3T, 2A, 3Lo)
3. Ikura Kushida 57.70 30.97 26.73 (3Lz!q+3T<, 2A, 3Lo)
4. Haruna Murakami 55.39 32.99 22.40 (3Lzq+3T, 2A, 3Lo)
5. Kaoruko Wada 55.21 32.40 22.81 (3Loq, 2A, 3Lz+3T<)
One of Kinoshita Academy skaters, Azusa Tanaka WD. I wish for speedy recovery.
The Free Skate is on Saturday.

 

[Tak]

Sorry Silvia, I did not see your request till now.
The non exempted or seeded (AKA previous national medalists) skaters making Nationals from West and East Japan Sectionals are as follows:
West Japan
Jr Women 12 advance (1 seeded, Mao) so 12.
Jr Men 16 advance (no seeded or exempted skaters) so 16.
Sr Women 10 advance (3 exempted Rino, Rika, Yuhana and 2 seeded Kaori, Mana) so 7.
Sr Men 13 advance (3 exempted Sena, Kazuki, Sota and 1 seeded Shoma) so 10.
East Japan
Jr Women 12 advance (1 seeded, Mone) so 12.
Jr Men 9 advance (1 seeded Yoshioka) so 9.
Sr Women 9 advance (1 exempted, Rion and 1 seeded Wakaba) so 8.
Sr Men 7 advance (3 exempted, Kao, Shun Sato, Koshiro and 1 seeded Yuma) so 4.
The tightest one to get through seems to be East Japan Senior Men.
Edited to add: Since the document above was based on, was dated September, Wakaba WD and Rinka filling in GPS may not be reflected. If Rinka receives "exempted" status then East Japan Sr Women will have 2 exempted (Rion and Rinka), with only 7 non-exempted skaters advancing to Nationals.

 

[Tak]

West Japan Junior Women was completed. Mao was the winner as expected, but new girl on the podium. SP, FS Ordinal, Total score, FS score.
1. Mao Shimada 1,1 199.35 131.83 (4T<F, otherwise clean)
2. Ayumi Shibayama 2,2 181.79 118.32 (3Lz! twice, otherwise clean)
3. Haruna Murakami 4,3 167.27 111.88 (Clean Protocol, pair skater in JGPS)
4. Kaoruko Wada 5,4 162.10 106.89 (3Lzq+3T<, 2A+3Tq+2T otherwise clean. Machiko Yamada skater)
5. Ikura Kushida 3,7 156.77 99.07 (Near Meltdown, Problem with five jumps, Fall, <, 2qs and !)

 

[Tak]

West Japan Sectional Senior Women just concluded. The battle for the 1st place was intense and IMHO, technically at the highest level. SP, FS Ordinals, Total Score, FS Score
1. Hana Yoshida 2,1 209.44 140.03 TES 81.43 PCS 58.60
(3A +2.40, 2A+3T, 3Lo, 3F, 3Lz+3T, 3Lz, 3S+2A+2T+SEQ) All spins lvl4, Stsq 3. Clean protocol!
2. Mai Mihara 1,2 206.58 132.54 TES 69.13 PCS 63.41
(2A, 3Lz+3T, 3S, 3F!, 2A+3Tq -1.85, 3Lzq+2T+2Lo -0.47, 3Lo) All spins lvl4 and Stsq 3. Rare, for Mai, edge call. Problems on jump combos in late program was the deciding factor.
3. Saki Miyake 4,3 174.45
4. Mako Yamashita 3,4 168.65
5. Hina Takeno 5,5 159.87
6. Miyabi Oba 6,11 151.91
7. Nina Takeno 8,8 151.28
8. Kinayu Yokoi 7,13 150.41
Top seven will advance to Japan Nationals.
Hana could upgrade jump contents prior to Nationals. Also, hopefully PCS would rise. It is becoming more likely that at least two junior skaters (Mao and Hana) would be on Senior Women podium at the Nationals. Since Hana is age eligible (and IIRC has the minimums from last season), I would very much like to see "Princess Leia" at Saitama Worlds.

