Japan Skates’ exclusive interview with Eri Nishimura – Thornhill Summer Skate, August 17, 2008
Thornhill Summer Skate is my “home event” and I look forward to it every year. Usually, Japan brings many of their senior skaters to test their programs before the season gets under way, often in conjunction with summer training in Toronto or Barrie. I had heard that this year, Japan would not be bringing a team. So it was to my surprise when I noticed that there was a junior competitor listed in the program, representing Japan. It turns out that this competitor was Eri Nishimura, a thirteen-year old elementary school student from Tokyo who trains most of the year in Barrie at the Mariposa club.
Transcript of Japan Skates’ interview with Japan’s Ryo Shibata, August 11, 2008.
More photos and videos from the interview can be found HERE!
In late July, I received an e-mail from Yukina Ota saying that she would be returning to Toronto for ten days in early August. She said she’d have a busy schedule during that time, but hoped that we could meet for lunch or dinner at some point. I was happy to hear from her after she arrived and we set up Monday, August 11 as the day to meet. I had such a great time meeting Yukina when she trained in Toronto last year and looked forward to seeing her again. She brought along Japanese men’s competitor Ryo Shibata, who had been training in Toronto as well.
Over dinner (at the same Korean restaurant we enjoyed last year), we discussed their progress. Both Yukina and Ryo were at the Toronto Cricket, Skating and Curling Club. Yukina was concentrating on choreography with David Wilson, who was “refreshing” her programs from last year, which she plans to use again this season. Ryo was working on technique as well as choreography. I asked Yukina about her future plans in skating, and she replied that she would try her best this season and see how the Zen Nihon (Japan Nationals) championships goes before making decisions about next season. As dinner was winding down, I suggested we move to a coffee shop (Yukina requested Tim Horton’s!) and Ryo eagerly agreed to an interview so Japan Skates’ readers could get to know him better. After I talked to Ryo, I asked Yukina a few questions as well.
From her time in Colorado Springs, New York and Toronto, Yukina speaks English well, so she served as Ryo’s interpreter, as well as interjecting some humour into the interview. I’ve kept Yukina’s words as they were spoken, rather than rephrasing Ryo’s words into the first person. Please keep in mind that this was a fun and informal interview, with questions asked as I thought of them. Our goal was more to enjoy our coffee, tea and conversation than anything else! We at Japan Skates hope you enjoy getting to know Ryo a little better. [Read more →]