The Tokoro Curling Club (常呂カーリング倶楽部) is a curling club in Tokoro Town, Kitami City, Hokkaido Island, Japan. The club has about 40 teams, including a team "Loco Solare" (ロコ・ソラーレ).
| Tokoro Curling Club 常呂カーリング倶楽部 | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Location | Tokoro, Kitami, Hokkaido, Japan |
| Arena | Advics Tokoro Curling Hall Public hall held by Kitami City 44°07′17″N 144°03′22″E / 44.12139°N 144.05611°E |
| Host club |
|
| Information | |
| Established | May 2, 2007[1] |
| Club type | Nonprofit organization |
| Sheets of ice | 6 |
| Rock colours | Red and yellow |
| Website | locosolare |
Background
Hokkaido Island, Japan and Alberta, Canada became sister province in 1980.[2]Then, curling was introduced to Tokoro Town as an outdoor recreation while farmers could not work in winter, and has been popular sport among people in Tokoro.In 1981, lessons are held by former world champion curler Wally Ursuliak.[3]The administration of Tokoro Town, later Kitami City, built public indoor curling facility in 1988, which is rebuilt as Advics Tokoro Curling Hall in 2013.[4]But major sponsor does not exist in Tokoro because it is a small local town. As the result, famous curlers born in Tokoro has gone to other prefectures in Japan.
Loco Solare
| Loco Solare a.k.a. LS Kitami ロコ・ソラーレ a.k.a. LS北見 | |
|---|---|
| We win the victory with smile ☺️ | |
| Location | Tokoro, Kitami, Hokkaido, Japan |
| Arena | Advics Tokoro Curling Hall |
| Host club |
|
| Information | |
| Established | July 2010 (13 years, 11 months) |
| Founder(s) | Mari Motohashi |
| Club type | Independent and multi-sponsored |
| Website | locosolare.jp (in Japanese) |
| International medals | ||
|---|---|---|
| Women's curling | ||
| Representing Japan | ||
| Olympic Games | ||
 | 2022 Beijing | |
 | 2018 Pyeongchang | |
| World Championships | ||
| | 2016 Swift Current | |
| Pacific-Asia Championships | ||
 | 2015 Almaty | |
| | 2017 Erina | |
| | 2016 Uiseong | |
| Asian Winter Games | ||
| | 2017 Sapporo | |
"Loco Solare" (ロコ・ソラーレ), also known as the LS Kitami (LS北見), is a women's amateur curling team established in July 2010 by Olympian curler Mari Motohashi. The team is based in, and all the members are from Kitami City. The team got bronze medals at PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympics.[5]
History
Mari Motohashi, who was an Olympian at Torino 2006 and at Vancouver 2010 as a member of Team Aomori,[6]had also been one of such curlers. She thought why curlers born in Tokoro could not stay in the town. In the Summer of 2010, she asked two former curlers once retired, Megumi Mabuchi and Akane Eda, and two student curlers Yurika Yoshida[7]and Yumi Suzuki,[8]to join her rink named "Loco Solare," also known as "LS Kitami."At the press conference in Tokyo on 16 August 2010, she announced leaving Japanese national representative Team Aomori to establish her own rink in Tokoro.[9] It was hard to find big sponsor in Kitami City, but small ones increased slowly. But in September 2013, Eda left the team because she could not kept the balance of curling and her work pastry chef.[10]
In June 2014, Sochi 2014 Olympian as alternate; Chinami Yoshida[11]joined the team.[12]In the season of 2014–15, the team got their first winning prize at the World Curling Tour event; Avonair Cash Spiel.[13] In May 2015, Satsuki Fujisawa[14]joined the team.[12]After Fujisawa became the member, Mabuchi retired from games, but the team got medals as Japanese representative in various tournaments every year. In 2015, while Motohashi had maternity leave,[6]Kotomi Ishizaki appeared at Pacific-Asia Championships as alternate.[15]
Olympics
In September 2017, this amateur team won the five set match at 2017 Japanese Olympic Curling Trials against team Chiaki Matsumura.[16][17]At PyeongChang 2018, the team got bronze medals.[18][19]
Members
| Name | Role | Joined | Left | Occupation | Born | Years curled | Throw |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mari Motohashi (本橋 麻里) [20] | Founder, Captain & Alternate | 2010 | – | Office worker | 10 June 1986 | 26[6] | Right |
