On November 5 and 6, figure skating club member SUGIYAMA Takumi (first year, Global Discovery Program) at the 47th West Japan Figure Skating Championships held at Acción Fukuoka (Fukuoka City). As a result of placing fourth place in the men’s singles division, he was selected to compete at the 90th All Japan Figure Skating Championships in December.

In order to qualify for the West Japan Championships, athletes had to place first in their respective district regional competitions and a total of twelve skaters competed at the West Japan Championships, with participants ranked according to their combined scores from the short program, which took place on November 5, and the free program, which took place on November 6. Mr. Sugiyama came fifth in the short program but managed to increase his overall score based on his performance in the free program the next day, ultimately ranking fourth overall and qualifying for the All Japan Championships.

Mr. SUGIYAMA started skating at the age of 11 and has previously taken part in national competitions in the junior division. Earlier this year, he represented Okayama prefecture at the National Sports Festival Winter Games in Nagoya City in January before taking part in the Chu-Shikoku-Kyushu Championships in September, where he came in first place in the senior men’s division.

Commenting on his results at the West Japan Championships, Mr. SUGIYAMA said, “I will be able to compete in the All Japan Championships for the second year in a row. Over the next month, I will work hard to overcome the difficulties that I faced at the West Japan Championships so that I can be in top form when I compete at the All Japan Championships. I would like to thank everyone in advance for their support.”

The 90th All Japan Figure Skating Championships will be held at Saitama Super Arena (Saitama City) from December 22 to 26.