The Oze Tokura Free Ski Open (2/27-28) has been held every year for the past few years.
There were many FIS-sanctioned competitions in the past, but now only Oze Tokura remains. This is the seventh year the event has been held and the number of participants was the largest ever. In a normal season, the players who go overseas for expeditions stayed in Japan this year, so it was an unprecedentedly hot battle. We received the latest report from Chiho Takao, a member of the executive committee and former Sochi Olympic slopestyle representative.
About Oze Tokura Free Ski Open
The Oze Tokura Freeski Open, which started in 2015, is a freeski and slopestyle competition that includes classes officially recognized by the International Ski Federation (FIS), which will be held for the 7th time this year. In recent years, due to the influence of the Olympic Games, the number of FIS-certified competitions has increased in China and South Korea, but in Japan, the number is still small, and only the Oze Tokura Free Ski Open is held continuously every year.
Participants are FIS classes for athletes aged 13 and over who are registered as FIS competitors. The SAJ class is for athletes who are registered with the All Japan Ski Association (SAJ), regardless of age. We are looking for men and women for each of the three junior classes, which have divisions for players under the age of 12 and under the age of 18. The FIS class and SAJ class will use a special slopestyle course, while the junior class will compete on a permanent slopestyle course.
Atmosphere of the tournament
It was sunny on the day of the official training held the day before the tournament. Due to the cold weather from a few days before the tournament, Burn was packed tightly, and perhaps because it was the first match of the season, the players looked a little nervous, but as they exchanged greetings with the other players, He seemed to be slowly relaxing.
By the time the temperature rose and the snow began to loosen a little, and the official training approached the second half, the number of athletes who challenged difficult tricks increased. There was a good atmosphere where the players applauded and cheered not only for the players who successfully completed difficult runs, but also for the players who bravely challenged difficult tricks even if they fell down. rice field.
Players leveling up
Regarding the FIS/SAJ class, this year's competition was designed with fewer jib sections and smaller jumps than in previous years due to rapid snow melting due to the warm weather and rain that had continued for several weeks. However, even among them, the athletes showed off highly difficult combo tricks on the jib, various rotation axes such as cork and misty on the jump, and highly difficult grab tricks.
Regarding the FIS men's class, many athletes performed cork 720, 900, switch 900, etc. due to the size of the jumping table.
Among them, the most eye-catching was the run that showed individuality with tricks and grabs. Combo tricks and double tricks on the jib, which few athletes do, ranked high. The winning player was the only one to succeed in a misty out, which no one has done in the jib, and in the jump, he made a big air and a unique and highly complete grab without using a double trick. While uniform tricks stood out, the tricks that showed originality were highly evaluated.
The FIS women's class had the largest number of participants this year. In the jib section, 450 out was the most difficult trick, and in the jumps, left and right, and spins in both directions were the basics. The winning player made switch 720 in both left and right directions with a high degree of perfection. This year's tournament was an eye-opener in terms of the improvement in the overall level of female athletes.
In the junior class, there were many players who were participating in the tournament for the first time. It was impressive that there were many players who actively entered the deformed jib item such as the donkey rail, which was thought to be difficult for junior class players. Some players are already using multiple rotation directions, such as left, right, and switch, and I feel the depth of the next generation of players. As for the women's races, they also ran with a strong awareness of grabs.
The most impressive thing in this tournament was the SAJ class players under the age of 13. Until last year, athletes who could barely make it through the course were still doing combinations with high-difficulty tricks on par with the top FIS class athletes with their small bodies. For example, from regular 900 to switch 900 in the opposite direction, switch 1080, etc., we are entering a high level that was unthinkable until a few years ago.
Although there were scenes where both men and women seemed to be struggling to adjust their speed, all the judges were surprised to see that they did not just perform tricks, but also performed grabs and aerial movements with a very high degree of perfection. rice field.
Judge's line of sight that marked the turning point of the game
This tournament was also the first match of the season for the judges. In order to grasp the level of the players, I carefully checked the skating of the players from the day before. Compared to previous years, the number of items is smaller and smaller, so I expected in advance that the runs would be similar among the players. For that reason, the judging criteria of height and perfection are important points, and whether you can draw a parabola that matches the jumping table and perform the trick, or whether you can ride the core with the jib until the end. Overall, I decided to take a closer look at not only the landing and butt mochi, but also the slippage of the board and the way the body is shaken.
In addition, another big point is the graduality (Progression). The key to raising the ranking was how well they stood out compared to other players, such as tricks and grabs.
The future of free skiing that Takao envisions
Due to the corona crisis this year, many top Japanese players who have competed overseas in the past year also participated in this tournament. For the young runners in the junior class, I think it was a valuable experience to be able to run on the same course as athletes who are competing on the front line of the world, such as the World Cup. I feel that increasing opportunities like this will lead to raising the level of the competition as a whole.
Looking at the world scene these days, I believe that individuality will become more important in the future.
It's not just everyone doing the same trick, but it's important to be able to bring out originality from there. For example, in this tournament, I will be the only one to do a 3D outmisty out in the jib section, and to do his grab tricks that are rare and not everyone can do. I hope that current competitors and kids aspiring to become competitors will continue to show their own individuality, such as unconventional, creative course lines, new and unusual grabs and movements.
Also, the sport of free skiing itself is getting younger, but free skiing is literally "free" skiing. There are endless ways to enjoy freeskiing, and in the future we would like to hold competitions and events that can be enjoyed by people of all ages and with various purposes.
Tournament Results -Results-
FIS Class Men's
1st place Gen Fujii
2nd Yasunari Yamamoto
3rd
Kankuro Ota 4th Ryuya Ito
5th Tateya Yamagishi
6th Torataro Azuma
FIS Class Female
1st
Kokone 2nd Koga Yuna
3rd Shiori Watanabe
4th Nana Sugawara
5th Hitomi Sato
6th Marehiro Sugawara
SAJ class girls
1st place Kanon Kondo
SAJ class boys
1st place Soten Yamada
2nd place Yosai Nishi
3rd place Yuito Kinoshita
Junior class U18 boys
1st place Makoto Kurihara
2nd place Tomoyu Koma
Junior class U12 boys
1st place Yuto Enomoto
2nd place Ryuta Shigama
3rd place Hiiragi Ito
Junior Class U12 Women
1st Place Anderson Usu Jesse
2nd Place Saito Yuhime
3rd Place Fujii Saya Cameron