| Megumi Mabuchi (馬渕 恵) [21] | Co-founder & support staff | 2010 | (Retired: Mar. 2015)[10] | Social worker | 6 July 1983 | Right | |
| Akane Eda (江田 茜) [22] | Co-founder (Left) | 2010 | Sep. 2013[10] | Pastry chef | 7 July 1989 | Right | |
| Yurika Yoshida (吉田 夕梨花) [23] | Lead | 2010 | – | Office worker | 7 July 1993 | 25[12] | Right |
| Yūmi Suzuki (鈴木 夕湖) [24] | Second | 2010 | – | Office worker | 2 December 1991 | 23[12] | Right |
| Chinami Yoshida (吉田 知那美) [25] | Third & Vice skip | 2014 | – | Office worker | 26 July 1991 | 25[12] | Right |
| Satsuki Fujisawa (藤澤 五月) [26] | Skip | 2015 | – | Office worker | 24 May 1991 | 28[12] | Right |
| Ryoji Onodera (小野寺 亮二) [27][28] | Coach | 2010 | – | Farmer | 13 December 1960 | ||
| Junichi Kaizuka (貝塚 純一) | Trainer | 2010 | 2015 | Physical therapist | |||
| Tatsuya Omori (大森 達也) [28][29] | Chief trainer | 2014 | – | Physical therapist & Athletic trainer | 3 October 1973 | ||
| Rentaro Suzuki (鈴木 廉太郎) [28][30] | Trainer | – | Physical therapist & Athletic trainer | 5 December 1986 |
Team
| Season | Skip | Third | Second | Lead | Alternate | National Events | YTD Ranking |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010–11 | Mari Motohashi | Yurika Yoshida | Megumi Mabuchi | Akane Eda | Yumi Suzuki | — | |
| 2011–12 | Mari Motohashi | Megumi Mabuchi | Yumi Suzuki | Akane Eda | Yurika Yoshida | 265[31][32] | |
| 2012–13 | Mari Motohashi | Yurika Yoshida | Megumi Mabuchi | Yumi Suzuki | (Akane Eda) | 171[33][34] | |
| 2013–14 | Mari Motohashi | Yurika Yoshida | Yumi Suzuki | Megumi Mabuchi | 155[35][36] | ||
| 2014–15 | Mari Motohashi | Chinami Yoshida | Yumi Suzuki | Yurika Yoshida | (Megumi Mabuchi) | 52[37][38] | |
| 2015–16 | Satsuki Fujisawa | Chinami Yoshida | Yumi Suzuki | Yurika Yoshida | Kotomi Ishizaki | PCC[39] | 20[15][40] |
| Mari Motohashi | WCC[41] | ||||||
| 2016–17 | Satsuki Fujisawa | Chinami Yoshida | Mari Motohashi | Yurika Yoshida | Yumi Suzuki | PCC[42] AWG[43] | 32[44][45] |
| 2017–18 | Satsuki Fujisawa | Chinami Yoshida | Yumi Suzuki | Yurika Yoshida | Mari Motohashi | PCC[46] OG[47] | 11[48][49] |
Grand Slam record
| Key | |
|---|---|
| C | Champion |
| F | Lost in Final |
| SF | Lost in Semifinal |
| QF | Lost in Quarterfinals |
| R16 | Lost in the round of 16 |
| Q | Did not advance to playoffs |
| T2 | Played in Tier 2 event |
| DNP | Did not participate in event |
| N/A | Not a Grand Slam event that season |
| Event | '14–15 | '15–16 | '16–17 | '17–18 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tour Challenge | N/A | DNP | DNP | DNP |
| Masters | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP |
| The National | N/A | DNP | DNP | DNP |
| Canadian Open | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP |
| Players' | DNP | DNP | DNP | QF[50] |
| Champions Cup | N/A | Q[51] | DNP | Q[52] |
Former events
| Event | '14–15 |
|---|---|
| Autumn Gold | Q[53] |
Other notable WCT record
World Curling Tour records other than Grand Slam.
| Result | Season | Event | Reference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Winner | 2014–15 | Avonair Cash Spiel | [54] |
| Runner-up | 2015–16 | International Crown of Curling | [55] |
| Runner-up | 2015–16 | Karuizawa International | [56] |
| Runner-up | 2015–16 | World Women's Curling Championship | [57] |
| Runner-up | 2016–17 | International Crown of Curling | [58] |
| Runner-up | 2017–18 | Red Deer Curling Classic | [59] |
References
External links
- Loco Solare (ロコ・ソラーレ), a.k.a. LS Kitami (LS北見): Official site (Google Translate)
- Facebook: Team LocoSolare (Google Translate)
- NPO, Tokoro Curling Club (常呂カーリング倶楽部): Official site (Google Translate, Nonprofit organization)
- Advics Tokoro Curling Hall: Official site (Public curling hall owned by Ktami City)
- 2016 Swift Current WCC's introductory PDF (pages 1, 15)
- Team Satsuki Fujisawa – Grand Slam of Curling