Saturday, March 23, Sunday, March 24, Monday, March 25, 2019
■Teams participating in the ANTLERS SPRING FESTIVAL
(1) Kashima Antlers School Select A (2) Kashima Antlers School Select B (3) Kashima Antlers School Select C (4) Fuchu Shinmachi (5) Kashiwa Mighty (6) Hasaki FC (7) Kashima City Select (8) Johoku Boreas (9) FC Regalo (10) FC Anhelo (11) Furukawa Battery FC (12) Hebiishi FC (13) Iwate Grulla Morioka (14) Shiogama FC (15) Nakano FC (16) Johoku Boreas
Total 16 teams
■Tournament Venues
・Mikasayama Hamanasu G (Days 1, 2)
・Hokkaihama Multi-purpose Playing Field (Days 1, 2)
・Bokuden no Sato Sports Park (Day 3)
■Tournament Regulations
Match time: 15-5-15, 8-a-side
Tournament Days 1 & 2: League matches, Tournament Day 3: Ranking-based tournament
If the ranking-based tournament matches are tied, a penalty shootout will be held (3 players).
■Tournament Results
Winning team: Kashiwa Mighty FC
2nd place: Fuchu Shinmachi FC
3rd place: Shiogama FC
■2019 ANTLERS SPRING FESTIVAL Day 1
The first day unfortunately had bad weather, but the coaches and Antlers school select players prepared the grounds in the rain.
As it was hosted by Antlers, we all worked together with a spirit of hospitality, doing everything by hand from ground preparation to cleanup, hoping that everyone would consider it a good tournament.
The purpose of this tournament was to promote exchange with other regions, and many players who had never participated in an away game before, as well as teams that rarely went on away games, participated.
Iwate Grulla Morioka, who traveled the furthest, arrived safely, and all teams were present, so the tournament began on schedule.
On the first day, the first match started at 12:00, and each team played three 15-minute halves. The rain intensified, the temperature didn't rise, and most teams had traveled a long distance, so I thought they might be tired, but as expected of fourth graders...
They ran around the field full of energy.
■2019 ANTLERS SPRING FESTIVAL Day 2
Unlike the first day, the second day was blessed with fine weather, and each team desperately ran around on the beautiful natural grass.
The second day's matches were even more serious than the first, as the results would determine whether teams would advance to the upper or lower bracket tournaments on the final day.
The Antlers team also huddled together to get pumped up, and there were many passionate matches on the second day.
After the matches, we held a fun event indoors to fulfill another objective of this tournament: to create an event where players from different teams could interact a lot, both on and off the pitch.
Various games where teams competed against each other, and a quiz competition with individual battles, were held with豪華 prizes at stake.
The fun event was even more lively than the matches, with participants shouting enthusiastically. Both the players who won prizes and those who didn't were very happy.
And finally, a surprise guest appeared!!
Ogasawara Academy Advisor, who had supported the Antlers top team for many years as captain until last season, made an appearance!
Amidst loud cheers, he presented a signed T-shirt on the spot to the winner of the quiz competition!
It was a very exciting fun event, with a commemorative photo taken with everyone and high-fives as they left.
■2019 ANTLERS SPRING FESTIVAL Day 3
On the final day, all 16 teams gathered at Bokuden no Sato Sports Park for the tournament.
Each team was more motivated than on the first and second days to aim for an even higher rank, and energetic shouts filled the air from warm-up.
This tournament also had many awards, including team awards for first and second place, as well as individual awards for MVP and MIP, with a total of 13 award categories. The children gazed at the displayed prizes with sparkling eyes, exclaiming, "Wow, this is amazing! I want this!"
The tournament concluded with Kashiwa Mighty, who participated from Chiba Prefecture, as the champion.
Finally, everyone took a photo with the stadium in the background!
Both the teams that achieved good results and those that didn't had a lot of fun, both on and off the pitch, and the tournament ended successfully.
This festival-style tournament was a first, but we plan to continue holding it to promote interaction between school students and many other teams in the future.
