Strong Contenders Gather in Tokoro! The 40th Zen-Noh Japan Curling Championships

The 40th Zen-Noh Japan Curling Championships will be held from Saturday, January 28th to Sunday, February 5th at the Advics Tokoro Curling Hall in Tokoro-cho, Kitami City (competition begins on Sunday the 29th).
Following the Wild Card qualification matches held on Friday, January 27th, the men's teams Team Ichimura and Consadole, and the women's teams LS Kitami and Aomori CA have secured their spots, completing the lineup of nine teams for both men and women. While looking back at the history of the Japan Curling Championships, I would like to introduce all 18 participating teams.

The Japan Curling Championships, which began in 1984

The Japan Curling Championships is a national curling tournament organized by the Japan Curling Association (JCA). The men's tournament has been held since 1984, and the women's since 1988.
The winner of the first tournament, held at the Makomanai Ice Arena in Sapporo, was Red Pajama from Ikeda Town, Hokkaido (players: Satoru Asakawa, Katsuo Hara, Shigeru Kosugi, Kazuyuki Man, and Kenji Tada).
Until the 21st tournament (2004), teams could participate under their usual team names, but starting from the 22nd tournament (2005), the rules changed to require team names to be based on regions, associations, or individual names. The winning team of the 22nd tournament was Team Omiya, which had won the previous year as Super Mariners.
The first women's champions were Big Bonanza from Ikeda Town, who won the 5th tournament in 1988 (players: Sayo Asakawa, Atsuko Asakawa, Setsuko Hara, Keiko Kamogawa, and Masako Matsuura).

Looking back at past winning teams, it is a treasure trove of legendary players. The late curling evangelist Hiroshi Kobayashi won consecutive titles as a member of Tokyo MAX in the 3rd (1986) and 4th (1987) tournaments.
Yoshiyuki Omiya, the father of Fortius player Anna Omiya and known as the person modeled by Yo Oizumi in the movie "Simsons," has won a total of 8 times, including two streaks of three consecutive victories with different teams.
Nobumitsu Tsuruga, who was a teammate of Omiya on the national team and sometimes serves as a commentator, has been listed as a winning member 9 times, including four consecutive victories starting in 1996.
Among active players, brothers Yusuke Morozumi and Kosuke Morozumi, who are participating this time from TM Karuizawa, have won 8 times in the past.
Furthermore, Tsuyoshi Yamaguchi, a former teammate of the Morozumi brothers who won the previous tournament as a member of SC Karuizawa Club, has won 9 times in the past.
The record for most wins is held by Consadole's Tetsuro Shimizu, who has won 11 times (2007, 2008, 2009, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2019, 2020, 2021).

For women, Yukari Kondo, who was active in the early days including participating in the Nagano Olympics, has won 7 times.
Ayumi Ogasawara, currently a director of the Japan Curling Association and a coach for junior teams, has won a total of 5 times.
Yumie Funayama, a long-time teammate of Ogasawara who is currently with Fortius, has experienced 6 victories, including in 2021.
Kotomi Ishizaki of Loco Solare was listed as a winning member for the first time in 12 years at the previous tournament, marking her 6th victory.
Satsuki Fujisawa of Loco Solare has achieved 7 victories in the past, matching Kondo, including four consecutive wins with Chubu Electric Power starting in 2011.

Winning teams of the last 10 tournaments

☆ Men
30th (2013) SC Karuizawa Club
31st (2014) SC Karuizawa Club
32nd (2015) SC Karuizawa Club
33rd (2016) SC Karuizawa Club
34th (2017) SC Karuizawa Club
35th (2018) team IWAI
36th (2019) Consadole
37th (2020) Consadole
38th (2021) Consadole
39th (2022) SC Karuizawa Club

★ Women
30th (2013) Chubu Electric Power
31st (2014) Chubu Electric Power
32nd (2015) Hokkaido Bank
33rd (2016) LS Kitami
34th (2017) Chubu Electric Power
35th (2018) Team Fujikyu
36th (2019) Chubu Electric Power
37th (2020) Loco Solare
38th (2021) Hokkaido Bank
39th (2022) Loco Solare

The teams with the most victories are SC Karuizawa Club for men with 9 wins, and Team Aomori and Chubu Electric Power for women with 6 wins each.

