One of the toughest Nationals in the world
YES THAT'S RIGHT. JAPANESE NATIONALS WILL HAPPEN THIS WEEKEND. ARE YOU PREPARED TO BE A NERVOUS WRECK? >_<
Japan Figure Skating Championships 2010
Dec. 23*-26, 2010 - Big-Hat (Nagano City) *Competitions will start from 24th.
Results Page English, Japanese | Schedule (PDF) or see below
ALL JAPAN MEDALIST on ICE 2010 ~Japan Nationals exhibition gala~
Dec. 27 (Mon) 17:00-20:00
Official HP(Japanese)
Casts: Junior/Senior Singles top 3 skaters, Pairs champions, Ice Dance J/S champions(Or skaters from Worlds/4CC/Junior Worlds team, JSF's nominees)
Guests: Stephane Lambiel, Evgeni Plushenko
SCHEDULE (JST)
DEC. 23 THU
OPENING CEREMONY 19:00~20:00
DEC. 24 FRI
PAIRS SP 16:00~ (Moscow 10:00/London 07:00/New York 02:00)
MEN'S SP 16:20~20:30
DEC. 25 SAT
ICE DANCE SD 13:00~ (Moscow 07:00/London 04:00/New York Fri 23:00)
PAIRS FS 13:20~13:35
LADIES SP 13:50~18:10
MEN'S FS 18:25~22:20
PAIRS/MEN MEDAL CEREMONY 22:25~22:45
DEC. 26 SUN
ICE DANCE FD 15:00~15:20 (Moscow 09:00/London 06:00/New York 01:00)
LADIES FS 15:35~19:30
DANCE/LADIES MEDAL CEREMONY 19:40~20:00
WORLDS/4CC/JWORLDS TEAM MEMBERS ANNOUNCEMENT 21:00~
ENTRIES/SP STARTING ORDER
BROADCASTS / STREAMS
THERE WILL BE NO LIVE BROADCAST/STREAM. WHAT A SHAME *sob sob*
FUJI TV will have recorded broadcasts on TV later in the day. You can watch the stream using Key Hole TV. :)
Download and install the "Viewer Software" onto your PC. Please refer to this site for farther informations.
Once you finish the install and run the Key Hole TV, double click and select 'フジテレビ (FUJI TV)' from the channel listings.
PROGRAM SCHEDULE>>
OPENING SPECIAL/MEN'S SP : DEC. 24 (FRI) 19:00-20:54 JST (Moscow 13:00~/London 10:00~/New York 05:00~)
LADIES SP : DEC. 25 (SAT) 19:00-21:09 JST (Moscow 13:00~/London 10:00~/New York 05:00~)
MEN'S FS : DEC. 25 (SAT) 23:25-24:45 JST (Moscow 17:25~/London 14:25~/New York 09:25~)
LADIES FS/PAIRS/ICE DANCE : DEC. 26 (SUN) 19:00-21:54 JST (Moscow 13:00~/London 10:00~/New York 05:00~)
EX (MEDALIST ON ICE) : DEC. 27 (MON) 19:00-20:54 JST (Moscow 13:00~/London 10:00~/New York 05:00~)
FUJI TV HP(Japanese)
INSTA-PREVIEW
MEN'S SINGLES
In the men's field, it seems to be highly likely that our GP Finalists Takahashi, Oda and Kozuka will make it to the podium and the Worlds team again this year. :)
That enormous trophy's whereabouts likely depends on Daisuke's condition. If he managed to land his jumps properly and gave decent performances, the judges would happily give him an astronomical amount of points for his five components.
For the second National title, Nobu must bring that flawless 4-3 combo again in his SP and be a fabulousest, coolest Ninja. It would be good if he got a 5 points lead over Dai there.
Taka's gonna have to give a FS performance as great as TEB's to fill point gaps in SP. It's gonna be tough, but it's been long enough for him to be satisfied with the third man place in Japan, right? :)
As contenders for the top 6, you can't miss Takahito Mura, Tatsuki Machida and Daisuke Murakami as well as the reigning junior world champion Yuzuru Hanyu.
Takahito Mura (born February 11, 1991 in Tokyo) is the 2009 Japanese bronze medalist. Last season he spent the hard time due to hip injury.
This year he finished 6th at NHK Trophy with the disappointing performance other than the successful quads. Even so, he still has the potential to be the forth-place and make 4CC team with his strong, beautiful programs containing quadruple jumps.
