By Yuta Matsumura, translated by Daia Koyano
For the first time in history, the Grand Slam of Curling is being held outside of Canada — and four Japanese teams are set to take on this historic stage. Yet this tournament is not simply another chance to compete.
Behind every stone they slide is a shared hope: that one day, the Grand Slam of Curling will be played in Asia.
With that vision in mind, each team begins its challenge, but the current reality is far from easy. Japanese teams have been grinding through a demanding season and are battling fatigue, inconsistent form, and a rhythm that has felt off from the start.
EARLY-SEASON STRUGGLES AND A DISRUPTED RHYTHM
For the past several seasons, Team Fujisawa, Team Yoshimura, and Team Tabata have built their calendars around the Grand Slams. However, results this season have not yet followed. Across the first two Slams, the three teams combined for just one playoff appearance — Team Tabata at the AMJ Masters.
"Compared to teams from other countries, we play so many events in a row. So maybe we need to be more deliberate about how we recover and manage our conditioning throughout the season,” a member of Team Yoshimura said.
And that awareness points to a structural challenge unique to Japan.
Japan has year-round access to ice, and the competitive season begins early, with the Hokkaido Curling Tour running through August. For teams that base much of their training and competition overseas, this means heavy workloads and fatigue accumulating before they even reach Canada.
Just as the Grand Slams, where ranking points matter most, get underway, Japanese teams are already deep into their season. If they fail to produce results there, they cannot collect ranking points and are forced to keep entering additional tournaments to make up the difference. By the time Japanese teams have already pushed through their first peak, many top international teams are only just starting theirs. That seasonal mismatch has been reflected clearly in the early results.
This year, another factor joined the mix: the Olympic Trials were held in mid-September. Both Team Fujisawa and Team Yoshimura won domestic tour events and peaked to win the Olympic Trials, but transitioning immediately back into the Canadian tour demanded difficult physical and mental readjustment. As a result, the first two Slams became a period where maintaining peak intensity was particularly challenging. In the midst of such an irregular schedule, each team is now faced with the challenge of managing the overall flow of their season.
AN OLYMPIC SEASON CREATES ANOTHER SHIFT
This is also an Olympic year, and with that comes an unusual selection timeline. Japan’s National Championship, which is normally held in February, has been moved to June instead, and the Japanese Curling Association has announced that the team with the highest WCTR ranking as of Jan. 28, 2026, will represent Japan at the World Championships.
In other words, the upcoming Grand Slams are not just tournaments — they may determine World Championship representation and momentum toward the next Olympic cycle.
We are now entering the pivotal mid-season stretch. Every result matters.
'SPINNER QUEEN' KITAZAWA SHOWS SIGNS OF MOMENTUM
Nicknamed the “Spinner Queen,” Kitazawa is known for her high-rotation shots that allow her to control and manipulate the stone with precision. What once appeared to be a trick shot has now become a reliable and dangerous weapon in her arsenal.
This season as well, she has executed several of these spinner shots in key moments, drawing cheers from the crowd.
However, Team Kitazawa’s season did not start smoothly. They consistently advanced out of the preliminary rounds in domestic events, but could not reach the finals. On the Canadian tour, they failed to qualify in multiple events, and the team struggled to build momentum.
The turning point came at the AMJ Masters Tier 2 in September. Against a strong mid-ranked field, they went undefeated to win the title and secure significant World Curling Tour points. They followed that result with a playoff appearance at the Stu Sells Toronto Tankard.
While the competitive level of those two events differed, their ability to steadily accumulate points has been key to their current position in the rankings.
The question now is whether they can continue this momentum and deliver results on the Grand Slam stage.
A STAGE THEY HOPE TO BRING TO ASIA
Many Japanese teams share a dream: to one day see a Grand Slam hosted in Asia. To make that possible, Asian teams must continue to prove themselves on the world stage. At recent events overseas, local fans have even remarked, “Japan has so many good teams."
The rise of younger teams such as the Jr. GSOC U25 men’s champions Team Maeda and the women’s runners-up Team Miura adds further promise to that future.
Team Yoshimura’s Anna Ohmiya expressed that hope directly — a belief rooted in both pride and in the sport’s potential to grow in Japan.
“I want people in Japan to see curling at this highest level, where the top teams in the world compete," Ohmiya said. "When you watch matches played at this speed and intensity, the appeal of curling becomes much clearer.
"The National Championships in Yokohama were exciting, but the Grand Slam is on an even higher level.
"Curling may not have the same popularity as soccer or basketball yet, but I believe people’s impression of the sport would change if they could see this level.”
I share that sentiment as well. There is a depth and appeal to curling that I hope more people in Japan can experience, and it is not just an outside perspective — this is a feeling shared by the athletes themselves.
A member of Team Tabata expressed it this way: "At the Grand Slam held in the United States, eight teams from Asia, including women’s teams, are competing. If this trend continues, I believe we will start to see the same kind of curling culture and excitement in Asia that exists in Canada.
"And if the day comes when the Grand Slam is held in Asia for the first time, it would mean so much to us.”
As more teams from Asia succeed on the world stage and the sport continues to gain momentum in the region, the possibility of a Grand Slam being held in Asia becomes increasingly real.
For the four Japanese teams, this challenge is more than simply taking part. It is a step toward bringing that dream — a Grand Slam in Asia — closer to reality.
Whether this stage becomes the spark that expands curling’s future across Asia remains to be seen.