Overview of this tournament

🥌Participating Teams
・9 teams each for men and women
　Previous year's winner: 1 each for men and women
　Previous year's runner-up: 1 each for men and women
　Hokkaido Block: 1 each for men and women
　Tohoku Block: 1 each for men and women
　Kanto Block: 1 each for men and women
　Chubu Block: 1 each for men and women
　West Japan Block: 1 each for men and women
　Wild Card qualification spots: 2 each for men and women

🥌Competition Format
Preliminary round: Round-robin (league) with 9 teams
Final tournament: Top 4 teams (Page System)
　Playoffs: (A) 1st place vs 2nd place in preliminary
　　　　　　　(B) 3rd place vs 4th place in preliminary
　Semifinals: Loser of A vs Winner of B
　Finals: Winner of A vs Winner of semifinals

* Both preliminary league and final tournament will be 10 ends (38 minutes thinking time, 1 team timeout).
* LSD consists of 2 throws per team (one clockwise, one counter-clockwise by different players).

🥌Awards
The winning team will be awarded a trophy, and teams up to 3rd place will be recognized.
Based on the Japan national team selection regulations, the winning men's and women's teams will be sent as Japan's representatives to the World Men's and World Women's Curling Championships 2023 (scheduled for March and April 2023, locations: Ottawa, Canada [Men] and Sandviken, Sweden [Women]).

<Supplementary prizes for the winning team>
From Zen-Noh
300kg of Yumepirika rice
30kg of Hokkaido Wagyu beef
Meal support vouchers for overseas expeditions

<Supplementary prize for the MVP player>
From Zen-Noh
50,000 yen worth of gift town cards for "JA Town," a direct-from-farm online shopping site operated by Zen-Noh

Recently, 8-end tournaments have become mainstream, but the Japan Championships are 10 ends. Stamina is also required. The winning team will be sent to the World Championships. Now, let's introduce the participating teams.

The men's side includes 9 teams, including the previous year's winner, SC Karuizawa Club.

🥌 SC Karuizawa Club(Previous year's winner, Nagano Prefecture)
4: Riku Yanagisawa
3: Tsuyoshi Yamaguchi
2: Takeru Yamamoto
1: Satoshi Koizumi
Coach: Yuji Nishimuro
Achieved their long-awaited first victory as a new team in the previous tournament. This season, they went on an ambitious long-term expedition to Canada, achieving results including one victory each in the October and December Canada tours. They will compete with four players without a reserve for this tournament. Their goal is to win. Their world ranking has risen to 23rd.

🥌Sapporo International University(Previous year's runner-up, Hokkaido)
4: Go Aoki
3: Kento Sato
2: Koki Ogiwara
1: Kazushi Niino
R: Ayato Sasaki
Coach: Takayuki Doi
Coach: Mitsugu Arai
This season, they won the Advics Cup last September and also won the 13th All-Japan University Curling Championships in December. A cause for concern is the poor health of skip Go Aoki. Aoki will miss the early stages, and Sato will play as skip. Their world ranking is 63rd.

🥌Kitami Association(Hokkaido Block, Hokkaido)
4: Kosuke Hirata
3: Shingo Usui
2: Ryota Meguro
1: Kosuke Aida
R: Zenya Miura
Coach: Hirofumi Kobayashi
Coach: Tomoyuki Ninomaru
Their usual team name is KiT CURLING CLUB. Despite missing Kosuke Hirata due to a COVID-19 infection, they passed the preliminary round in 1st place with excellent teamwork from the four players at the Hokkaido Championships. They defeated Consadole 9-7 in the final to win their first title. Their current world ranking is 104th.

