Yui Sunohara talks about her encounter with the Technical Selection and "the one shot that changed her life"

Born and raised in Shiga Kogen, Sunohara Yui competed in alpine skiing around the world during her student days. She then switched to basic skiing and came out on top at the 2021 All Japan Ski Technical Championships. She then retired from competitive skiing after the 2023-2024 season. While her spectacular achievements in her skiing career are eye-catching, behind that glory lie many difficulties and turning points. We look back on the competitive career of skier Sunohara Yui and trace the true meaning of "the jump that changed her life."

Taking on the Technical Selection

"When people ask me about the one movie that changed my life, I think they're expecting a wonderful story... but honestly, in my case, I don't have anything like that."

As he spoke, Sunohara recalled an incident that occurred during his fourth year of university

At the time, he was competing as an alpine skier, but during a race in China at the beginning of the season, he fell during the front leg and injured his medial collateral ligament and ankle ligaments. For Sunohara, who had already secured a job as a teacher and had intended to retire from competitive skiing after his senior year of university, this injury was a complete surprise

"Because of my injury I can't take part in the FIS races, but they said I might be able to take part in the technical selection in March. Even before my injury I was asked at the University Federation's qualifying rounds, 'Why don't you try competing in the technical selection?' The qualifying rounds were held at Kumanoyu Ski Resort and I had a quick look, but at the time I just thought, 'Oh, they're doing something,' and wasn't that interested... But if I hadn't been injured in China I might not have made the switch to full-fledged technical selections."

The days of struggling with "shifting techniques"

During his university days, Haruhara focused mainly on racing, but he says he was initially confused when he switched to technical selection

"In a race, the fastest person wins, so it doesn't matter if you don't look great, as long as you're fast. But in the technical selection, you have to skate in a way that makes the people watching think, 'Wow, that's amazing,' or 'That's moving.' That was a big difference. To be honest, there were some parts of it that I didn't understand at the time."

He recalls that he particularly struggled with the "shifting technique" that was mainstream in the technical selections

"For racers, the concept of 'shifting' was unfamiliar, so I had a hard time figuring out how to shift my skis and the technique of turning my skis in a circle."

After that, he received instruction from many instructors, including Inomata Kazuyuki (former All-Japan Technical Championship champion), and worked hard to master his techniques

"I still don't feel like my skating is in line with my ideals. Even when I win, there are still so many things I need to pursue and accomplish, and I feel that skiing is a deep sport."

Sunohara says this, but her skating has an expressiveness backed by stability. Sunohara is tall for a female athlete, but one of her charms is her stable performance, which she achieves by making use of her reach and maintaining a consistent skating style in any event. "Sunohara Yui is synonymous with long turns," and her strength and beauty of skating born from stability are truly exemplary. Her beautiful skating has led to her being adopted as a skier for the SAJ ski course, which is considered a textbook for ski instructors nationwide

He also doesn't forget to offer advice to general skiers based on his own experience

"I think we all have our own style of skating, our own goals, so we need to keep pursuing that. Many people will watch our skating and they may say all sorts of things. But ultimately, what do you want to express and what kind of skating do you want to do? I think it's important to be clear about that. It's important not to be swayed by what other people say, and to always keep in line with what you want to do."

Dual role as a teacher and determination to become a professional

After graduating from university, he pursued a "two-sword" path, working as a high school physical education teacher while also competing in technical competitions

"I was able to stand on the podium for the first time in 2015, but I was still working at the time. I was really impressed that I was able to grow to the point where I could stand on the podium while still working."

Haruhara says that his colleagues warmly supported him as he devoted himself to skiing despite his busy schedule as a public high school teacher. He recalls that without their understanding, it would have been difficult to balance both his work and his studies, such as adjusting his classes and ensuring time off during competitions

"Weekends were the only time I had to practice, and sometimes those days were taken up by club activities. That's why I made each and every day so important and practiced with concentration. At the time, I had the feeling that I didn't want to lose to professional skiers. I was confident that even an office worker could do it."

After that, Sunohara was forced to make a big decision when he was transferred. He went from working with students to doing administrative work, and it was no longer an environment where he could devote himself to skiing. Despite opposition from those around him, Sunohara gave up his stable civil servant job to become a professional skier. Did he have any regrets?

"I never thought about whether I regretted it or not. It was the path I chose, so I just took action to make sure that the path I chose was the right one, and I was prepared to accept whatever the outcome. Even now that I've retired as a player, I don't feel any regret at all."

"I became afraid of facing the challenge of winning" - Retirement and a new challenge

Although Sunohara has achieved brilliant results and captivated many fans, the reason for her retirement was not a single event. As she mentioned in her Instagram post announcing her retirement, her own illness was one factor, but she revealed that a bigger factor was that "I had become afraid of facing the challenge of winning."

"Although I won, I couldn't win again the following year. That's when I was really disheartened, at myself for not being able to win again. At that point, I was already starting to think about retiring."

