The 9th Annual Akita International Sumo Basho (第九回秋田県国際相撲場所) is a charity sumo tournament that was held on June 22nd by the Akita Association of JETs. Every year JETs and friends gather from all across Tohoku (and some farther still) to decide who was worthy of the title of Akita's Yokozuna.
Rikishi (participants): ¥500. Arrive no later than 9:30. Upon arrival, volunteers assisted with putting on the mawashi, explaining the rules governing the bouts, and gave tips on how to fight.
Spectators: ¥1,000, kids ¥500
Wrestlers
Men's
Name
Country
Hometown
Akita
Shikona
Slogan
Owen Cunningham
Kilkenny
North
相撲猿
SumOweN
oishii dashi
Padraig de Cléir
Donegal
Central
田中
Paddy
Is fear rith maith ná drochsheasamh
Kenneth Grant
Spalding
Central
蹴荷威
Kick Stuff Powderfully
I'll sleep when I'm dead
Kazune Hasegawa
Fukushima
Central
禁愚和
King Kaz
Nothing to fear - with the exception of ghosts
Douglas Heller
Oxford
Tokyo
闘牛雄
The Bullfighter
See life as an adventure and it will become one.
Todd Horner
Alberta
Central
煙突
Smoke Stacks
Guts pose for life
Neil Mac Taidhg
Sligo
Kobe
大論山
The Great Thinker
Níor chaill fear an mgisnigh riamh
Adrain Qais
Stroud
Tokyo
魔法猿
Magic Monkey
I was born ready...
David Ranzini
Virginia
Central
妙義 賢闘龍
Myōgi Sakatoryū
Fight smart or die stupid
Dean Ruetzler
Vermont
Morioka
ゴリラの里
Village of Gorillas
ishindenshin
Todd Shaw
Florida
North
危人
Abunai Hito
Win, or murder your opponent tryin'
Randy Umetsu
Hawaii
Central
濫乃海
Rannomi
Superman is my dream
Men's Group
Group A
Group B
David Ranzini
Neil Mac Taidhg
Todd Horner
Todd Shaw
Padraig de Cléir
Adrian Qais
Kenny Grant
Randy Umetsu
Douglas Heller
Kazune Hasegawa
Dean Ruetzler
Owen Cunningham
Women's
Name
Country
Hometown
Akita
Shikona
Slogan
Allanah Faherty
Invercargill
South
サメ咬傷
Shark Bite
It's a shark eat shark world...
Natalie Hadjiloukas
Pennsylvania
Central
権三先生
Dr. Gonzo
The mediocre have no right to criticise the great.
Connie Look
New York
South
千代
A Thousand Years
I'll show you a woman's strength!!!
MacKenzie Vile
Connecticut
South
大風山
daipūsan
Pooh wants some honey!!!!!!!
Tessie Vu
Melbourne
Central
から揚げキッド
Karaage Kid
Fry on, fry off
Tournament format
The Men's tournament consisted of 12 men who were divided into 2 groups. After the initial 5 rounds the top 3 wrestlers from each group were assigned numbers from 1 through 6. These 6 men went through 3 rounds to decide the top 2 who then proceeded to the final.
The Women's tournament consisted of 5 women. The fights were broken into two sessions, with each wrestler fighting 2 fights per session. The two highest scoring wrestlers proceeded to the final.
Officials
The officiating for the 2013 tournament, as well as special prize decisions was overseen by past and present Akita JETs:
Head Referee/Head Judge - Bryan Barber ('04-'09)
Head Referee/Head Judge - Pat Costello ('07-'11)
Ring-side Judge - Delmer Lopez ('08-'13)
Ring-side Judge - Daniel Dooher ('06-'10)
Taiko Performance
Gojōme Tenshō Taiko (五城目天翔太鼓) played 2 songs during the opening ceremony. Video
Publicity
The Akita Sakigake Newspaper once again came and covered the tournament. Below is the original text and translation of the article that appeared in the June 23rd edition of the newpaper.
Sakigake Article (Main: Adrain Qais vs Padraig de Cléir, Sub: Kazune Hasegawa passing water to Neil Mac Taidhg)
After the men's opening round Dean, with a perfect score of 5-0, and Doug and Todd with scores of 4-1, had secured their positions in the semi-finals. But with four men tied on a 3-2 record we needed to eliminate one, as only six could progress. It was decided that whoever lost two playoff bouts in a row will be eliminated. Janken was used to decide the first 2 fights, and the two losers would then fight each other.
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Canada
United States
Ireland
2013 Basho
2013 Basho
Group Photo 1
Group Photo 2
Scoreboard
