photo: Daisuke Shibata
text: Itaru Fujinuma
The other day, the general meeting of the PSA Freestyle Club will be held at the Kandatsu Kogen Ski Resort.
I attended
The next day, I supported the tournament.
I took a movie of the winners, so I will paste it.
Kandatsu Big Air XNUMX
https://youtu.be/lw3fwIELwpU
3rd place Kouri Yoshizawa
YONEX / Marasaki Sports / Gallium / Krypton
2nd place Mao Aizawa
YONEX / A-BONY
1st place Kokomo Murase
Murasaki Sports Aeon Kakamigahara / Toyama Kings / Nexus Junior Athletes
6th place Daisho Ogiwara
BURTON / OAKLEY / GALLIUM / Armor Warrior / Tuneup Kobo MK / Flyhill Tsukubamirai Jump Ski Resort / Murasaki Sports Kanda Ogawamachi
5th place Ryo Aizawa
YONEX / A-BONY / CALLA
4th place Ken Otsuka
BURTON / Analog / anon / Murasaki Sports Kanda Ogawamachi / Saitama QUEST / Snova Mizonokuchi R246 / Tuneup Kobo MK
3rd place Yuu Ito
QUIKSILVER / ICAN
2nd place Sota Umehara
NOVEMBER / flux / ashram / sandbox / fruitwax / VERITA BOARD SHOP / sandbox / X-JAM Takai Fuji / Tanimachi Optical Shop
1st place Ruki Tobita
Volcom / Electric / Gallium / Dakine / F Junk / Skullcandy / Ishiuchi Maruyama Oyado Inoya / ARK
"interesting!"
Anyone who watched this tournament at the venue would have thought honestly.
It is no exaggeration to say that the whole of Japan is paying attention to winter sports, partly due to the effect of the Pyeongchang Olympics that just closed the other day. Was gathered and held the PSA Pro Tour, Round XNUMX "KANDATSU BIG AIR".
The Japanese snowboarding world has been improving the level of athletes at a tremendous pace in recent years, probably because of the increase in jump practice facilities with air mat landings scattered all over the country, but this tournament also continued to improve their skills throughout the year. A perfect-shaped XNUMX-meter jumping platform was built so that players could fully demonstrate their skills.
Among the participating players, there were many world-class riders representing Japan, and I was excited by the expectation even before the event.
In the competition, two qualifying rounds were skipped, and for the girls, two players with high scores from each heat divided into two and one with a high overall score from the whole, a total of five players proceeded to the final.
It was a rule that a total of XNUMX men, XNUMX from each heat and XNUMX from the whole, could pass the qualifying.
A total of XNUMX finalists, both male and female, won a tremendous high-level qualifying round and advanced to the final.
Various tricks such as XNUMX, XNUMX, XNUMX, XNUMX for girls and XNUMX, XNUMX, XNUMX, XNUMX, XNUMX for boys popped out.
Whether the girls will land the big backside XNUMX accurately and advance to the final, and the boys will be big without disturbing the backside double cork XNUMX, and will the grab be decided firmly and pass the qualifying?It became a transcendental high level battle.
In the final, each player jumps three times, competes for the total of the best scores of two different tricks, and this different trick has to change the direction of rotation, which is an irregular rule adopted in international competitions in recent years. It was a tough final round in which we had to fully understand this rule and put out our individual abilities.
In other words, even if one good jump is decided, it will not be possible to raise the ranking without deciding another trick that reverses the jump and the direction of rotation, so many players are the first one or By the second run, I decided to decide on a trick I was good at and challenge another trick with a different direction of rotation.
I would like to introduce the jumps of all the players, but here I will touch on the jumps of the winners and the jumps that made the venue very exciting.
Women's 3rd place Mitsuri Yoshizawa (YONEX / Marasaki Sports / Gallium / Krypton) scored a high score from the first run of the final by deciding a big big backside XNUMX in the first run, but the second run and the third run and the front. I couldn't decide the trick of rotation and couldn't improve the score.However, the spin, which is comparable to that of a male player who uses his body extensively in the air to control the spin, was truly a dignified air like a rookie of the year award-winning player.
Among the female finalists, Mao Aizawa (YONEX / A-BONY), who did not make one of the three mistakes, came in second, with backside 1, frontside XNUMX, and backside XNUMX.Aizawa steadily scored up to the second run, and at the last air, he stomped on the super-large backside XNUMX, which was more complete than the backside XNUMX released on the first run, and surprised the audience.
It is no exaggeration to say that the female player who was the most prominent in this tournament was Kokomo Murase (Murasaki Sports Aeon Kakamigahara / Toyama Kings / Nexus Junior Athletes).
