Shimizu Reflects on Fourth-Place Finish at Dougin Curling Classic
Tetsuro Shimizu posted a short reflection after Team Consadole's fourth-place finish at the Hokkaido Bank Curling Classic 2026 in Sapporo, thanking fans for their support throughout the week.
The 2018 Olympian wrote that the result stung precisely because the team had been playing good curling, and that the event left him with a sharp reminder of the areas he still needs to work on personally. He also thanked the tournament staff and ice technicians before looking ahead to the Wakkanai Midori Challenge Cup 2026 this weekend, where he intends to reset and go again.
Consadole — competing as Team Abe — swept Pool B with a 4-0 record, opening with a 6-3 win over India's Raju before beating Jutori (Full-Skewer) 10-4, Maeda (LOCODRAGO) 7-3 and Ogiwara (Sapporo International University) 6-5. That put them into the playoff round as pool winners, but they fell 7-6 to Yamaguchi (SC Karuizawa Club) in the semifinal and then 4-1 to Hirata (KiT Curling Club) in the third-place game.
The event ran August 20-23, with ten teams split into two pools of five; the top two from each advanced.
If you'd rather run his words directly, here's a clean translation of the post:
Translation of Social Media Post:
Fourth place at the Dougin Curling Classic 2026. Thank you for all the support! It's a frustrating result exactly because we were competing well — this event made me confront my own shortcomings. Thank you to the tournament staff and the ice makers. This weekend is the Wakkanai Midori Challenge Cup 2026. Time to reset and get back at it.
The 2018 Olympian wrote that the result stung precisely because the team had been playing good curling, and that the event left him with a sharp reminder of the areas he still needs to work on personally. He also thanked the tournament staff and ice technicians before looking ahead to the Wakkanai Midori Challenge Cup 2026 this weekend, where he intends to reset and go again.
Consadole — competing as Team Abe — swept Pool B with a 4-0 record, opening with a 6-3 win over India's Raju before beating Jutori (Full-Skewer) 10-4, Maeda (LOCODRAGO) 7-3 and Ogiwara (Sapporo International University) 6-5. That put them into the playoff round as pool winners, but they fell 7-6 to Yamaguchi (SC Karuizawa Club) in the semifinal and then 4-1 to Hirata (KiT Curling Club) in the third-place game.
The event ran August 20-23, with ten teams split into two pools of five; the top two from each advanced.
If you'd rather run his words directly, here's a clean translation of the post:
Translation of Social Media Post:
Fourth place at the Dougin Curling Classic 2026. Thank you for all the support! It's a frustrating result exactly because we were competing well — this event made me confront my own shortcomings. Thank you to the tournament staff and the ice makers. This weekend is the Wakkanai Midori Challenge Cup 2026. Time to reset and get back at it.
