People :
Winner of the All-Japan Trampoline Tournament
Ms. Yuho Nakata

Born Gunma Prefecture, 1985. Graduated from Tokyo Metropolitan Notsuda High School. Currently in the third year of the School of Sport Sciences. Member of Prof. Chiaki Nakamura's Seminar. Hobbies are movies and music. Received Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Award in the All-Japan Tournament. In January won First Prize in the All Japan Double Mini Championships and Best Contestant Award for the second time.

Her shy smile and modesty give no hint of the tough spirit typical of successful sportsmen. Yuho herself thinks she has an easy-going character, and this comes out at tournaments. “On one occasion my turn came, and I took my time coming forward. They had to call my name out twice,” she said laughing. She has being performing on the trampoline for about 15 years. The All-Japan Tournament she won in November last year was a memorable event for her because she won the same tournament when she was in elementary school. “I was so happy. It'd been a long time since I did so well in a big tournament. I didn't think my performance was perfect, so I was surprised when I heard the result,” she said with a gentle smile.

On the trampoline, contestants can bounce high with very little effort by timing the beginning of the jump just right. A really high bounce can be over 6 meters. In tournaments, contestants do 10 exercises in about 18 seconds. When Yuho was in the third year of junior high school, she got a slipped disk and stopped performing on the trampoline. But then she thought, “Trampoline is a part of my life. I want to win a tournament again.” So she began trampolining again in the first year of high school. She joined the newly formed trampoline club, and aimed at winning the All-Japan Tournament.

Yuho grew up in Ishikawa prefecture, the home of many trampoliners. Her sister was the first to take trampoline lessons, and Yuho decided to follow her when she was still in kindergarten. In trampoline, there are two kinds of performance: ‘Individual’ and ‘Synchronized’. Yuho says, “I feel different about each kind of performance. In ‘Synchronized’ I'm bouncing with a partner and I'm under pressure not to make a mistake. On the other hand, it can be a little easier because we lower the difficulty to match our performance levels. But, if I could choose, I'd prefer to do well in ‘Individual.’” She intends to retire from trampolining when she graduates from university in two years’ time. “When I really want to win, I think no one can beat me. But usually, I'm not a competitive person. After graduation, if I feel like it, I might just start trampolining again.”

Yuho belongs to the Trampoline Club and practices under Hirofumi Morita, the Club manager, who is a graduate of Waseda. They work together as a team, and could easily be mistaken for father and daughter. Their next goal is Yuho's 10th All-Japan Tournament and representing Japan in international championships. We wish her all the best as she soars high in her chosen world.