Autumn Qualifiers Open: Toyosu Technical Edges Past Edagawa High, Whose New Club Meets Its Own Safety Goal

The autumn qualifying round of the student wall-racing tournament opened at 9 a.m. on the 5th at the Kameido No. 2 Wall. As previously reported, this year's field is a record 187 schools, with 62 first-time entrants. The very first team to climb was Municipal Edagawa High, one of those first-timers, facing last autumn's runner-up, Private Toyosu Technical. The result was 4 tiers 2 links to 2 tiers 3 links in Toyosu's favor — a match many had expected to be lopsided, but Edagawa briefly led at the second tier. "I said we wouldn't hold back against a first-timer," Toyosu's coach admitted afterward, "but honestly, the early going caught us off guard."

By 9 a.m. the stands at Lane 4 were largely filled with people connected to the two schools and scouting delegations from others. Edagawa's first climber reportedly froze briefly on a wall wider and taller than the one at the old floodgate. Even so, the match stayed even through the second tier, prompting one official at the judges' table to remark, "That's not a start you'd expect from a first-time school." Toyosu pulled away from the third tier onward, its experience showing in steadier, more consistent climbing.

Edagawa High fields only nine members in a club founded two years ago, training on the smaller, lower wall of the old Shinonome floodgate under nighttime restrictions that force practice to end before dark, as previously reported. Its coach, 41 and without competitive climbing experience, had said before the match, "The goal isn't winning — it's all nine of them coming down safely." Afterward he said quietly, "We met that goal. That's where we start." None of the nine climbers withdrew or fell during the match; all descended following standard safety-line procedure.

One Edagawa climber who took part in Wednesday's open practice session said, "The real wall is wider than the practice one — I was honestly scared. But my hands moved better than I expected." Of the federation's newly mandatory safety briefings, the coach said, "I'd heard it might become a permanent fixture. Today I felt why." After the match, both teams lined up in ceremonial formation and bowed at the base of the wall. Toyosu's captain said, "Somewhere in us, there was probably some part that underestimated a first-time school. Next time we meet, I want to fix that carelessness too."

Parents and local residents also turned out, including a neighbor who has watched Edagawa's students head home from cut-short evening practices for months: "I couldn't help wanting to cheer today." Edagawa's coach spoke individually with each climber afterward, telling them, "I want to see today's wall again next year." With the club only two years old and making its first appearance, one school official said, "The fact that they simply stood on that wall matters more than the score."

Toyosu Technical won its opening match but its coach flagged work to do: "That wasn't the climbing we're known for. We'll fix it before next time." Qualifying continues through something close to a round-robin format among the 187 schools, running to the November final at Kameido No. 2 Wall; Edagawa's next match date will be announced soon. A federation official said, "More than anything, we're relieved to open a year with this many first-timers without a serious accident" — a sign, in the official's view, that the new mandatory safety briefings had done their job. The official also noted that 17-year-old Migiwajima Rui had reached a personal-best ninth tier in the wall-racing league the night before: "For student athletes, the nearest benchmark just moved up another notch, on the same night and into the same morning."