SP: La Califfa/Canone Inverso choreographed by Isao Matsuura
FS: Slow Dancing in the Big City soundtrack choreographed by Kenji Miyamoto
Yuzuru seems to be struggling with the 30sec. difference in FS for his first senior year. While his programs have the technical contents no less difficult than any other top skaters, his stamina is gonna be problem as NHK and CoR.
SP: White Legend from Swan Lake choreographed by Nanami Abe
FS: Zigeunerweisen choreographed by Nanami Abe
Tatsuki Machida (born March 9, 1990 in Kanagawa) is the 2010 Four Continents silver medalist and 2007 Japanese Junior national champion. He also finished 4th place at last year's Nationals.
After he had a brilliant start with the victory at Nebelhorn Trophy this year, he finished 5th at CoC and 11th at CoR. That disappointing result at the CoR made Tatsuki change his circumstances. He moved his training rink from Kansai uni. to his home town Hiroshima. We'll see if he could bring back his fabulous self and defend his 4th place against other youngstas this weekend.
SP: Dark Eyes choreographed by Kenji Miyamoto
FS: Legends of the Fall choreographed by Nanami Abe
Daisuke Murakami (born January 15, 1991, in Kanagawa) previously represented the United States till 2006/07 season. He is the 2009 Japanese Junior bronze medalist and the 2006 U.S. Junior pewter medalist.
His brilliant performances and surprising 5th finish at SKAM are still fresh in our mind! If he could shine once more this weekend, he'll surely be a strong contender for the top 6.
SP: Toccata and Fugue
FS: Lawrence of Arabia
You should also check Yasuharu Nanri, who announced this year is gonna be his last season, and Kento Nakamura who is the new junior national champion. I don't know they will make it to the broadcast tho.
Yasuharu Nanri (born October 6, 1985 in Fukuoka) is the 2007 & 2008 Japanese national bronze medalist.
SP: Introduction et Rondo Capriccioso choreographed by Kenji Miyamoto
FS: Carmen choreographed by Pasquale Camerlengo
In conclusion, let's have this fabulous fan video for Team Japan boys on Nico Nico douga!
OK, it's not ~insta~ preview at all hahaha. Only for the Men I'm pretty tired already D:D:
LADIES SINGLES
Ladies' field is gonna be a tougher competition for the podium and Tokyo Worlds between GP Finalists Miki Ando, Akiko Suzuki, Kanako Murakami and the reigning world/national champion Mao Asada.
In her recent interview Mao sounds like she is still not completely sure about her jumps. While having faith in her strength at big moments, we have to say whether she can defend her fifth title or not will depend on her jump conditions.
You can do it Mao! I'll be there cheering for you BB :')
On the other hand Miki has performed relatively solid FSs and got pretty good scores so far. If she could bring a clean SP with a 3tz-3lo combo as well, the second title would come within range!
Akiko's both programs are as pretty awesome as last year. They suit her really well and can bring out the best in her. Hope she will captivate the audience with clean performances and get high component scores which she deserves for the podium. :)
Kanako is a rising star who made a successful debut as a senior with two GP medals and the GPF bronze medal. She's been improving so much in each competition! Her triple-triples are pretty consistent recently, she'll surely be a strong competitor for the podium.
Haruka Imai would be expected to follow those big four. By contrast, it may be difficult for Fumie Suguri to get to the top 6, she might even fail the top 8.
Haruka Imai (born August 31, 1993 in Tokyo) is the 2008 Japanese Junior national champion. She was 5th place at the Nats last year. She went in for the 2010 4CC and came in 6th place.
As Kanako, Haruka made a senior GPS debut this year. She finished 5th at SC and 6th at TEB. Her 3Lo-3T combo would give her a good amount of points and might surprise the big four if she could execute it beautifully Like TEB!
SP: Gypsy Dance from "Don Quixote"
FS: Polovetsian Dances
Fumie Suguri (born December 31, 1980 in Chiba) is a five-time Japanese National Champion, a three-time World Championship medalist. The veteran has spent the difficult season so far, she finished 9th at SC and 8th at TEB.
While the SP program is her best department(Classic music + Lori Nichol), she doesn't seem to be fit to complete her FS program. Her stamina will be the key for the good place.
SP: Adagio choreographed by Lori Nichol
FS: Song of Scheherazade & Bagoa's Dance choreographed by Vakhtang Murvanidze
From the Junior Nationals, top 8 finishers will attend the senior competition.