 

[Tak]

East Japan Sectionals started.
Sr Women: Since Rion and Rinka were exempted, only top seven goes through to Nationals.
1. Maria Egawa 61.31 34.64 28.67 -2.0 (F and Overtime; 3Lz 3T+3T F 2A)
2. Tomoe Kawabata 55.03 28.83 26.20 (3Lzq+2T 3Lo< 2A)
3. Yuna Aoki 54.51 27.78 27.73 -1.0 (3Lz!+3Lo<F 2A<3F!)
4. Shiika Yoshioka 53.43 27.03 26.40
5. Akari Matsubara 53.29 28.82 25.47 -1.0
6. Marin Honda 52.34 25.41 26.93 (3T+2T 3S 2Aq)
7. Ibuki Sato 49.88 25.54 24.34
Without Wakaba, Rinka or Rion, this was rather weak field, particularly in comparison with Juniors. It is nice to see Tomoe in second though she is not yet completely recovered. Marin could make it to Nationals if she scores close to 100 in the free.
Jr Women
1. Mone Chiba 66.37 37.85 28.52 (2A 3Lz+3T 3Lo) Clean
2. Ami Nakai 63.59 36.86 26.73 (2A 3Lz!+3T 3Lo)
3. Yurina Okuno 63.02 35.08 27.94 (2A 3Lz+2T 3Lo) Clean
4. You Takagi 60.29 35.16 25.13 (3Lz+3Tq 3Lo 2A)
The rumor is that Ami may try to incorporate two 3As in the free.

 

[Tak]

The East Japan Sectional Senior Women was concluded.
The ranking were as follows, SP FP Ordinals, Total, SP, FP score.
1. Maria Egawa 1,2 175.46 61.37 114.15 (3Lz+2T, 3F, 2A+3T+2T, 2A+3T, 3Lz<F, 1Lo, 3S) -1.0
2. Yuna Aoki 3,1 172.62 54.51 118.11 (2Aq, 3Lz+3Lo<, 3S, 3F!+2T, 2A+2T+2Lo,3Lz, 3F!)
3. Ibuki Sato 7,3 157.79 49.88 107.91
4. Akari Matsubara 5,4 154.49 53.29 101.20
5. Shiika Yoshioka 4,6 153.15 53.43 99.72
6. Marin Honda 6,7 148.97 52.34 96.63
7. Chikako Saegusa 9,5 147.10 47.08 100.02
8. Tomoe Kawabata 2,10 139.79 55.03 84.76 (Unfortunate meltdown, first three jump passes went 3Lz<F, 3Lo<F, 3S<F...)
Hopefully, Tomoe will come back fully healed next year. Marin made the Nationals, again squeaking through.
Chikako Saegusa was Skater #12 (last skater before resurface) and was 23rd in the FP of Japan Juniors at Nagoya last year. Her protocol shows that she had -6.0 deduction of which only one was due to fall and -5.0 was due to tardiness. TV broadcast showed some gap since Skater #11 scores came up and Chikako running into the rink. Chikako had short chat with Referee and within 15 seconds, she was doing her program.
What happened was explained later as follows.
Chikako was taking university entrance examination in Tokyo on that day. She thought to WD, but 5-6 Nagoya area skating coaches pitched in (although Chikako was from Chiba and not Nagoya skater) and they picked her up at Nagoya station, rushed her through security while informing the Referee of her progress. Later Chikako commented that it was nerve wracking experience, but she was grateful to have been allowed to compete there. She was particularly grateful to Japan Railways Conductor who gave permission for her to warm up by running up and down the length of the bullet train that she was travelling in.
Perhaps that experience helped her to get through to Nationals, this time. Good luck to all seven qualifiers at Nationals!

 

[Tak]

East Japan Junior Women concluded. Ranking, SP, FP Ordinals, SP, FP Score, FP TES, FP PCS FP Deductions are as follows;
1. Ami Nakai 2,1 185.86 63.59 122.27 70.54 52.73 -1.0 (3A +1.60, 3Lz+3T, 3Lo+2A SEQ, 2A, 3F+Eu+3S<F, 3Lo, 3Lz)
2. Yurina Okuno 3,2 173.66 63.02 110.64 55.03 56.61 -1.0
3. Yo Takagi 4,4 168.71 60.29 108.42 58.02 51.40 No Deduction
4. Mone Chiba 1,5 167.43 66.37 101.06 50.72 52.34 -2.0 (3Lz+3T<, 2A, 3S<<F, 3Fq, 3Lo<<F, 3F+2A SEQ, 3Lz!q+2T+2Lo)
5. Noa Hozumi 6,3 161.45 52.88 108.59 57.19 51.40 -1.0
Congratulations to Ami Nakai for winning this competition. According to protocol, clean 3A was landed.
It was totally unexpected that Mone would have such a subpar FP. Two Downgraded Falls are so uncharacteristic of her.
Since Mone, Mana and Rino are in the same age group, I hope that all three would be able to recover from strangely simultaneous slump.