Hello, this is Itaru Fujinuma, a professional snowboarder! Last year, I served as the MC for the Jib Style Battle held at Yoyogi Park's Tokyo Snow Festival from November 11th to 11th, along with my senior and legendary rider Kunifumi Tsutsuzaki! We have reported on the entire event in previous years, but this year we would like to announce another big piece of news along with the tournament results. The news is that SNOWBANK organizer Yoshimasa Arai, also known as Daze, was recently awarded an award on December 12th at the HEROs AWARD sponsored by the Nippon Foundation. In the second half of this article, we would like to share an interview with Mr. Dase!
Text: Itaru Fujinuma
All Photo: SNOWBANK Official
First of all, the first day of the event, where passionate legends are born by the general participants every year. On the music stage, big artists such as ``HUSKING BEE,'' ``G-FREAK FACTORY,'' and ``Kirihalebare'' will raise the voltage of the entire Yoyogi Park.
Under such circumstances, a jib style battle was held among the general participants in a special snow plaza. If you win, you can get the right to compete alongside the invited riders on the second day of the event (Sunday), so it's a gateway to success for young riders who are honing their skills every day and eagerly waiting for their turn to shine at the forefront of the scene. This is a tournament with great meaning.
...That being said, while the heated battles between these two groups are a sight to behold, there are almost no opportunities to snowboard in Shibuya, right in the middle of Tokyo. However, there are no specific qualifications for participation, and anyone can participate as long as they apply during the entry period, so we hope everyone will enter next year! (Even if you can't get on the rail properly, if you can skate safely, the MC will do his best to support you!)
On the first day of the tournament, even though it was a competition between general participants, the level of the finalists has become extremely high year by year, and naturally the difficulty level for the judges has also become more difficult.
He took on such a difficult role...
Judge Ishikawa produces various parks and leads the "Sclover" team. Judge Kawai, also known as "Tecchin," once reigned as the queen of this snowbank. Surprisingly, the ``SNEAKYZ'' Chiba judge will be participating in the tournament as a player himself the next day.
When it comes to being judged by such a real panel of judges, the athletes can't cheat at all, and all they have to do is give it their all, and it's a truly high-level battle.
The following people made it through the first day.
<Men>
1st place Hideki Matsuoka
2nd place Fuki Oki
Tie 3rd place: Yu Onuma, Shuzaburo Otsubo
<Women>
1st place Anju Matsuoka
2nd place Midori Oshima
3rd place Ena Endo
1st place Ryuki Sasamoto
Although they were called general participants, almost all of them were already active in the Japanese snow scene! Everyone's style was perfect!
Then, on the second day of the event, November 2th, the invitation riders finally appeared, and the top riders from all over the country, who had only ridden during the morning public practice the day before the first day of the event, demonstrated their ability from the qualifying round. Let me.
On the music stage, ``Arakezuri'', ``TOTALFAT'', and ``DAZEBAND'' appeared, and many people came to see these bands.
On the second day of the tournament, in addition to Judge Ishikawa, who had been serving as a judge since the first day, there was a change of judges, including professional rider Kenji Taguri, who is also the owner of Hachioji Pro Shop Pass Time. Every year at this Tokyo Snow Festival, the competition was held on the second day of the event, with judge Isao Seki, also known as Ikumenpapa, who has continued to excite Yoyogi as an athlete, and a gorgeous group of judges who are also well-known throughout the world as riders.
The one who made it through the preliminaries filled with such strong players.
Shunji Yoneno, Riku Masuda, Yuto Yamada, Masato Toda, Ryoji Fujitani, Fuyuo Suzuki, Seihide Nii, Kaito Hashimoto, Soshin Konno, Yuta Watanabe, Kaito Hamada, Fuki Oki, Yu Onuma
Miyon, Hina Sakamoto, Kokona Sakakibara, Nina Sakakibara, Haruna Ishihara, Aoi Takahashi, Tomoyo Oishi, Ryoha Maeda, Rina Yoshiie, Anju Matsuoka, Midori Oshima
Looking at the finalists, it was obvious that anyone could win in the final round. The winners who survived the fierce battle and had their names called at the awards ceremony.
Men's
Winner: Soshin Konno
2nd place Yuta Watanabe
3rd place Toshihiro Fujitani
Best trick award: Fuki Oki
Women's
Winner: Rina Yoshiya
2nd place Haruna Ishihara
3rd place Nina Sakakibara
This year, thanks to the efforts of the riders who continued to aim for hot tricks until after the finals, we were able to reach our goal of number of blood donors. I would like to conclude the tournament report by listing this year's event results.
The next event is scheduled to be held from November 2024th to 11th, 9. We are looking forward to seeing you all at Yoyogi Park next year!
Well, the Tokyo Snow Festival SNOWBANK produced various dramas this year, but there is one more thing worth mentioning this year...!SNOWBANK organizer Yoshimasa Arai, also known as Daze, will be honored at the "HEROs AWARD" sponsored by the Nippon Foundation. We conducted an interview with Daze himself and had him tell us a lot about this!
-Q Arrival: The 13th Snowbank has successfully concluded. Please tell us how you feel now.
DAZE (hereinafter referred to as D): SNOWBANK started in 2011 and has been held 13 times, and when we first started, some of us were like, ``Why snowboarding and donating blood? Registering as a bone marrow donor?'' The mark was floating in the air, but now that the 13th event is over, the riders understand the meaning of the event, and each one of them is spreading the word and helping to attract customers through riding. Snowboarding for people who don't know snowboarding. Also, I wanted to do it in Shibuya because I wanted snowboarders and people in the music industry who don't know about blood donation and donor registration to know about blood donation and bone marrow donor registration.