This year's junior national champion Risa Shoji (born July 5, 1996 in Tokyo) is def a new heroine in Japan who made it to the JGPF in the first year as a junior. She already has the maturity and grace in her skating at such a young age. I love her free program! So much beauty<3
SP: Libertango choreographed by Kenji Miyamoto
FS: The Lake House/The Cider House Rules choreographed by Naoki Shigematsu
And I'd be happy to see other kids like Miyabi Oba, Kako Tomotaki have a good time this weekend!
Also Nana Takeda, the 2007 NHK trophy bronze medalist aka @nanapeeeee, will come back to the rink! :D:D:D:D
I've missed Nana. Wanna see her big smile again! :')
PAIRS / ICE DANCE
As you know, Japan only has ONE PAIRS TEAM and TWO DANCE TEAMS in seniors. Which means they are going to be national champions/silver medalists as long as they are competing. X)
Narumi Takahashi and Mervin Tran
They are the 2008-2009 Japanese national champions, 2010 Junior world silver medalists and 2010 JGPF champions. This year they have won two senior Grand Prix medals at NHK and CoR.
They have pretty much improved the past two years! I'm looking forward to see what they will do at the Tokyo worlds. :D
SP: Feeling Good
FS: El Dia Que Me Quieras
Cathy Reed and Chris Reed
They are the 2007-2009 Japanese national champions. Last season they competed for Japan at the Vancouver Olys and finished 17th, were 15th at the worlds.
They have been struggling with injuries and technical issues of their programs this season. They parted from Morozov and moved back to the US for training with their new coach after Skam. Also they had to remake their FD and will make it's premiere in Nagano.
SP: A Party For Me? (from Addams Family soundtrack)
I can hardly believe it's already a year since I wore out my nerves for Mao's well being and wept for Yukari's despair in the corner. D:
For a finale:
this fan video is dedicated to Team Japan and featuring the 2009 Japanese Nationals. It's my most favorite FS video in the world and get me misty-eyed whenever I watch it :')
I'm crossing my fingers for all skaters! Hope they'll do their best. :D:D:D
ETA: originallove translated skaters' comments after today's practice in the comments. We are updating the news, please check out!
EDIT2: We have the SP starting orders now! I switched the entries to the order lists.
Japan Figure Skating Championships 2010
Dec. 23*-26, 2010 - Big-Hat (Nagano City) *Competitions will start from 24th.
Results Page English, Japanese | Schedule (PDF) or see below
ALL JAPAN MEDALIST on ICE 2010 ~Japan Nationals exhibition gala~
Dec. 27 (Mon) 17:00-20:00
Official HP(Japanese)
Casts: Junior/Senior Singles top 3 skaters, Pairs champions, Ice Dance J/S champions(Or skaters from Worlds/4CC/Junior Worlds team, JSF's nominees)
Guests: Stephane Lambiel, Evgeni Plushenko
SCHEDULE (JST)
DEC. 23 THU
OPENING CEREMONY 19:00~20:00
DEC. 24 FRI
PAIRS SP 16:00~ (Moscow 10:00/London 07:00/New York 02:00)
MEN'S SP 16:20~20:30
DEC. 25 SAT
ICE DANCE SD 13:00~ (Moscow 07:00/London 04:00/New York Fri 23:00)
PAIRS FS 13:20~13:35
LADIES SP 13:50~18:10
MEN'S FS 18:25~22:20
PAIRS/MEN MEDAL CEREMONY 22:25~22:45
DEC. 26 SUN
ICE DANCE FD 15:00~15:20 (Moscow 09:00/London 06:00/New York 01:00)
LADIES FS 15:35~19:30
DANCE/LADIES MEDAL CEREMONY 19:40~20:00
WORLDS/4CC/JWORLDS TEAM MEMBERS ANNOUNCEMENT 21:00~
ENTRIES/SP STARTING ORDER
BROADCASTS / STREAMS
THERE WILL BE NO LIVE BROADCAST/STREAM. WHAT A SHAME *sob sob*
FUJI TV will have recorded broadcasts on TV later in the day. You can watch the stream using Key Hole TV. :)
Download and install the "Viewer Software" onto your PC. Please refer to this site for farther informations.
Once you finish the install and run the Key Hole TV, double click and select 'フジテレビ (FUJI TV)' from the channel listings.