🥌Miyagi CA(Tohoku Block, Miyagi Prefecture)
4: Kotaro Noguchi
3: Yuto Kamada
2: Hiroshi Kato
1: Yuki Yoshimura
R: Hayato Fujimura
Their usual team name is Hot Shot!. They passed the Tohoku Championships preliminary A block in 1st place with 4 wins and 0 losses. They faced UPDRAFT (Iwate Prefecture) in the final, extended their lead with consecutive steals after halftime, and secured their spot in the Japan Championships for the first time in 3 years. Their world ranking is 202nd.

🥌Team Ogiwara(Kanto Block, Tokyo)
4: Ryo Ogiwara
3: Toru Tsukamoto
2: Wataru Hemmi
1: Nobuhito Kasahara
A: Haruki Watanabe
After passing the Kanto Championships qualifying A block in 1st place with 3 wins and 0 losses, they went on to win the final tournament undefeated by defeating strong teams like Kanagawa SUGAR, Tokyo I.C.E., and Clark Tokyo in succession. They are aiming to be the first Kanto team to win since the 4th Tokyo MAX. Skip Ogiwara has 26 years of playing experience.

🥌TM Karuizawa(Chubu Block, Nagano)
4: Yusuke Morozumi
3: Yuta Matsumura
2: Ryotaro Shukuya
1: Masaki Iwai
A: Kosuke Morozumi
In the Chubu Championships, they passed the qualifying B league in 1st place. They won the title by defeating Plus Blast in the playoffs and the final. While the team is full of experienced players, this is their third appearance as a team in two years. This season, they won one tournament in Canada and were runners-up at the Karuizawa International. World ranking: 39th.

🥌Okayama CA(West Japan Block, Okayama)
4: Hironori Yoshioka
3: Hiromitsu Fujinaka
2: Yusuke Nonomura
1: Makoto Takahashi
A: Atsushi Kamigakiuchi
Coach: Makoto Takahashi
Their usual team name is Machi Japan. In the West Japan Championships, they passed the qualifying A block in 1st place with 3 wins and 0 losses. They won the title after defeating Team Kyoto CA in the semifinals and edging out Hiroshima B in the final, which went to an extra end. They are determined to show the "pride of West Japan."

🥌Team Ichimura(Wild Card 1 / Nagano)
4: Takanori Ichimura
3: Daisuke Sonoyama
2: Seiji Yamamoto
1: Miki Yamamoto
Coach: Mami Yamamoto
Their usual team name is Plus Blast. In the Chubu Championships, they finished 1st in the men's qualifying B league, but lost 4-10 to TM Karuizawa in the final to finish as runners-up. They defeated Team TANI 11-3 in the wild card qualification match. Lead player Miki Yamamoto is the youngest in the tournament at 13 years old.

🥌Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo(Wild Card 2, Hokkaido)
4: Tetsuro Shimizu
3: Haruto Ouchi
2: Shinya Abe
1: Michinori Suzuki
A: Sota Tsuruga
This season, they were runners-up at the Advics Cup. In the Hokkaido Championships, they passed the qualifying round in 2nd place but narrowly lost to KiT CC in the final to finish as runners-up. They won the wild card qualification match against Team Iwate 8-3. This is their 9th consecutive appearance since their predecessor team, Sapporo. Their latest world ranking is 76th.

The women's side features 9 teams, including last year's winner and Canadian Open champion, LOCOSOLARE.

🥌LOCOSOLARE(Last Year's Winner, Hokkaido)
4: Satsuki Fujisawa
3: Chinami Yoshida
2: Yumi Suzuki
1: Yurika Yoshida
A: Kotomi Ishizaki
Coach: J.D. Lind
Coach: Ryoji Onodera
While they won the locally held Advics Cup this season, their victory at the Canadian Open truly stands out. This is one of the most prestigious Grand Slam events in the curling world, and it was the first time a Japanese team has won a Grand Slam tournament. Their world ranking is 4th.