As for the kids class, only children up to the age of 12 can participate, so only children who were not born in the year SNOWBANK was launched can participate. I'm glad that everyone's mindset has changed over the years.
What I wanted from the riders was for them to ride in a cool manner and attract customers, but I also wanted everyone to understand the meaning of the event and to spread the word. I'm also very happy that I'm here... I'm really happy to see riders themselves donating blood and registering as donors, and writing on social media saying, ``You must be over 16 to donate blood, so I'm contributing by riding.''
-Q: Is the awareness of the participating riders also connected to the idea of contributing to society?
D: Contributing to society doesn't have to be a cool thing to say, but it's a part of helping someone somewhere... I think the fact that we were able to create such a natural flow is what made me really happy about starting SNOWBANK.
Andy (Hokkaido Legend Rider Kenji Ando) once said, ``You shouldn't be able to see professional riders skate.'' The reason is that amateurs cannot skate at the same speed as professionals. That's why you can only watch it on DVD after the cameraman captures it. But that led me to the idea, ``I want to see professional skating! That's why I want to do it in Shibuya! In that shape! In a compact way!''
-Q Arrival: There has been a lot of talk about Daze-kun receiving the HEROs AWARD, which recognizes athletes' social contribution activities. Could you please tell me?
D: HEROs AWARD started in 2017, and was started by soccer player Hidetoshi Nakata who said, ``Let's award the social contributions of sports athletes to the Nippon Foundation. And let's connect various sports.'' I have been nominated since 2018 and participated in awards and activities, but the actual winners of the HEROs AWARD include soccer players Seiichiro Maki, Go Kitazawa, and Yuko Arimori, and baseball player Takashi Toritani. While so many amazing people were winning awards, I thought...well, there's no way it's me (lol). I'm not someone like Arimori-san or Toritani-san who achieved results at the Olympics or as a top professional.
Under such circumstances, I was very happy to receive this award... In terms of overall strength, it's not so much that I won the award, but rather that of the executive director, Iku-chan (Daze-kun's wife, Ikuko Arai), who has been involved in the Tokyo Snow Festival SNOWBANK PAY IT FORWARD for the past 13 years, as well as the MCs. The same goes for Kun, Kiri-chan (Kirihara Bare), Tsun-san (Kunifumi Tsuyuzaki), riders for riding, band members for bands, artists for art, supporting manufacturers, volunteers, Yukishu-san, etc., all of whom were involved in the event. I'm glad that everyone was appreciated.
-Q Arrival: The fact that there are snowboarders on the list is amazing, but the award was given. That's amazing, isn't it?
D:It's not because I'm amazing, but because everyone has continued to do their best, and I'm so happy that they're being praised. I can finally say to everyone involved, "We all won the HEROs AWARD!"
-Q Arrival: Thanks to someone, Daze-kun also underwent bone marrow transplant surgery. (There is a history of returning as a boarder)) Is it where it is now?
D: Yes, I've been able to spend 13 years thanks to people who have registered as donors and donated blood, and I'm still supported by everyone, but I'm really happy that the snowboarding industry has been recognized. Up until now, this award has been given to Olympic athletes, soccer players, and baseball players, so I think it was very valuable to receive this award for the first time for a winter sport.
-Q Arrival: Snowbank is getting bigger and bigger, what are the future prospects?
D: I didn't originally want to make it big, and it's not like I'm making a living off of this.The underlying idea is to create an environment where patients who need treatment can always stand at the starting line of treatment, and to bring the wonders of snowboarding to the snowy mountains. I'm just doing it for the sake of an environment where I can convey the message without having to go there. It's not an activity that I want to make big.
I guess my goal is to create a society where SNOWBANK is not necessary? If blood donation and donor registration become commonplace, SNOWBANK's activities will no longer be necessary.
When I was battling my illness, the Nissan X-Trail Jam (previously held at Tokyo Dome) was canceled, and the Toyota Big Air (held in Sapporo) was canceled. The opportunity for people in the city to come home from work in a suit and invite friends over to watch snowboarding while having a beer in hand is gone. However, it would definitely be better to have such an opportunity, and I think it would be best if each rider could create such an opportunity again. And then Snowbank will be disbanded! 10 or 20 years from now, today's young riders will be holding huge tournaments, and I'll be the one participating with a beer in hand (lol).
Is that what you want to aim for? That's why I want the riders who are participating now to steal more and more ideas, and I think it would be great if everyone could hold a preview on the night of the snowbank... Of course, in this day and age you can watch videos on social media and YouTube, but I would like people to physically gather together in Shibuya, on-site, and to create an opportunity to watch a single work while toasting at a party venue. I want everyone to think about things like, ``If we were to do it, how should we do it?'' If everyone can do that...I'll have fun going out drinking (lol).
``SNOWBANK PAY IT FORWARD'' was started by a snowboarder and his wife due to their own illness and struggle with it. It steadily took root in Shibuya, sprouted, and grew, and before we knew it, it became an activity that generated a large amount of energy needed by society. Although it is still a work in progress, I would like to continue to support this activity. I'm glad to have had such a wonderful experience as the event grew.
Daze-kun, please keep running! Aiming for a society where SNOWBANK is unnecessary!
