Our KYOKUYO BLUESTARS were back in action this year, despite having to replace a few members due to an unfortunate accident. Tomoharu, an original member, had to step down from the front line due to a covid infection just before the event. But that didn't stop them! Substitute Yuki, a new addition to the team this year, was selected to take his place. The team was fired up and ready to go for their first win!

BLUESTARS had the awesome opportunity to participate in a special training session with a coach from the cutter club of Shimonoseki Fisheries University before the main event. They were ready to make history and claim their first victory! Our very own auditor, Noriyuki Fukushima, who has experience in cutter competitions, also joined the training session. Thanks to his expertise, the crew was able to master the oar with ease, and expectations for the competition reached new heights!

Then, on July 21, the much-anticipated "10th Shimonoseki Cutter Race" got underway under a blazing sun that had been shining down from a clear sky since early morning. We were up against some tough competition in the first round, with "8026GOGO," a mixed team of men and women, and "Hikoshima Seiren Team B," a team from Hikoshima Smelting Co., Ltd., who surprised us all by entering three teams in the race, despite it being their first time taking part.

The incredible KYOKUYO BLUESTARS made a spectacular dash for the starting line, delivering the best ever performance when the referee signaled them to start the race! The first part of the race was an absolute nail-biter with Hikoshima Seiren Team B giving it their all. But after a smooth turnaround, our team really found their groove and gradually widened the gap, finishing in the top position! After seven long years since its first participation in 2017, our BLUESTARS finally got the victory they were chasing!

The KYOKUYO BLUESTARS are on their way to the semi-finals! They've made an impressive first-round victory, and we can't wait to see what they do next. In the semi-finals, the first three teams from among the 27 teams that had qualified in the preliminary rounds, in order of time, will advance to the finals!

Their semifinal opponents, the formidable "Seibu Association for Maritime Safety" and the tenacious "Old Boys from Shimonoseki Marine Boys Club," are both tough teams that are regulars in this competition. As the race got underway with high expectations, the BLUESTARS gave it their all but couldn't quite match the smooth oar handling they had shown in the first round. Perhaps it was because of fatigue from the first round (or perhaps because they had eaten too much for lunch). Our boys were unable to catch their breath, and ended up in last place by a mere 5.18 seconds.

But wait! When the time sheets were checked after the semi-finals, the two opposing teams had advanced to the finals in second and third place, and KYOKUYO BLUESTARS' time was a very respectable 7th place overall. In other words, if our team could only improve their time by a little more than 5 seconds, they would have been in good position to reach the finals!

And so, this summer came to an end. Seven years after our first participation in 2017, we have achieved a single-digit ranking out of the 78 teams participating in the general public, which is an achievement to be proud of, right? After last year's qualifying round and this year's first win (7th overall), our goal for next year is to finally make it to the finals? We hope so!