🥌Chubu Electric Power(Last Year's Runner-up, Nagano)
4: Ikue Kitazawa
3: Seina Nakajima
2: Minori Suzuki
1: Hazumi Ishigooka
A: Chiaki Matsumura
Coach: Yusuke Morozumi
Coach: Emi Shimizu
After participating in the Hokkaido Curling Tour this season, they went on a long-term expedition to Canada. They achieved great results, winning two tournaments and finishing as runners-up in three. Their goal for this tournament is simple: to win for the first time since 2019 and claim their 7th title, the most for any women's team. Their world ranking is 21st.

🥌Hokkaido Bank(Hokkaido Block, Hokkaido)
4: Momoha Tabata
3: Miku Nihira
2: Mikoto Nakajima
1: Ami Ito
A: Sae Yamamoto
Coach: Hiroshi Sato
Coach: Kumiko Shimamura
Their nickname is Rilars. In the Hokkaido Championships, they passed the qualifying round in 1st place with 7 wins and 0 losses. They went on to defeat Sapporo Association and LS Kitami to win the tournament undefeated for the second consecutive year. Yamamoto, a World Junior champion with the university select team, has joined the team that finished 3rd in last year's Japan Championships. Their goal is, of course, to win. Their world ranking is 108th.

🥌Philoseek Aomori(Tohoku Block, Aomori)
4: Misaki Tanaka
3: Riho Nakamura
2: Haruka Kihara
1: Hiyori Ichinohe
A: Yuina Harada
Coach: Jun Nakajima
Coach: Yukihiko Nakamura
In the Tohoku Championships, they passed the qualifying A block in 1st place with 3 wins and 0 losses. They won the tournament undefeated after defeating Aomori Prefectural Office HAYATE in the semifinals and Jupiter in the final. This season, they finished 3rd at the Advics Cup. Their goal is to become the first team from the prefecture to win since Team Aomori in 2010. Their world ranking is 129th.

🥌Tokyo Association(Kanto Block, Tokyo)
4: Yumi Suzuki
3: Kyoka Kuramitsu
2: Aki Goto
1: Miho Fujimori
A: Tori Koana
Their usual team name is Tokyo NB. In the Kanto Championships, they passed the qualifying F block with 3 wins and 0 losses. They then defeated Team Yanagisawa and Kanagawa Cotton Pot to win the tournament undefeated. Former Fujikyu team member Tori Koana has joined as a reserve. The participation of a player who reached the top five years ago is definitely a positive factor.

🥌SC Karuizawa Club(Chubu Block, Nagano)
4: Asuka Kanai
3: Ami Enami
2: Junko Nishimuro
1: Mone Ryokawa
A: Miyu Ueno
Coach: Yuji Nishimuro
In the Chubu Championships, they passed the qualifying round in 1st place with 5 wins and 0 losses. They won the tournament undefeated by defeating MY Karuizawa 9-3 in the final. They have shown remarkable growth this season, finishing as runners-up at both the Wakkanai Midori Challenge Cup and the New Year Curling tournament. They are aiming for a double victory with the men's team. Their world ranking is 60th.

🥌Team Hiroshima(West Japan Block, Hiroshima)
4: Riho Zaikan
3: Akari Iwatani
2: Haruna Yamauchi
1: Ai Kawata
A: Shoko Zaikan
Coach: Ichiro Terao
Coach: Miwako Tatsudan
This team features a wide age range, with Kawata being the youngest female player at 14 and reserve Shoko Zaikan (Riho's mother) being the oldest at 60. They are eager to show how they can absorb the strengths of their opponents and grow throughout the tournament.

🥌LS Kitami(Wild Card 1, Hokkaido)
4: Honoka Sasaki
3: Mari Motohashi
2: Mirai Hayashi
1: Mayumi Saito
A: Yako Matsuzawa
Coach: Nobuo Aoki
Their usual team name is Loco Stella. In the Hokkaido Championships, they defeated Tokachi JCC and Sapporo Association in the final tournament but narrowly lost to Hokkaido Bank in the final to finish as runners-up. They won the wild card qualification match against Team Kanagawa 8-4. Their current world ranking is 83rd.