The change in the direction of the technical selection at the time also deepened Haruhara's conflict

"My technique and the way people viewed me gradually became out of sync, and I lost sight of the kind of skating I wanted to do. At the time, the technical selections tended to favor more powerful skating over technique, and I felt that this wasn't quite what I wanted to do. I hate to lose
, so I always want to be obsessed with winning. So I always thought that the time to retire would be when I could no longer do that. I decided to retire before I could no longer be obsessed with winning."

In order to continue pursuing his goal of winning until the very end of the 2023-24 season, he chose not to announce illness or retirement. Even at his final All-Japan Championships, he didn't tell anyone he was retiring, and instead gave his all to skiing at his current level. While he fell short of his goal, coming in third, this season marks the end of his 34-year skiing career, including 19 years in alpine skiing and 15 years in technical competitions

I was more nervous than the athletes as a judge at my first All Japan Championships

After announcing his retirement, the following season at the All Japan Technical Championships, Sunohara sat on the judges' panel, not as a competitor, but as a judge

"I was contacted in advance and asked, 'Would you be willing to cooperate as a judge?' I could have declined, but having been a competitor up until now, I was interested in what it was like for a judge to give scores. I wanted to experience being in that position and embrace the 15 years I'd spent doing it. Also, it's not like I want to be asked to do it while I can, but it's a good opportunity (laughs)."

Although he felt that it might be too early to judge, he took advantage of the fact that he had been active until recently and took on his first All Japan Championship since his retirement as a judge who could understand the feelings of the athletes

"I was definitely more nervous than when I was an athlete. The course I saw from the judges' seats was completely different from what I saw when I was an athlete... I think if I had skated more freely when I was active, the scores would have been different."

As a judge, he watched many skaters and was moved by the performances of each individual skater

"I'd like to give everyone 100 points. When I was a racer, I often looked down at the course, but it was a completely different feeling. I think there's something you can only see here. I don't know what it is, though, because I'm still inexperienced (laughs)."

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Looking back on the judging of this year's All Japan Technical Championships, he singled out female skater Akari Oba as one who made a particularly strong impression on him, praising her, saying, "Her long turn with Tiger was outstanding."

"I've admired her since her alpine skiing days. Even back then, she was exceptionally good at long turns. Her dynamic skating this time gave me goosebumps. Her speed and timing were perfect, and I think it really showed off all of Akari's strengths."

I was a player myself until recently, so I understand a lot of things

"Giving scores means you can't get too close to the athletes. But I also had to kill myself, and I thought I had to become a robot that could give scores. If the athlete's strengths were coming through, it was easy to give them a score, but when that wasn't the case, I would sometimes close my eyes and say, 'I'm sorry...' and give them a score. I really could understand how they felt when they made a mistake.
My first time judging the All Japan Championships was fun and I was very moved, but it was so painful that I nearly fell asleep."

Meeting people is a treasure in life

While working as a technical selection player, Sunohara also worked as an SAJ National Demonstrator (commonly known as N-Demo). Demonstrators are essentially instructors who work at SAJ-certified ski schools across the country. As a teacher's teacher, he holds training sessions and helps improve skiing techniques

"For me, being a demonstrator has given me the opportunity to meet all kinds of people. I originally lived in Nagano, so I never went to other areas, but as a demonstrator, I traveled around the country to attend training sessions. I deliberately requested to go to faraway places like Tottori and Hiroshima. Being an N-demonstrator gave me the opportunity to let others know about me, to go to places I wouldn't normally be able to go to, and I often used my position as an N-demonstrator to meet many people.
I believe that meeting people is a treasure in life, so the best thing was that being an N-demonstrator gave me that opportunity."

At the training sessions he was involved in as part of N Demo, he learned a lot from local block technicians and teachers, and he says it was these "real professionals" on the ground who helped him grow

"When I traveled around the country, I found that the local block technicians and specialist teachers had far more experience than me, and I learned a lot from training with them. It feels like they all helped create the Haruhara Yui I am today. I no longer feel like I've achieved this position on my own."

Sunohara also has two indispensable comrades in arms: Kuriyama Mirai (pictured left) and Aoki Miwa (pictured center).

Connecting to the future, future challenges

Sunohara says he wants to use the people he has met and the lessons he has learned over the course of his 34 years of competitive skiing to become a better person

"I believe that I am who I am today because I have met and learned from many people during my active career, so I feel that it would be a waste to cut off the experiences and connections I have made up to now. That is why I want to pass on these experiences to the next generation in a positive way, so I would like to become someone who can give to others, not only by teaching them technical selection as a coach, but also by nurturing players and coaches. I don't have anything specific in mind yet, but that is the kind of work I would like to do."

The path that Sunohara Yui has walked has not been smooth sailing. Rather, it has been a series of unexpected injuries and difficult choices. However, each time, she has looked forward and moved forward with determination. And now, armed with her own experiences, she is about to take the next step

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