Amateur Angles #6
‘Tis the season…
by Howard Gilbert
As
the amateur sumo world wakes from the relative slumber of the Northern
Hemisphere winter, we can expect to see a lot more action in the coming
months. Yes, the ‘season’ for amateur sumo in most countries is
upon us for the next half-year or so. The Japanese tournaments
will begin coming thick and fast with the new university year starting
this month, and they culminate with the university championships in
November and the All-Japan championships in December.
Internationally, a handful of tournaments have been held in Europe so
far, the USA Open has just concluded, and the Oceania Sumo
Championships will have been decided as this article goes to
press. The climax of international amateur sumo will of course be
the Sumo World Championships in mid-November, which this year will be
held in the Swiss city of Lausanne, on the shores of Lake Geneva.
Such activities are exciting for those of us involved in, and who are fans of, amateur sumo. As such, this Amateur Angles takes a slightly different form from other editions: instead of an article about a single topic, I’ll be looking at what is ahead for this year (or what may have already transpired) and look to see where amateur sumo might be heading. You might like to look at this as a season preview, although I’ll not be presumptuous enough to actually pick winners for tournaments! Let the crystal ball-gazing begin!!
Over the Easter weekend, the US Open hit Los Angeles for what is the biggest amateur sumo event in North America each year. Athletes from all over the US were joined by an international cast from Bulgaria, Italy, Norway and Mongolia. On the dohyo, the competition was dominated by Mongolian athletes, echoing that country’s hold on professional sumo. The titles for all four of the men’s divisions, and the heavyweight and open weight women’s titles will be in Mongolian hand luggage on the return flight. These results, along with the showing they gave in Osaka last year, suggest that the Mongolian team will be a force to be reckoned with in Lausanne this year. However, the Mongolians should start their visa applications early, lest they miss out on attending as happened in Riesa, Germany in 2004.
After the upheaval of 2006, with the rise and sudden fall of the World Sumo League (WSL) in North America, it is interesting to note that WSL ‘renegade’ athletes, such as Bulgarian Petar Stoyanov and Norwegian Hans Borg, were competing in this event. As these athletes were banned from competing in the Sumo World Championships in 2006 by the International Sumo Federation (ISF), it remains to be seen if they will be allowed back into the mainstream of ISF tournaments. The amateur sumo community waits to see whether they will be forgiven after a year’s ban, or whether they face an existence of appearing when and where they are welcome, and never again representing their countries in future World Championships.
As I write, the Oceania Sumo Championships will have just concluded in New Zealand’s capital, Wellington. The Oceania region has been struggling in the last few years, with only three active countries and a handful of athletes in each event. In 2007, all of the Oceania countries face the challenge of sending a team to Switzerland – in recent years having the Sumo World Championships in Japan has helped the bank balance, but going all the way to Europe will truly test their fundraising skills.
Australia will send their veterans, John Traill and Rowan Klein, to Wellington. These two athletes have faced the world’s best in recent years, and they had personal success in Osaka last year. However, both men must be nearing the end of their careers, and the numbers in Australia have dwindled since I first visited them in late 2003. The newly elected president of OzSumo, Katrina Watts (a name familiar to many from her days as an NHK sumo commentator), faces the challenge of promoting the sport in Australia and attracting new athletes to amateur sumo.
The host, New Zealand, will be relatively pleased with their year in 2006. Although the senior team was down in numbers from 2005, this was partly due to an injury sustained by Bill Perenara. He is back in action and will join his brother Andrew to spearhead the New Zealand team this year. These two popular athletes will be looking to give direction to the New Zealand junior team that performed so successfully in Rakvere, Estonia. The challenge now for Sumo New Zealand, and the junior athletes themselves, is to build on the second and third placings they gained in the heavyweight and open weight divisions, respectively. It is vital that such athletes, and other promising ones, continue in the sport and are brought through into senior competition in the future. Indeed, this is a challenge facing each national federation in amateur sumo.