🥌Aomori CA(Wild Card 2, Aomori)
4: Rin Suzuki
3: Natsuki Saito
2: Junna Nagatani
1: Miyu Matsuyama
A: Ten Aizawa
Coach: Chieri Yamashita

Their usual team name is Jupiter. In the Tohoku Championships, they won three consecutive qualifying matches and advanced to the final by defeating +core in the semifinals, but lost to Philoseek Aomori in the final to finish as runners-up. They defeated Team Karuizawa 7-2 in the wild card qualification match. Except for Saito, this is the first Japan Championships appearance for all players.

Tournament Schedule

* 🄰🄱🄳🄴 represent the sheets. (YouTube Live) indicates YouTube streaming with live commentary. All streams are on the Japan Curling Association's YouTube channel.

🥌 January 29 (Sun)

9:00 - Competition 1 Men
🄰 Kitami Association x Miyagi CA (YouTube Live)
🄱 Consadole x Team Ogiwara (YouTube)
🄳 SC Karuizawa Club x Sapporo International University (NHK BS1)
🄴 Okayama CA x Team Ichimura (YouTube)

13:30 - Competition 2 Women
🄰 Chubu Electric Power x Hokkaido Bank (YouTube Live)
🄱 Team Hiroshima x Aomori CA (YouTube)
🄳 SC Karuizawa Club x LOCOSOLARE (NHK BS1)
🄴 Philoseek Aomori x Tokyo Association (YouTube)

18:00 - Competition 3 Men
🄰 Sapporo International University x Consadole (YouTube Live)
🄱 Team Ogiwara x TM Karuizawa (YouTube)
🄳 Miyagi CA x SC Karuizawa Club (YouTube)
🄴 Kitami Association x Okayama CA (YouTube)

🥌Monday, January 30

9:00- Session 4 Women's
🄰LOCOSOLARE vs Team Hiroshima (YouTube Live)
🄱Aomori CA vs LS Kitami (YouTube)
🄳Hokkaido Bank vs SC Karuizawa Club (YouTube)
🄴Chubu Electric Power vs Philoseek Aomori (YouTube)

13:30- Session 5 Men's
🄰SC Karuizawa Club vs Team Ogiwara (YouTube Live)
🄱TM Karuizawa vs Consadole (NHK BS1)
🄳Sapporo International University vs Miyagi CA (YouTube)
🄴Team Ichimura vs Kitami Association (YouTube)

18:00- Session 6 Women's
🄰SC Karuizawa Club vs Aomori CA (YouTube Live)
🄱LS Kitami vs Team Hiroshima (YouTube)
🄳LOCOSOLARE vs Hokkaido Bank (NHK BS1)
🄴Tokyo Association vs Chubu Electric Power (YouTube)

🥌Tuesday, January 31

9:00- Session 7 Men's
🄰Consadole vs Team Ichimura (YouTube Live)
🄱Okayama CA vs SC Karuizawa Club (YouTube)
🄳Kitami Association vs TM Karuizawa (YouTube)
🄴Team Ogiwara vs Sapporo International University (YouTube)

13:30- Session 8 Women's
🄰Team Hiroshima vs Tokyo Association (YouTube Live)
🄱Philoseek Aomori vs SC Karuizawa Club (YouTube)
🄳Chubu Electric Power vs LS Kitami (NHK BS1)
🄴Aomori CA vs LOCOSOLARE (YouTube)

18:00- Session 9 Men's
🄰Miyagi CA vs TM Karuizawa (YouTube Live)
🄱Sapporo International University vs Team Ichimura (YouTube)
🄳Team Ogiwara vs Okayama CA (NHK BS1)
🄴SC Karuizawa Club vs Consadole (YouTube)

