All Japan Student Judo: Mixed Team Tournament 2024 – Sports Navi

Members participating in the first-ever mixed university judo team[Nihon University]

From Saturday, December 20th to Sunday, December 21st, 2025, the “1st All Japan Student Judo Mixed Team Tournament” was held at Koryo Arena (Numazu City General Gymnasium).
Our university’s men’s judo club and women’s judo club formed a joint team and participated in this tournament, winning third place.

The IKAI Christmas CUP “1st All Japan Student Judo Mixed Team Tournament” was held from Saturday, December 20th to Sunday, December 21st, just before Christmas. Judo mixed team competition is a competition used in the Judo World Championships and the Olympics. The tournament was held to raise the profile of mixed team competitions, strengthen the male and female ranks of the university judo community, and popularize the sport of judo, with 24 universities participating from all over the country.
In the mixed team competition, teams will be made up of six people, three men and three women. In this tournament, athletes from three weight classes for women (under 57 kg, under 70 kg, and open) and three weight classes for men (under 73 kg, under 90 kg, and over 90 kg) will compete to determine the number of wins and losses. After 6 matches, if there are 3 wins each, the match card (class) is determined by rolling the dice, and one match is played to determine the winner. The match time is 4 minutes, and if there is no winner, there will be a golden score with no time limit.
The qualifying round for this tournament was a league match between three teams, and the final round was a tournament match. Up until now, only male and female student team competitions have been held, and this is the first time a mixed team competition has been held. The event was held at the Koryo Arena, where the tournament featured an international tournament-style lighting display, MC announcements, and performances at the entrance gates to attract the audience, and it was very impressive to see that the whole venue was eager to enjoy the judo matches.

Team Nihon University participated in a game as a mixed team for the first time[Nihon University]

Managers Konno and Kitada and players performing at the entrance gate[Nihon University]

A venue filled with entertainment created by lighting[Nihon University]

The common word heard from players, managers, and coaches at this tournament was “team power.”
Playing on a mixed-gender team is a first-time experience not only for the players but also for the managers and coaches. Our university’s judo club has different activity bases for the men’s and women’s judo clubs, so there are no joint practices, and there is very little interaction on a regular basis. The players who formed a team for the first time in this tournament were separated from each other immediately after meeting up, but as time passed, their cohesiveness as a team seemed to grow stronger. Maya Chikamatsu (3rd year, School of Crisis Management) from the women’s judo club said, “At first I was nervous as it was my first time competing in a team competition with the boys, but looking back at the end of the two days, I think that by combining our team strengths, we created a synergistic effect and were able to demonstrate our strength as one stronger team.Even outside of the tatami, we learned from the boys’ practice content and received their advice, and our team strength gradually became stronger.”

Maya Chikamatsu won with a combination of Uchimata and Ouchi Kari in the second round of the final tournament[Nihon University]

Tetta Hamada won one throw in the third round of the final tournament[Nihon University]

Second round of the final tournament: Mari Sakurai wins Wazaari with Uchimata[Nihon University]

When I turned my attention to the audience seats, I saw the cheering squad loudly cheering for the players. It is said that in the men’s and women’s team competitions, there will be separate cheering teams, but this time a combined men’s and women’s cheering team will support the participating athletes. This seems to have been very powerful.
The Nihon University Judo Team advanced to the final tournament with two consecutive wins in the preliminary round.

A mixed male and female cheering team cheered in the audience seats[Nihon University]

Judo is an individual competition where competitors compete one-on-one once the match begins. It is not a sport like soccer or basketball, where teams are formed to compete. However, when it comes to team competitions, the story is different. Only one player plays on the tatami mats, but in team competitions where the outcome is decided as a team, the players seem to have developed a strength that cannot be obtained individually. “Not just for myself, but for the team.” There were many scenes where I felt like these thoughts were driving their bodies. Coach Bando of the women’s judo club said, “Normally, the men’s and women’s judo clubs have separate activities, so the support is different, but in this tournament, I think the players and the supporters who participated as one team, Nihon University, came together as one.”

Third round of the final tournament Victory Hamada (right) calls out to Nakata (left) as he heads to the match[Nihon University]

As long as it is a serious match, we want to see the result, but this tournament gave us more than that. Noriko Kitada, the coach of the women’s judo club, said in an interview after the match, “The athletes take their competition seriously, so they are focused on the results of the match, but in addition to that, I think the experience of working together to form one team beyond the boundaries of the men’s and women’s teams, which usually operate separately, was a great asset.I think it will be an opportunity for us to continue to support each other as teammates even after graduation.”

Men’s coach Konno and women’s coach Kitada give advice to players from the same bench[Nihon University]

Coach Kitada mentioned fourth-year captain Ryuma Hamasaki (fourth-year student in the School of Sports Science) as being a “very big pillar” in this tournament. “I’m glad that he quietly led the team and brought the whole team together, even though many players were considering retirement.” Looking back on it as a very enjoyable tournament, Hamasaki was asked about a scene that particularly left an impression on her, and answered, “If the boys were defeated, the girls would get it back, and if the girls were defeated, the boys would get it back.The battles and defenses left a very strong impression on me.I felt the fun of team competition.”

Captain Ryuma Hamasaki, a fourth-year student who became the pillar of the team[Nihon University]

Before the start of the semi-finals, all the players formed a circle, and both managers and coaches joined in, and loud cheers went up. Team Nihon University, arm in arm, smiling and cheering each other on, may be a sight you won’t see at any other official match. We tend to focus only on the results of the games, as we see them focusing on winning in a tense atmosphere, but the power of sports cannot be expressed by just one part of it. Bonds with friends, a desire to support each other, and above all, enjoying sports will have a major impact on improving competitive and human abilities. I think this tournament taught me once again the side of sports like this.

Just before the semi-finals, everyone forms a circle and calls out to each other[Nihon University]

“This tournament was created with a new concept of being a tournament that students would find fun.In previous tournaments, we had two axes: we were happy if we won, and we were disappointed if we lost, but I think we’ve turned into a tournament where we can all enjoy it, whether we win or lose, by working together.The students’ sense of camaraderie grew stronger with each match, and our team strength grew stronger.” The smile on the face of men’s judo club coach Jun Konno as he looked back after the match spoke volumes about the significance of this tournament.

“Team Nihon University” poses for a photo with all players and staff after the game[Nihon University]