Rinka Watanabe, who won the ISU Grand Prix Series Round 2 in Canada and placed 4th overall in the Grand Prix Final, paid a courtesy visit to President Hirose.

On Thursday, February 2, 2023, Figure Skating Team member Rinka Watanabe (2nd year, School of Correspondence Education: Faculty of Economics), Skating Team Director Professor Asako TAKADA (Graduate School of Innovation Management, Graduate School of Professional Studies), Vice Director Professor Hirokazu ARAI (Faculty of Letters), and Figure Skating Team Director Yosuke TAKEUCHI (Faculty of Letters graduate) paid a courtesy visit to ISU President Katsuya HIROSE President Hirose reported on the results of the ISU Grand Prix Series.

The ISU Grand Prix Series takes place over the course of a year in six countries (France, Russia, China, Japan, USA, and Canada), and each competitor can compete in a maximum of two events.
The top six finishers in each event in terms of points earned at the six events will qualify for the Grand Prix Final, which is considered one of the three major competitions along with the Olympics and the World Championships.

Watanabe won the second Grand Prix Series event in Canada in October 2022, and qualified for the Grand Prix Final by finishing fifth in the fifth round in Japan (NHK Cup) in November, finishing fourth overall, 0.34 points behind the bronze medal at the Final in December.
Watanabe is also scheduled to compete at the World Championships in March.

Watanabe says, "Before, I didn't believe in my own skating, and there were times when my results didn't improve, but I have been able to achieve results in the senior class, which is called "late bloomer" in the figure world, so I will continue on this new path without fear. This is my first experience to compete in the World Championships, and I would like to perform to the best of my ability," he said, expressing his future aspirations.

President Hirose received Watanabe's report and said, "Women's figure skating is currently at a turning point as a sport, and I believe that Watanabe is an athlete who will truly symbolize the future of women's figure skating. I look forward to her future achievements.

We look forward to your continued warm support for the skating team.