NAGOYA - Under blazing sunshine along the clear waters of the Nagara River, competitors faced off in a serious test of stone skipping skill on May 17th in Gifu City, where temperatures climbed to 31.2 degrees Celsius, marking the city’s first midsummer day of the year.
“This thermometer here is showing more than 30C,” reporter Tomohiko Maekawa said shortly after 1 p.m. from the riverbank in Gifu City, where the annual stone skipping competition was taking place.
The event challenged participants to see how many times a thrown stone could bounce across the river surface. A total of 131 people from across Japan gathered for the competition, now in its third edition and the only event of its kind in the Tokai region.
“Today we came from Osaka,” one participant said.
“We came from Hiroshima Prefecture,” another added.
Contestants searched the Nagara River’s gravel banks for stones they believed were ideal for skipping before taking their turns.
A participant from Gifu City said joining felt natural because the Nagara River was such a familiar part of daily life, while another from Yamagata City in Gifu Prefecture described the competition as “adults getting serious and having fun.”
The tournament was divided into five categories, including the elite “Master Division,” where 14 skilled competitors entered. Among them was Yokohama resident Hou Ning, originally from China, who had won the division for the previous two years and was aiming for a third consecutive title.
Asked about the secret to successful stone skipping, Hou said: “You get better results if you understand the waves, the stone, and your own strength.”
One family from Osaka attracted particular attention after every member finished among the top performers.
Yoshinori Semba won the men’s division with 11 skips, while his wife Aya placed second in the women’s division with nine skips. Their sons also finished first and second in the children’s division.
“It started with camping,” Yoshinori said. “We would go to rivers, look for stones during breaks, and throw them.”
Aya said the hobby had strengthened family bonds.
“It’s wonderful having something the whole family can enjoy together,” she said. “We’ve been spending much more time together.”
Despite his experience, Hou narrowly missed out on a third straight title, finishing third with 14 skips. The day’s best performance came in the Master Division, where one competitor achieved 16 skips.
Yu Morishima of the Gifu Chamber of Commerce and Industry said the appeal of stone skipping lies in its simplicity.
“It’s something completed entirely with what nature provides along the Nagara River,” Morishima said. “We want more people to experience it.”
The world record for stone skipping remains 88 skips, set in the United States in 2013, but competitors on the banks of the Nagara River showed no sign of giving up their pursuit of perfection.
Source: CBC