PROGRAM SCHEDULE>>
OPENING SPECIAL/MEN'S SP : DEC. 24 (FRI) 19:00-20:54 JST (Moscow 13:00~/London 10:00~/New York 05:00~)
LADIES SP : DEC. 25 (SAT) 19:00-21:09 JST (Moscow 13:00~/London 10:00~/New York 05:00~)
MEN'S FS : DEC. 25 (SAT) 23:25-24:45 JST (Moscow 17:25~/London 14:25~/New York 09:25~)
LADIES FS/PAIRS/ICE DANCE : DEC. 26 (SUN) 19:00-21:54 JST (Moscow 13:00~/London 10:00~/New York 05:00~)
EX (MEDALIST ON ICE) : DEC. 27 (MON) 19:00-20:54 JST (Moscow 13:00~/London 10:00~/New York 05:00~)
FUJI TV HP(Japanese)
INSTA-PREVIEW
MEN'S SINGLES
In the men's field, it seems to be highly likely that our GP Finalists Takahashi, Oda and Kozuka will make it to the podium and the Worlds team again this year. :)
That enormous trophy's whereabouts likely depends on Daisuke's condition. If he managed to land his jumps properly and gave decent performances, the judges would happily give him an astronomical amount of points for his five components.
For the second National title, Nobu must bring that flawless 4-3 combo again in his SP and be a fabulousest, coolest Ninja. It would be good if he got a 5 points lead over Dai there.
Taka's gonna have to give a FS performance as great as TEB's to fill point gaps in SP. It's gonna be tough, but it's been long enough for him to be satisfied with the third man place in Japan, right? :)
As contenders for the top 6, you can't miss Takahito Mura, Tatsuki Machida and Daisuke Murakami as well as the reigning junior world champion Yuzuru Hanyu.
Takahito Mura (born February 11, 1991 in Tokyo) is the 2009 Japanese bronze medalist. Last season he spent the hard time due to hip injury.
This year he finished 6th at NHK Trophy with the disappointing performance other than the successful quads. Even so, he still has the potential to be the forth-place and make 4CC team with his strong, beautiful programs containing quadruple jumps.
SP: La Califfa/Canone Inverso choreographed by Isao Matsuura
FS: Slow Dancing in the Big City soundtrack choreographed by Kenji Miyamoto
Yuzuru seems to be struggling with the 30sec. difference in FS for his first senior year. While his programs have the technical contents no less difficult than any other top skaters, his stamina is gonna be problem as NHK and CoR.
SP: White Legend from Swan Lake choreographed by Nanami Abe
FS: Zigeunerweisen choreographed by Nanami Abe
Tatsuki Machida (born March 9, 1990 in Kanagawa) is the 2010 Four Continents silver medalist and 2007 Japanese Junior national champion. He also finished 4th place at last year's Nationals.
After he had a brilliant start with the victory at Nebelhorn Trophy this year, he finished 5th at CoC and 11th at CoR. That disappointing result at the CoR made Tatsuki change his circumstances. He moved his training rink from Kansai uni. to his home town Hiroshima. We'll see if he could bring back his fabulous self and defend his 4th place against other youngstas this weekend.
SP: Dark Eyes choreographed by Kenji Miyamoto
FS: Legends of the Fall choreographed by Nanami Abe
Daisuke Murakami (born January 15, 1991, in Kanagawa) previously represented the United States till 2006/07 season. He is the 2009 Japanese Junior bronze medalist and the 2006 U.S. Junior pewter medalist.
His brilliant performances and surprising 5th finish at SKAM are still fresh in our mind! If he could shine once more this weekend, he'll surely be a strong contender for the top 6.
SP: Toccata and Fugue
FS: Lawrence of Arabia
You should also check Yasuharu Nanri, who announced this year is gonna be his last season, and Kento Nakamura who is the new junior national champion. I don't know they will make it to the broadcast tho.
Yasuharu Nanri (born October 6, 1985 in Fukuoka) is the 2007 & 2008 Japanese national bronze medalist.
SP: Introduction et Rondo Capriccioso choreographed by Kenji Miyamoto
FS: Carmen choreographed by Pasquale Camerlengo
In conclusion, let's have this fabulous fan video for Team Japan boys on Nico Nico douga!
OK, it's not ~insta~ preview at all hahaha. Only for the Men I'm pretty tired already D:D:
LADIES SINGLES
Ladies' field is gonna be a tougher competition for the podium and Tokyo Worlds between GP Finalists Miki Ando, Akiko Suzuki, Kanako Murakami and the reigning world/national champion Mao Asada.
