On July 13-14, the Okayama University yacht club competed in the "2024 Chugoku-Shikoku Student Yacht Championships," held at Niihama Marina in Ehime Prefecture. As a result, the 470 class team of FUJIMOTO Haruki (4th year, Faculty of Law) and MITAMURA Kohki (3rd year, School of Engineering), and the Snipe class teams of IWAGUCHI Atsushi (4th year, School of Science) and KIYOTO Sora (3rd year, School of Engineering), as well as YAMASHITA Kio (3rd year, School of Engineering) and IHA Haruka (3rd year, Faculty of Law) have qualified for the 2024 All Japan Intercollegiate Yacht Individual Championship.

The event saw participation from 21 boats in the 470 class from six universities and 15 boats in the Snipe class from six universities. In the 470 class, the pair of Mr. Fujimoto and Mr. Mitamura secured 5th place (4th among students). In the Snipe class, the pair of Mr. Iwaguchi and Mr. Kiyoto achieved 3rd place (2nd among students), while the pair of Mr. Yamashita and Mr. Iha earned 5th place (4th among students).

Reflecting on the results, team captain Mr. Fujimoto remarked, “This tournament featured rainy and light wind conditions, which made it difficult for us to perform as we had hoped, and there were frustrating moments. However, I am very happy that we secured three spots for the national championships. I believe this result is thanks to the support of our alumni and supporters. We will strive to perform well at the national championships, carrying the hopes of our teammates who could not participate. Additionally, there will be a qualifier for the national team event at the end of August. We will value what we have learned from this tournament and work hard in our remaining practice sessions to ensure we can compete in both the 470 and Snipe classes at the national championships.”

We look forward to the continued success of Okayama University yacht club!