The 14th Annual Akita International Sumo Basho (第十四回秋田県国際相撲場所) was a charity sumo tournament that was held on June 9th by Charity Akita. Every year JETs and friends gather from all across Tohoku (and some farther still) to decide who is worthy of the title of Akita's Yokozuna.
Rikishi (participants): ¥500. Arrive no later than 8:30. Upon arrival, volunteers will assist with putting on the mawashi, explain the rules governing the bouts, and give tips on how to fight.
Spectators ¥1,000, high school and junior high school students ¥500, children free
Volunteers ¥500
Wrestlers
Men's
Name
Country
Hometown
Akita
Shikona
Slogan
Adam Antão
Wellington
?
ブラウン・ダイナマイト
Brown Dynamite
Take it easy on me plz
Aleksey Bolyshkanov
Sacramento
Central
スラヴ野郎
Dat Slav
I'm here to kick ass and drink vodka... and I'm all out of vodka.
Clay Sedgwick
Hawaii
South
スマック怖
Fearious Smack
Beer before liqour, never been quicker. Liqour before beer, I've become your greatest fear!
Dean Ruetzler
Vermont
Iwate
狂犬の花
Maddog Flower
花より団子
Jeremy Ma
Sydney
Central
ジェレ熊
Bearemy
I'm Bearly trying
Lucas Woodall
North Carolina
Iwate
続く
To Be Continued
OH MY GOD!!
Chris Dean
Mississippi
Central
A-A-Ron
You done messed up
Mengkin Ragan
Akita
Central
広東雄
Koutouyuu
Just taking it easy
Hoang Long Minh
Thanh Hoa
North
黒豹
Black Panther
(see email)
Owen Cunningham
Kilkenny
North
相撲猿
SumOweN
... and there is no welcome mat.
Peter Hall
Melbourne
Central
ラガの海
Sea of Raga
A raga is a living being. Bhangra is balle balle.
Rogelio Luna
Mexico City
Central
霜月
Luna
石の上にも三年
Sindre Aadnanes
Oslo
Central
ノルウェーのバイキング
The Norwegian Viking
Honour the Old Gods.
Steve Symiakakis
Massachusetts
Central
マサ太郎
Masataro
These shoulders will not fall to the ground. It's because they bear aloft everyone's dreams.
Women's
Name
Country
Hometown
Akita
Shikona
Slogan
Amber Shamma
Texas
Central
暗熊
amBEAR
If it ain't Texan, I ain't flexin'.
Jillian Ocampo
Texas
South
爆竹
Firecracker
All it takes is a spark
Kate Smith
Vancouver
South
ケートち
Lil K8
You win some you lose em all
Leslie Smith
Maryland
South
レッッッズルズ
LEZZZZZLES
There's a first (and last) time for everything
Manjyot Virdie
Toronto
South
ブルー・スチール
Blue Steel
Really really really ridiculously...ridiculous
Misa Yasuda
California
South
見た勝った
Mi Sa(w and conquered)
Hue Hue
Sarah Egashira
Tochigi
?
日の出丸
Sunrise Circle
My Japanese spirit is second to none!
Tournament format
The Men's tournament consisted of 14 men who were divided into 2 groups. Each group wrestled in a round-robin format, with each wrestler having 6 matches. The top 2 from each group moved on to the semi-finals. In the semi-finals, to avoid the wrestlers having excessive matches, the 4 wrestlers were randomly paired up for a single elimination. The 2 winners advanced to the finals for a winner-take-all bout.
The Women's tournament consisted of 7 women. Similar to the men's tournament, the wrestlers competed in a round-robin format (6 matches each), and the top 2 advanced straight to the final.
Officials
The officiating for the 2018 tournament, as well as special prize decisions was overseen by current Akita JETs:
* Round 2 scheduling errors: Adam was supposed to fight Aleksey; Jeremy was supposed to fight Clay. As a result Jeremy and Clay fought twice(R1 & R2), as did Adam and Aleksey (R2 & R7).
* In Round 5 Rogelio was disqualified for choking.
Men's play-off
Group 1
Two men were tied for second place. Peter Hall went through without a playoff.
Group 2
Three men were tied for first place, one needed to be eliminated. The first wrestler to lose 2 fights in a row was eliminated.
A scheduling error caused Sindre Aadnanes and Mengkin Ragan to fight an unnecessary bout.
Scoreboard
Scoreboard
Wrestlers group photo
Wrestlers & Judges