In Osaka last year Tonga sent an adult team for the first time in a number of years. Prior to that they concentrated on sending a team to the Junior World Championships in Tokyo each year, but with the 2006 Junior World Championships being held in Estonia, it was easier and cheaper to send a team to Osaka. With Lausanne hosting this year, it will be a struggle for Tonga to send a team that far. This would be a shame as their two-man team performed admirably in 2006. Unfortunately, Tonga will not be present at the Oceania tournament, as they have a shortage of suitable athletes at this point.
In Europe, while one or two tournaments have already been held during late winter, the spring thaw also means that sumo athletes come out of hibernation. Top athletes will be training towards June’s European Championships in Budapest. In the meantime there are a handful of tournaments, in Austria and Bulgaria for example, in which they can tune up. However, most of their work will be done in the gymnasiums and sports halls of their home country and against their teammates. In August there will be a new sumo competition on the European calendar in Ukraine. Kiev will play host to the inaugural European Games, an event that will bring together a number of non-Olympic sports in a week-long event. The sumo competition will be an invitation-only event for European athletes, but details beyond that are sketchy at this time. I hope to report more in future columns.
As I have mentioned throughout this column, the biggest event in European amateur sumo this year will be the Sumo World Championships in Lausanne. This Swiss city is also home to the Olympic Museum, so this year’s tournament will see the embodiment of amateur sumo’s Olympic aspirations for the future in the place where the Olympic movement is based. As such, this may be seen as a symbolically important event for this sport’s future. Perhaps of equal importance is the expected combination of the 8th Junior World Sumo Championships, the 15th World Sumo Championships and the 6th Shinsumō World Championships into one tournament in one venue from 2007 onwards. This is also the usual format for the European Championships.
The advantages of combining all the World Championships in one place are many. For starters, it offers some economies of scale for the national federations (both those attending and those hosting the event). Secondly, it provides the junior athletes with exposure to the senior level events, with the benefit of moving them more seamlessly from one level to the next when they are ready. Thirdly, for most national federations, junior athletes are coached by senior athletes or the senior level coaches. By combining the Championships, the coaches of junior athletes do not need to make two international trips each year, thus making the cost of attending more affordable. Lastly, by having the junior boys’ tournament alongside the men’s and women’s competition, it may hasten the inclusion of a girls’ competition in the Junior Sumo World Championships. Several countries and delegates, including myself, have been urging the International Sumo Federation to consider this move. Although this is unlikely to happen in 2007 (the ISF has suggested it may happen after the 10th Junior World Sumo Championships), it would be fitting if the home of the Olympic movement had some impact on creating greater equality in the sport.
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Such activities are exciting for those of us involved in, and who are fans of, amateur sumo. As such, this Amateur Angles takes a slightly different form from other editions: instead of an article about a single topic, I’ll be looking at what is ahead for this year (or what may have already transpired) and look to see where amateur sumo might be heading. You might like to look at this as a season preview, although I’ll not be presumptuous enough to actually pick winners for tournaments! Let the crystal ball-gazing begin!!
Over the Easter weekend, the US Open hit Los Angeles for what is the biggest amateur sumo event in North America each year. Athletes from all over the US were joined by an international cast from Bulgaria, Italy, Norway and Mongolia. On the dohyo, the competition was dominated by Mongolian athletes, echoing that country’s hold on professional sumo. The titles for all four of the men’s divisions, and the heavyweight and open weight women’s titles will be in Mongolian hand luggage on the return flight. These results, along with the showing they gave in Osaka last year, suggest that the Mongolian team will be a force to be reckoned with in Lausanne this year. However, the Mongolians should start their visa applications early, lest they miss out on attending as happened in Riesa, Germany in 2004.
After the upheaval of 2006, with the rise and sudden fall of the World Sumo League (WSL) in North America, it is interesting to note that WSL ‘renegade’ athletes, such as Bulgarian Petar Stoyanov and Norwegian Hans Borg, were competing in this event. As these athletes were banned from competing in the Sumo World Championships in 2006 by the International Sumo Federation (ISF), it remains to be seen if they will be allowed back into the mainstream of ISF tournaments. The amateur sumo community waits to see whether they will be forgiven after a year’s ban, or whether they face an existence of appearing when and where they are welcome, and never again representing their countries in future World Championships.