In her recent interview Mao sounds like she is still not completely sure about her jumps. While having faith in her strength at big moments, we have to say whether she can defend her fifth title or not will depend on her jump conditions.
You can do it Mao! I'll be there cheering for you BB :')
On the other hand Miki has performed relatively solid FSs and got pretty good scores so far. If she could bring a clean SP with a 3tz-3lo combo as well, the second title would come within range!
Akiko's both programs are as pretty awesome as last year. They suit her really well and can bring out the best in her. Hope she will captivate the audience with clean performances and get high component scores which she deserves for the podium. :)
Kanako is a rising star who made a successful debut as a senior with two GP medals and the GPF bronze medal. She's been improving so much in each competition! Her triple-triples are pretty consistent recently, she'll surely be a strong competitor for the podium.
Haruka Imai would be expected to follow those big four. By contrast, it may be difficult for Fumie Suguri to get to the top 6, she might even fail the top 8.
Haruka Imai (born August 31, 1993 in Tokyo) is the 2008 Japanese Junior national champion. She was 5th place at the Nats last year. She went in for the 2010 4CC and came in 6th place.
As Kanako, Haruka made a senior GPS debut this year. She finished 5th at SC and 6th at TEB. Her 3Lo-3T combo would give her a good amount of points and might surprise the big four if she could execute it beautifully Like TEB!
SP: Gypsy Dance from "Don Quixote"
FS: Polovetsian Dances
Fumie Suguri (born December 31, 1980 in Chiba) is a five-time Japanese National Champion, a three-time World Championship medalist. The veteran has spent the difficult season so far, she finished 9th at SC and 8th at TEB.
While the SP program is her best department(Classic music + Lori Nichol), she doesn't seem to be fit to complete her FS program. Her stamina will be the key for the good place.
SP: Adagio choreographed by Lori Nichol
FS: Song of Scheherazade & Bagoa's Dance choreographed by Vakhtang Murvanidze
From the Junior Nationals, top 8 finishers will attend the senior competition.
This year's junior national champion Risa Shoji (born July 5, 1996 in Tokyo) is def a new heroine in Japan who made it to the JGPF in the first year as a junior. She already has the maturity and grace in her skating at such a young age. I love her free program! So much beauty<3
SP: Libertango choreographed by Kenji Miyamoto
FS: The Lake House/The Cider House Rules choreographed by Naoki Shigematsu
And I'd be happy to see other kids like Miyabi Oba, Kako Tomotaki have a good time this weekend!
Also Nana Takeda, the 2007 NHK trophy bronze medalist aka @nanapeeeee, will come back to the rink! :D:D:D:D
I've missed Nana. Wanna see her big smile again! :')
PAIRS / ICE DANCE
As you know, Japan only has ONE PAIRS TEAM and TWO DANCE TEAMS in seniors. Which means they are going to be national champions/silver medalists as long as they are competing. X)
Narumi Takahashi and Mervin Tran
They are the 2008-2009 Japanese national champions, 2010 Junior world silver medalists and 2010 JGPF champions. This year they have won two senior Grand Prix medals at NHK and CoR.
They have pretty much improved the past two years! I'm looking forward to see what they will do at the Tokyo worlds. :D
SP: Feeling Good
FS: El Dia Que Me Quieras
Cathy Reed and Chris Reed
They are the 2007-2009 Japanese national champions. Last season they competed for Japan at the Vancouver Olys and finished 17th, were 15th at the worlds.
They have been struggling with injuries and technical issues of their programs this season. They parted from Morozov and moved back to the US for training with their new coach after Skam. Also they had to remake their FD and will make it's premiere in Nagano.
SP: A Party For Me? (from Addams Family soundtrack)
I can hardly believe it's already a year since I wore out my nerves for Mao's well being and wept for Yukari's despair in the corner. D:
For a finale:
Click to viewthis fan video is dedicated to Team Japan and featuring the 2009 Japanese Nationals. It's my most favorite FS video in the world and get me misty-eyed whenever I watch it :')
I'm crossing my fingers for all skaters! Hope they'll do their best. :D:D:D
ETA: originallove translated skaters' comments after today's practice in the comments. We are updating the news, please check out!
EDIT2: We have the SP starting orders now! I switched the entries to the order lists.