Setsunan University: Sports Climbing Club Athletes Achieve Excellent Results

Athletes from Setsunan University's (President: Yasuyuki Kubo) Sports Climbing Club achieved excellent results. Natsumi Oda won the Lead Youth Japan Championship on May 16 and 17, with Kaede Fujita placing 3rd. Fujita won the Bouldering Youth Japan Championship on June 6 and 7. Ren Koyamatsu, who entered the university this spring, won the Speed Youth Japan Championship held on February 14 and 15. The results of these competitions are highly influential in the selection of athletes for the "World Climbing Youth World Championship Arco 2026" to be held in Italy from July 18 to 25, raising expectations for their selection.

[Key Points] - Athletes from the Sports Climbing Club achieved excellent results in the Youth Japan Championships. - These results significantly impact the selection of athletes for the World Championships in Italy in July. - A new bouldering wall has been completed on the Neyagawa Campus.

(From left) Koyamatsu, Oda, and Fujita, who achieved excellent results in the Youth Japan Championships.

The university's Sports Climbing Club was established in April 2022, with Jiro Nakagai, who serves as a coach for the Japanese national team, as head coach. The Neyagawa Campus is equipped with a lead climbing wall (height 12.5m, total width 9.5m), and a bouldering wall (height 5m, total width 25m) will also become available this summer. Both walls meet the standards for international competitions, and club members, including six athletes※ selected for the Japanese national team such as Tomoto Yoshida (ranked 3rd in the world in the "IFSC Climbing World Cup 2025" annual ranking) in lead climbing, are training hard in this world-class environment.

In the Lead Youth Japan Championship, Oda achieved her 5th consecutive victory and 6th overall victory, setting a new record for the most wins in the tournament's history. In the Speed Youth Japan Championship, Koyamatsu achieved his 4th consecutive victory, demonstrating overwhelming strength. Fujita won her first official competition victory in the Bouldering Youth Japan Championship.

The university designates seven organizations, including the Sports Climbing Club, Rugby Club, and Track and Field Club, as priority clubs and provides strong support for students' extracurricular activities.

※2026 Japanese National Team members enrolled at the university Lead: Tomoto Yoshida (4th year, International Studies), Mai Kobayashi (4th year, Food and Nutrition) Natsumi Oda (1st year, International Studies), Koon Nishio (1st year, Economics) Speed: Ren Koyamatsu (1st year, International Studies), Mikki Tabuchi (1st year, International Studies)

Sports Climbing Disciplines: "Lead," "Bouldering," "Speed"

Lead climbing involves climbing a wall over 12m high in domestic competitions, secured by a rope, competing on how high one can climb.

Bouldering involves climbing problems (routes) set on walls 5m or less in height, competing on the number of problems completed.

Speed climbing involves climbing a 15m high wall as fast as possible.