Attention to Akeni Carolyn Todd SFM's newest addition to the writing staff takes an in-depth look at akeni, their history and production techniques Rikishi of Old Joe Kuroda Joe Kuroda slides former yokozuna Minanogawa under his SFM microscope Eric Evaluates Eric Blair Eric's wit scythes through the SML and makes clear his opinion of where the future lies for online sumo forums. Eternal Banzuke Phase II Lon Howard Stats, equations and mathematics all lead to a list of sumo's most prolific up and downers Matta-Henka: Another View Lon Howard A row that will never be fully decided but Lon gives his impressions on it all the same Heya Peek Mark Buckton Mihogaseki, former home of Estonian sekitori Baruto is toured (and peeked at) by SFM's Editor-in-Chief SFM Interview Mark Buckton Mark interviews shin-komusubi Kokkai Photo Bonanza See the Nagoya basho and Akeni photo bonanzas Nagoya Basho Summary Lon Howard Lon gives us his Nagoya basho summary, along with the henka sightings results Lower Division Rikishi Mikko Mattila Mikko Mattila casts his watchful eye over lower division goings on in makushita and below. Aki Ones to Watch Carolyn Todd Carolyn takes over the job of rikishi job performance prediction for SFM as she looks at those to keep an eye on come September Kimarite Focus Mikko Mattila Our man Mikko's latest trio of kimarite get thrown about the SFM literary dohyo Amateur Angles Howard Gilbert Howard returns with the second of his columns on the amateur sumo scene. Sumo Game SFM's very own quiz comes in for a bit of self scrutiny by our secretive man of questions. We'll call him 'X'. Sumo in Print Barbara Ann Klein SFM’s Editor reviews “The Little Yokozuna”, a book for “young” (and older) adults Kokugi Connections Todd Lambert Check out Todd's bimonthly focus on 3 of the WWW's best sumo sites Fan Debate Facilitator - Lon Howard Keri Sibley and Eduardo de Paz  ponder the concept of ‘to pay or not to pay’ makushita salaries SFM Cartoons Stephen Thompson Sit back and enjoy the offerings of one of sumo's premier artists Lets Hear From You What was it that made you a sumo fan? SFM’s own Todd Lambert details his path into sumofandom Readers' Letters See what our readers had to say since we last went out Sumo Quiz The Quizmaster Answer the Qs and win yourself next basho’s banzuke.

Amateur Angles by Howard Gilbert

gaining full recognition, which includes introduction into the Olympic programme, requires a majority vote of the 115 Olympic members at a full Session of the IOC. This would only be put to the vote once amateur sumo had convinced the powers that be that they are ready to become a fully-fledged Olympic sport. As a point of comparison, five other sports that have IOC provisional recognition were presented to the Olympic Session in Singapore in July 2005 to be considered for the 2012 Olympic programme. Days earlier, the Olympic Games had been awarded to London and the decision before the Session was the sporting make up for 2012. Two sports (baseball and softball) were dropped, and none of the five provisional sports (Roller Sports, Golf, Rugby Sevens, Karate and Squash) gathered enough votes to be included. A message was sent that the Olympiad needs to be a manageable two-week event and that there were already enough Next

For those of us interested in amateur sumo, the past two or three months have raised issues about the direction of the sport, the stakeholders within and around it, and the issue of player welfare and development. In one corner is the International Sumo Federation (IFS) and its system of continental and national sumo federations under the IFS umbrella. In the other corner stand Big Boy Productions and their World Sumo League (WSL), an attempt at staging and popularising the sport for commercial profit that began in North America in the past 12 months. The differing approaches of the IFS and WSL beg the question: Where is amateur sumo heading? The International Sumo Federation is the established

international sports federation that administers amateur sumo worldwide. It currently has over 80 members, which are the national federations of various countries throughout five continents. Regional and world tournaments are held under this umbrella, and national federations generally hold tournaments in their countries in accordance with international rules. The IFS has been provisionally recognised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) as having met some of the requirements for entry into the Olympic Games. What remains for the IFS (and approximately 30 other sports which are similarly provisionally recognised) is a process whereby the sport is elected into the programme of the Olympic Games. However,