Rocco Solare wins again! Mayuki Fujisawa is “glad to see reliable juniors” and the surprising reason why she is pleased with the rise of her rivals.

Rocco Solare, who won the silver medal for Japan at last year’s Beijing Olympics, defeated SC Karuizawa Club to win their fourth championship in a row and will represent Japan at the World Championships in March. Won the CO-OP CANADIAN OPEN in Canada in January. She won the CO-OP CANADIAN OPEN in Canada in January, her first Grand Slam victory, and made new history in Japanese women’s curling, but it was not all smooth sailing, as she suffered two losses before the final on January 5. Nevertheless, there was a profound reason for the comments that welcomed the rise of the rivals.

Of course, it’s a competition, and it’s frustrating when you lose, but I’m happy to have more rivals. I hope they all keep going.”

That’s what Loco Solare skip Itsuki Fujisawa said in the off-season about the youngsters who emerged one after another at last year’s Japanese championships. Hokkaido Bank, whose average age was less than 20 at the time, was particularly dynamic, finishing in third place. In the junior category, SC Karuizawa Club Jr. won the gold medal at the world championships for the first time in Japanese curling history. It was also a season marked by the rise of young talent.

Fujisawa admitted of the younger generation, “Compared to when I was their age, they have more knowledge, experience, and information, and they are all definitely better than me. When asked the same question of lead Yurika Yoshida, she smiled and said, “I am happy to see so many reliable juniors. This year’s Japan Championships also saw the emergence of a new generation of skaters.

The youngsters are really good, and they are coming out more and more, so the future of curling in Japan is bright and happy.

As second Yuko Suzuki commented, this was her triumphant return after winning her first Grand Slam at the “CO-OP CANADIAN OPEN” in Canada in January, but even after winning the top of the world, it is not easy to win in Japan.

In the round-robin qualifier, they were handed a black star by Hokkaido Bank, who were hosting Sae Yamamoto, a gold medalist at the World Junior Championships. They also lost to Filoseek Aomori, the first Tohoku team to advance to the top four in six years. Although they beat Chubu Electric Power Company, with whom they had originally had a rivalry, it was a close match.

Still, Rocco Solare did not crumble, and they were pleased with the growth of even younger players. At the end of last season, Yu Yoshida once told me, “It’s about time we can do whatever we want,” and it seems that Loco Solare is always stretching out and “doing whatever they want” in curling. It does not mean selfishly, but they must have trained faithfully to their desire to win, to seek for curling that is fun to play, and to push toward the title they want.

Still, when I asked Yuzuru Yoshida what exactly he meant by “as I please,” he replied, “There are several things, but for example, to go out and win slams in earnest. A “slam” is a “Grand Slam,” a major title to which only the top-ranked teams on the World Tour are invited. He had set his sights on this goal before the 2018 PyeongChang Olympics, and as mentioned above, he won the CO-OP CANADIAN OPEN in January of this year. In fact, the Grand Slam victory, the first time they have reached the top in their 20th attempt, is a dream they have had for over five years, and a historic accomplishment for the first Asian team to do so.

Their achievements, including a silver medal at the 2016 World Championships, a bronze medal at the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics, and a Grand Slam victory, have always been accompanied by the phrase “first in Japanese curling. In addition, their popularity has made it possible for very few people to know about the sport of curling, as they have been named the most popular words in the world. Furthermore, with the men’s and mixed doubles teams failing to qualify for the Beijing Olympics, Loco Solare became a curling icon before we knew it.

Of course, it is a positive thing to be popular and to have people support you, but on the other hand, there was a risk of unipolarity, with the entire curling world relying on Rocco Solare. The pressure to keep running with the curling world on their shoulders may have existed unconsciously. In the past few years, it was impressive to hear him say with a reassuring smile after the final game of the season, “Now I’m going to take a little rest.

He wins the world’s most prestigious title but struggles in Japan. He welcomes the presence of a strong rival with a smile. Normally, this would be a contradiction, but in the case of Loco Solare, it is possible. Or perhaps it is a feeling of relief.

Rivals that threaten them, such as Hokkaido Bank Fortius (now Fortius), which won the Pacific-Asia Championships (now the Pan-Continental Championships) in 2021, and Chubu Electric Power Company (which abstained from the World Championships last year due to a new type of coronavirus infection), which was on the verge of qualifying for the playoffs, have been improving their competitiveness. They are increasing their competitiveness. In addition, promising newcomers such as Hokkaido Bank have emerged.

The competition is now strong enough for them to relax and “do as they please,” thinking, “We don’t have to carry the burden of Japanese curling on our shoulders alone. The popularity of the sport has also been dispersed in a positive sense, and the athletes may have gained a sense of security that the light of curling will not go out no matter when they come to the end of their athletic careers.

We wanted to go to the World Championships more than anyone else.

I can’t stop being excited to be able to compete in the World Championships” (Yu Yoshida)

As each of them said at the press conference after winning the Japan Championships, Loco Solare’s next goal is the World Championships.

The burden of being the top runner and the future of curling, in a sense, has turned out to be shared by formidable rivals and reliable juniors. It’s time to start focusing 100% on the content rather than the results, to do curling the way we want to do it, the way we enjoy it, and then choose how to win. And that is what makes Loco Solare so strong.

I can only look forward to seeing what kind of curling they will show us now that they have been unleashed. The World Championships will start on March 18.