Murase decided the backside XNUMX for the first run, but made a mistake when landing the front XNUMX for the second run.However, in the third run, he made a perfect long grab with a huge front side XNUMX tail and won the victory without complaint.
Murase is showing great performance to make backside XNUMX and backside double cork XNUMX from the first public practice on this day, and he said in an interview after the tournament that he wanted to try XNUMX, and even if he won the championship, it is still a little. He showed a look that looked regrettable.
It was a spectacular slide that made me feel that I would definitely become a player who will cross the world in the future.
For boys, Daisho Ogiwara (BURTON / OAKLEY / GALLIUM / Armor Warrior / Tuneup Kobo MK / Flyhill Tsukubamirai Jump Ski Resort / Murasaki Sports Kanda Ogawamachi), an amazing elementary school student who decided the backside double cork XNUMX in the second final XNUMXth place.
Ryo Aizawa, who decided the switchback side double cork XNUMX in the first run without complaint and continued to challenge the second run, the third run and the triple cork XNUMX, came in XNUMXth place.
Otsuka couldn't decide even though he made a clean make of the cab double 246, which was the highest score in the trick released in the final round, and then aimed at the front double cork XNUMX and the switch back side double cork XNUMX. Ken (BURTON / Analog / anon / Murasaki Sports Kanda Ogawamachi / Saitama QUEST / Snova Mizonokuchi RXNUMX / Tuneup Kobo MK) finished in XNUMXth place.
In the men's XNUMXrd place was QUIKSILVER / ICAN, who made a clean make-up of the backside double cork XNUMX in the second run and made a big and firm double back flip in the third run.
Ito firmly confirmed that the double backflip, which is a pure inverted spin without lateral rotation, which other players have not done, will be a regular left rotation that he had not yet fully increased the score at the end of the second run. I grasped that and chose the third one.
I decided to climb the podium by showing off the goodness of the game and the assembly of wonderful tricks that made me feel smart.
Sota Umehara (NOVEMBER / flux / ashram / sandbox / fruitwax / VERITA BOARDSHOP / sandbox / X-JAM Takai Fuji / Tanimachi Optical Shop) who decided the switchback side XNUMX and cab XNUMX cleanly in XNUMXnd place for boys I felt the charm of turning the same trick into a technique full of originality, such as putting a grab that is smooth and sometimes not often done by other players during rotation.It wouldn't be strange to call it Mr. Smooth in the Japanese snowboarding world.
And it was Ruki Tobita (Volcom / Electric / Gallium / Dakain / F Junk / Skull Candy / Ishiuchi Maruyama Oyado) who won such a fierce and transcendental battle. Noya / ARK).
The two airs adopted by Tobita in the final are switch backside double cork XNUMX and backside double cork XNUMX, both of which are extremely difficult tricks, and these techniques are higher and more intense than anyone else, and the moment of landing. We decided on the degree of perfection that caused a scream, and achieved the undisputed third consecutive victory of Kandatsu.After the award ceremony, Tobita said, "I like jumping, but I also like the slopestyle with my favorite jib, so I'd like to do my best in the Nekoma Pro game."
I think there were a lot of people at the venue who felt the aura of the heroes and heroines in the anime from the winners, Murase & Tobita, who answered my questions.
A Pro Tour where you can watch such high-level battles up close.I would like you to come to the venue and support the players.
The next freestyle event will be held on March XNUMXrd at the Nekoma Slopestyle Session.
Cheer Thank you.
3rd place Kouri Yoshizawa
YONEX / Marasaki Sports / Gallium / Krypton
2nd place Mao Aizawa
YONEX / A-BONY
1st place Kokomo Murase
Murasaki Sports Aeon Kakamigahara / Toyama Kings / Nexus Junior Athletes
6th place Daisho Ogiwara
BURTON / OAKLEY / GALLIUM / Armor Warrior / Tuneup Kobo MK / Flyhill Tsukubamirai Jump Ski Resort / Murasaki Sports Kanda Ogawamachi
5th place Ryo Aizawa
YONEX / A-BONY / CALLA
4th place Ken Otsuka
BURTON / Analog / anon / Murasaki Sports Kanda Ogawamachi / Saitama QUEST / Snova Mizonokuchi R246 / Tuneup Kobo MK
3rd place Yuu Ito
QUIKSILVER / ICAN
2nd place Sota Umehara
NOVEMBER / flux / ashram / sandbox / fruitwax / VERITA BOARD SHOP / sandbox / X-JAM Takai Fuji / Tanimachi Optical Shop
1st place Ruki Tobita
Volcom / Electric / Gallium / Dakine / F Junk / Skullcandy / Ishiuchi Maruyama Oyado Inoya / ARK
