Okayama University's women's ice hockey club participated in the 12th Japan Women's College Ice Hockey Tournament, held from November 20 to 24 at the Accion Fukuoka, and proudly secured 3rd place!
In this tournament, participating teams were divided into four leagues, with the top team from each league advancing to the final tournament. For the first time, the team launched a crowdfunding campaign to raise funds for participation. After finishing 4th in the past four years since 2021, their goal for this year was to "regain 3rd place," and they dedicated themselves to their training. As a result, they defeated Ryukyu University 3-0 in the 3rd place playoff, a team they had lost to in the previous two years, and successfully achieved their goal. After the match, the players were seen sharing their joy on the rink together.
Captain NISHIJIMA Mina (3rd year, School of Economics) said, "I’m truly happy to have achieved our long-awaited 3rd place finish. This year, we had fewer practice opportunities than usual due to the long-term closure of our home rink, but with all of us coming together as a team, we were able to accomplish our goal. If we were able to honor the efforts of our alumni who have led the team so far, that would mean the most to me. We will continue working hard to achieve even better results next year."
Vice-captains TAKAKI Rion (3rd year, School of Education) and IZUMI Saki (3rd year, Faculty of Law) said, "There were many times things didn’t go as planned, and sometimes we were moved to tears during practice out of frustration. But despite that, we worked hard in our training, and we’re very happy to have achieved 3rd place. This year, we conducted a crowdfunding campaign and received support from many people. We are so grateful to all our supporters. We will continue to do our best to meet your expectations."
Having turned past frustrations into motivation, the women's ice hockey club achieved its goal as a united group and will continue to aim higher as they grow. We look forward to the continued success of the women's ice hockey team in the future.
The Women's Ice Hockey Club Wins 3rd Place at the Japan Women's College Ice Hockey Tournament!
December 20, 2024