As I write, the Oceania Sumo Championships will have just concluded in New Zealand’s capital, Wellington. The Oceania region has been struggling in the last few years, with only three active countries and a handful of athletes in each event. In 2007, all of the Oceania countries face the challenge of sending a team to Switzerland – in recent years having the Sumo World Championships in Japan has helped the bank balance, but going all the way to Europe will truly test their fundraising skills.
Australia will send their veterans, John Traill and Rowan Klein, to Wellington. These two athletes have faced the world’s best in recent years, and they had personal success in Osaka last year. However, both men must be nearing the end of their careers, and the numbers in Australia have dwindled since I first visited them in late 2003. The newly elected president of OzSumo, Katrina Watts (a name familiar to many from her days as an NHK sumo commentator), faces the challenge of promoting the sport in Australia and attracting new athletes to amateur sumo.
The host, New Zealand, will be relatively pleased with their year in 2006. Although the senior team was down in numbers from 2005, this was partly due to an injury sustained by Bill Perenara. He is back in action and will join his brother Andrew to spearhead the New Zealand team this year. These two popular athletes will be looking to give direction to the New Zealand junior team that performed so successfully in Rakvere, Estonia. The challenge now for Sumo New Zealand, and the junior athletes themselves, is to build on the second and third placings they gained in the heavyweight and open weight divisions, respectively. It is vital that such athletes, and other promising ones, continue in the sport and are brought through into senior competition in the future. Indeed, this is a challenge facing each national federation in amateur sumo.
In Osaka last year Tonga sent an adult team for the first time in a number of years. Prior to that they concentrated on sending a team to the Junior World Championships in Tokyo each year, but with the 2006 Junior World Championships being held in Estonia, it was easier and cheaper to send a team to Osaka. With Lausanne hosting this year, it will be a struggle for Tonga to send a team that far. This would be a shame as their two-man team performed admirably in 2006. Unfortunately, Tonga will not be present at the Oceania tournament, as they have a shortage of suitable athletes at this point.
In Europe, while one or two tournaments have already been held during late winter, the spring thaw also means that sumo athletes come out of hibernation. Top athletes will be training towards June’s European Championships in Budapest. In the meantime there are a handful of tournaments, in Austria and Bulgaria for example, in which they can tune up. However, most of their work will be done in the gymnasiums and sports halls of their home country and against their teammates. In August there will be a new sumo competition on the European calendar in Ukraine. Kiev will play host to the inaugural European Games, an event that will bring together a number of non-Olympic sports in a week-long event. The sumo competition will be an invitation-only event for European athletes, but details beyond that are sketchy at this time. I hope to report more in future columns.
As I have mentioned throughout this column, the biggest event in European amateur sumo this year will be the Sumo World Championships in Lausanne. This Swiss city is also home to the Olympic Museum, so this year’s tournament will see the embodiment of amateur sumo’s Olympic aspirations for the future in the place where the Olympic movement is based. As such, this may be seen as a symbolically important event for this sport’s future. Perhaps of equal importance is the expected combination of the 8th Junior World Sumo Championships, the 15th World Sumo Championships and the 6th Shinsumō World Championships into one tournament in one venue from 2007 onwards. This is also the usual format for the European Championships.
The advantages of combining all the World Championships in one place are many. For starters, it offers some economies of scale for the national federations (both those attending and those hosting the event). Secondly, it provides the junior athletes with exposure to the senior level events, with the benefit of moving them more seamlessly from one level to the next when they are ready. Thirdly, for most national federations, junior athletes are coached by senior athletes or the senior level coaches. By combining the Championships, the coaches of junior athletes do not need to make two international trips each year, thus making the cost of attending more affordable. Lastly, by having the junior boys’ tournament alongside the men’s and women’s competition, it may hasten the inclusion of a girls’ competition in the Junior Sumo World Championships. Several countries and delegates, including myself, have been urging the International Sumo Federation to consider this move. Although this is unlikely to happen in 2007 (the ISF has suggested it may happen after the 10th Junior World Sumo Championships), it would be fitting if the home of the Olympic movement had some impact on creating greater equality in the sport.
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