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.