🥌Wednesday, February 1

9:00- Session 10 Women's
🄰Hokkaido Bank vs LS Kitami (YouTube Live)
🄱LOCOSOLARE vs Tokyo Association (YouTube)
🄳Aomori CA vs Philoseek Aomori (YouTube)
🄴SC Karuizawa Club vs Team Hiroshima (YouTube)

13:30- Session 11 Men's
🄰Team Ogiwara vs Kitami Association (YouTube Live)
🄱Team Ichimura vs Miyagi CA (NHK BS1)
🄳Okayama CA vs Consadole (YouTube)
🄴TM Karuizawa vs SC Karuizawa Club (YouTube)

18:00- Session 12 Women's
🄰Aomori CA vs Chubu Electric Power (YouTube Live)
🄱Tokyo Association vs Hokkaido Bank (YouTube)
🄳Philoseek Aomori vs Team Hiroshima (NHK BS1)
🄴LS Kitami vs SC Karuizawa Club (YouTube)

🥌Thursday, February 2

9:00- Session 13 Men's
🄰TM Karuizawa vs Okayama CA (YouTube Live)
🄱Kitami Association vs Sapporo International University (YouTube)
🄳Team Ichimura vs Team Ogiwara (YouTube)
🄴Consadole vs Miyagi CA (YouTube)

13:30- Session 14 Women's
🄰LS Kitami vs Philoseek Aomori (YouTube Live)
🄱Chubu Electric Power vs LOCOSOLARE (NHK BS1)
🄳Tokyo Association vs Aomori CA (YouTube)
🄴Team Hiroshima vs Hokkaido Bank (YouTube)

18:00- Session 15 Men's
🄰Team Ichimura vs SC Karuizawa Club (YouTube Live)
🄱Miyagi CA vs Okayama CA (YouTube)
🄳Consadole vs Kitami Association (NHK BS1)
🄴Sapporo International University vs TM Karuizawa (YouTube)

🥌Friday, February 3

9:00- Session 16 Women's
🄰Tokyo Association vs SC Karuizawa Club (YouTube Live)
🄱Hokkaido Bank vs Philoseek Aomori (YouTube)
🄳Team Hiroshima vs Chubu Electric Power (YouTube)
🄴LOCOSOLARE vs LS Kitami (YouTube)

13:30- Session 17 Men's
🄰Okayama CA vs Sapporo International University (YouTube Live)
🄱SC Karuizawa Club vs Kitami Association (NHK BS1)
🄳TM Karuizawa vs Team Ichimura (YouTube)
🄴Miyagi CA vs Team Ogiwara (YouTube)

18:00- Session 18 Women's
🄰Philoseek Aomori vs LOCOSOLARE (YouTube Live)
🄱SC Karuizawa Club vs Chubu Electric Power (NHK BS1)
🄳LS Kitami vs Tokyo Association (YouTube)
🄴Hokkaido Bank vs Aomori CA (YouTube)

🥌Saturday, February 4

9:00- Men's and Women's Playoffs
🄰Women's 3rd Place vs Women's 4th Place (YouTube Live)
🄱Men's 1st Place vs Men's 2nd Place (NHK BS1)
🄳Women's 1st Place vs Women's 2nd Place (YouTube)
🄴Men's 3rd Place vs Men's 4th Place (YouTube)

15:00- Men's and Women's Semifinals
🄱Women's Semifinals (NHK BS1)
🄳Men's Semifinals (YouTube Live)

🥌Sunday, February 5

9:00-
🄱Men's Final (NHK BS1)

15:00-
🄳Women's Final (NHK BS1)

Unfortunately, the event will be held without spectators, but all matches will be broadcast live on NHK BS1 or streamed live on YouTube. Which team will reach the top? If possible, I want to cheer on these 8 days of intense competition in real time.

🥌Japan Curling Association Twitter

🥌Tournament Official Website

🥌NHK Tournament Special Feature Page

🥌DaifukuCurlingTV🥌Fukukimi Ohno (Curling)
Player Ohno's YouTube channel.

🥌Curling Glossary (NHK)