In parallel to a trial won by World silver medalist Yasuhiro Ueyama to determine the Japanese national team that will compete at the Asian Games, Wajima hosted the 17th Japanese Age Group Championship on May 12-14, 2006.  The competition took place pursuant to rules similar to the rules of the International Age Group Competition (i.e., qualifications based on an optional and final).

In the men's 17+ age group, all major Japanese athletes competed.  In a testimony to the depth of the Japanese team, Manabu Yamaguchi created a real surprise by winning the competition with 40.80 pts.  Yamaguchi, who had qualified for the final in 2nd position behind Ueyama with 39.90 pts (14.90 pt tariff), competed a nice 15.10 pt routine in the final.  Yamaguchi had finished 4th of the trial organized before the competition.  Japanese International Masaki Hitomi (pictured on the right) did not miss the gold medal by much.  He also obtained 40.80 pts, but had to settle for the silver as his difficulty (15.50 pts) was higher than Yamaguchi's.   Hitomi had qualified for the final in 3rd place with 39.20 pts (same 15.50 pt tariff).  A slight deception came from World silver medalist Yasuhiro Ueyama, who had tremedous results so far this year: gold medals at the World Cups in Ghent and Krasnodar, gold medal at the Japanese trial, and silver medal at the Pacific Alliance Championship.  Ueyama qualified for the final in 1st place thanks to a 40.20 pt routine (15.50 pt tariff).  In the final, he modified his traditional routine and competed a 15.70 pt routine.  His routine obtained a score of 40.60 pts, and he had to settle for the bronze medal. 

Takashi Sakamoto, who competed a 17.00 pt routine last year, took a surprising 4th place with 40.00 pts thanks to a 16.20 pt tariff.  He preceded Masaki Ito (39.40 pts), who finished 4th at the Krasnodar World Cup, and Takayuki Kawanishi (39.30 pts too).  They were followed by Hideyasu Ishikawa and Daisuke Nakata.   Shunsuke Nagasaki could not complete his routine in the preliminaries and finished only 48th.  World bronze medalist Tetsuya Sotomura withdrew, possibly due to his reported loss of skills.

In the women's, Haruka Hirota (pictured on the left) topped Hiromi Hanmoto 36.80 pts versus 36.70 pts.  The competition in the women's was far less disputed than in the men's.

Another notable result was the victory of Subaru Shintani in the 13-14 age group with 37.40 pts (12.00 pt tariff) in the final.  Shintani had finished 4th of the 2005 International Age Group Competition (13-14). 

Yamaguchi (pictured below on the right) completed his success by winning the synchro competition paired with Masaki Hitomi.  They edged the pairs Masaki Ito-Takayuki Kawanishi, who were the recent winners of the Krasnodar World Cup, and Daisuke Nakata-Shunsuke Nagasaki. 

Summary Results:

Men - Final
1. Manabu Yamaguchi   40.80 (15.10)  (prelims: 39.90/14.90/2)
2. Masaki Hitomi           40.80 (15.50)  (prelims: 39.20/15.50/3)
3. Yasuhiro Ueyama      40.60 (15.70)  (prelims: 40.20/15.50/1)
4. Takashi Sakamoto     40.00 (16.20)  (prelims: 39.00/15.00/4)
5. Masaki Ito               39.40 (14.40)  (prelims: 38.40/14.40/5)
6. Takayuki Kawanishi   39.30 (15.50)  (prelims: 38.30/14.90/6)
7. Hideyasu Ishikawa    38.10 (14.00)  (prelims: 36.90/14.00/9)
8. Daisuke Nakata        38.10 (14.60)  (prelims: 37.80/14.20/7)
9. Sugai Keita              37.70 (14.60)  (prelims: 36.70/14.60/10)
10. Takeyuki Baba        37.40 (14.40)  (prelims: 37.70/14.40/8)

Women - Final
1. Haruka Hirota           36.80 (11.20)  (prelims: 36.30/11.40/1)
2. Hiromi Hanmoto        36.70 (11.90)   (prelims: 35.80/11.90/2)
3. Natsumi Yamashita    34.80 (10.30)  (prelims: 35.10/10.30/3)

Men  Synchro - Final
1. Masaki Hitomi - Manabu Yamaguchi   50.40 (15.10)
2. Masaki Ito - Takayuki Kawanishi       48.60 (14.90)
3. Daisuke Nakata - Shunsuke Nagasaki 48.50 (14.40)

Link to the detailed results