At the Japan Collegiate Ice Sports Championships, held in Hokkaido on 7-8 January, Yoji Tsuboi (Matching Program Course, 3rd year) from our university’s Figure Skating Club achieved his first victory in the Men’s Figure Skating section, with a total score of 209.84. He then reported this success personally to President Kiyoshi Morita.

In the short program, held on the first day, Tsuboi led the field with a season best of 71.18 points. In the free program, held on the second day, he performed to Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake, carefully, precisely performing each movement, including a triple axel and a variety of steps. Based on the character of Rothbart, his masculine, powerful performance thrilled the crowd. With 138.66 points he also ranked first for the free program, sealing an impressive victory. Tsuboi commented “I put on a good performance, which I’ll carry into the next season. The next problem I have to address is neglecting overall expression for the sake of worrying about my jumps.”