目次
The SUP & Paddleboard Championship (Distance Technical Sprint) was held in Minamiizu, Shizuoka Prefecture on June 11th (Sat) and 12th (Sun).
This tournament will serve as a qualifying conference for the ISA World SUP and Paddleboard Championship, to be hosted by the International Surfing Association (ISA) in November, and the Asian Youth Games, to be hosted by the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) in December.
The beautiful and powerful sea of Minami Izu. A high level race was held in conditions rarely seen in domestic races.
Team KOKUA will be represented by Nariakira Shimazu, Tomoatsu Sugiyama, Kenny Kaneko, and Natsumi Baba.
[Saturday, June 11th: Distance 20km Yumigahama]
The first day's distance race will be held at Yumigahama.
The 20km course involved two laps around Toyone, located about 10km offshore from Yumigahama. Once out of the bay, the racers found themselves in the Pacific Ocean. The tidal currents and complex swells were incomparable to those inside the bay, toying the racers with each other.
The wind was not too strong onshore, the temperature was not too high, and the cloudy skies were beneficial for the long-distance rowers.
The tide crashed around Toyone, making the swells even larger and more complex. Many racers lost their footing during the laps.
The course was simple, going around the beach and Toyone, but the 20km distance, plus the need to read the fast currents and winds of the open ocean, made it a race that decided the winner.
After the Open Class finished, the Fun Junior Class started at the same time. The 6km course circled Yumigahama Bay.
Below are the results
Distance Result
M's Open Class
3rd place: Kenny Kaneko
4th place Nariakira Shimazu
7th place Tomoatsu Sugiyama
W's Open Class
2nd place Natsumi Baba ※ World Championship selection
[Sunday, June 12th: Technical 6km Shirahama / Sprint 200m: Sotoura]
On the second day, the Technical event was held in the morning, and the Sprint event was held in the afternoon, both in different locations.
Technical surf conditions in Shirahama. A strong onshore wind had been blowing since the night before, creating very junky conditions. The waves were head-high, standing as a wall in the way of the competitors to compete on the world stage.
Many of the athletes were intimidated as they had no experience paddling in survival conditions, but although some ended up DNF, all of them took on the challenge of this water surface without giving up.
As the sun rose higher and the waves began to drop in size, the Men's Open class began. The course was set up as an M-shape with ups and downs, with markings set up at the inside breaking point and a beach run in between. Considering the conditions, the distance was shortened to about half, about 3km.
While many competitors were thrown off into the thick soup after getting out, the top competitors gracefully overcame the waves and already had a large lead at the start. The difference in experience was clearly evident in the results.
The junior class also started in similar conditions, with some promising surfers daring to take on waves much taller than they were and ride them with ease.
Below are the results
Technical Results
M's Open Class
3rd place: Kenny Kaneko
5th place Tomoatsu Sugiyama
6th place: Nariakira Shimazu
W's Open Class
2nd place Natsumi Baba ※ World Championship selection
KOKUA Rider Shigeaki Shimazu competed in both the Men's Open and Junior classes, winning the Junior class and earning a spot on the national team.
Junior Class
1st place: Nariakira Shimazu (qualified for the World Championships)
For the final event, Sprint, we moved to Sotoura Beach, about 2km from Shirahama. The conditions were completely different from Shirahama, calm and flat, with emerald green water.
A 200m course that starts from a mark placed 100m offshore from the beach and ends with a turnaround.
The Men's Class had two heats, with the top three competing in the round-up. The Women's Class had only three competitors, so it was a one-shot race.
In the Men's Class, positions changed depending on split-second decisions such as turns, approaches to marks, and whether or not the competitors were able to catch the swell, resulting in an exciting race.
Sprint Result
M's Open Class
2nd place: Nariakira Shimazu
4th place Tomoatsu Sugiyama
W's Open Class
2nd place Natsumi Baba
At this tournament, Team KOKUA's Shigeaki Shimazu and Natsumi Baba earned their tickets to the World Championships. Shigeaki Shimazu will be competing in the Junior category this time, but despite being just 15 years old, he has been competing on equal terms with senior racers in domestic races and has already made a name for himself. Currently, many of the top racers in Japan are teenagers and are showing brilliant results, but there are high hopes for his potential.
Unfortunately, there are currently few female SUP racers, and only three people entered this year's selection process, but I, the author, Baba, would like to continue working hard so that this can be a catalyst for increasing the number of female SUP racers in the future.
Below are reports from KOKUA Riders
[Nariakira Shimazu]
DistanceThe race was held in conditions where the current was fast and swells started to appear midway through the race, causing even the top athletes to fall into the water. As I have only ever rowed in inland waters, the Kuroshio Current and swells made it difficult to maintain balance and row, but I trusted the stability and glide of my board and came in fourth place.
-Technical
The conditions were pretty tough with the sets coming over my head. I used a stable 22.5 inch surfboard for technical surfing, and I felt that even people who had no experience paddling in big waves could paddle and race.
During the actual race, I wasn't worried about falling, so I felt at ease, and I ended up in 6th place in the Open Class and 1st place in the Jr. Class.
-Sprint
Taking advantage of the board's fast initial speed that makes it difficult to lose speed, he got off to a flying start and maintained his speed until the end, giving him a renewed sense of the board's speed in the race and coming in second place.
The race took place in a variety of conditions, but I was convinced that the FLY PRO was fast in any condition.
Tomoatsu Sugiyama
-Distance
Early that morning, I went for a walk with Kenny and Nariaki to check out the ocean.
At first glance, the sea surface appears calm with no wind or waves, but we could see the strong currents causing whitecaps to collide with the underwater rocks. We realized that the key is to read the currents and navigate around the island as quickly as possible.
At first, there wasn't much wind and it was going to be a long-distance race, so I chose a flat board that would be stable and fast on flat water.
From the start of the race, a drafting line formed with the front and 4th or 5th place riders as they reached the 3km mark. Just before reaching the island, the tide suddenly hit the island, which became shallower, causing the rising water to sweep away their boards, causing them to fall into the water several times. They fell far behind the leaders and dropped in position. From the second lap, the wind from the northeast strengthened, and they struggled to navigate the course and control their boards on the sea surface, which was affected by the tide and wind. There were various reasons why they were not in the best condition on the day, but they ended up in 7th place, a race in which they were unable to fully demonstrate their abilities.
-Technical
The forecast predicted that the onshore wind would become stronger and the waves would get higher from the evening of the first day. The location for the race was discussed leading up to the day, and it was decided to hold it on a beach with plenty of waves and wind. When we arrived at the venue, the conditions were choppy with chest-to-shoulder height waves and a strong wind. Just before the start, the size and wind calmed down a bit, but the race was one in which experience and skill from surf racing would determine the difference. While I have little experience in surf racing, I'm relatively good at waves and was confident I could achieve a decent result. I raced on an all-water board and finished in fifth place. It seemed like the gap between me and the top competitors on the warm-up leg widened on the down-leg, and I'd like to use this experience as a guide when racing in the future.
