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7 Japanese pros to join Sunday’s Chagi Cup
A Japanese wakeboarder tries to keep his balance during the earlier Chagi Cup. (Jon Perez)
The one-day tournament will have the team event, composed of 6 to 7 players, in the morning and the individual competition in the afternoon. The awards ceremony will take place at around 6pm.
Osawa Hyouga and Takamura Taiga are the riders to watch after winning competitions in Japan and the U.S.
Hyouga is the reigning two-time Japan Wakeboarding Association boys’ champion and last year’s Chagi Cup middle men’s winner. He also won the Tokyo Odaiba Cable Wake beginner last month.
Taiga, meanwhile, placed third in the Wake Games junior boys’ category in the U.S. and fourth in the World Championship. He is also a two-time All Japan winner and finished third in the 2014 World Wake Games.
The annual tournament began in 2000 and run until 2009 before being shelved from 2010 to 2012 after direct flights from Osaka and Nagoya to Saipan were cancelled.
Tournament organizer Kimiko Deleon Guerrero said a lot of his friends and wakeboarders from Japan asked her to revive the event last year.
“I believe the Chagi Cup will attract more Japanese wakeboarders to visit Saipan. I hope that someday Saipan will be branded as a wakeboard Mecca since it is closest to Japan,” said Deleon Guerrero.
KKMP 92.1 FM, KSPN Channel 2, Marianas Visitors Authority, Boating Safety, Department of Coastal Resources Management, Department of Public Lands, Tasi Tours, PDI, PMT, R&C, Win Tours, Jonny’s Bar & Grill, Saipan Tribune, Himawari, Super Fish Diving, Inaoka Timber Dealer, Tokopanas, Hakatuka Marine, J&M Marine Sports and Café Corretto are sponsors and partners of the tournament. (Jon Perez)
