<DATE> Contents

Attention to Akeni
Carolyn Todd
SFM's newest addition to the writing staff takes an in-depth look at akeni, their history and production techniques
Rikishi of Old
Joe Kuroda
Joe Kuroda slides former yokozuna Minanogawa under his SFM microscope
Eric Evaluates
Eric Blair
Eric's wit scythes through the SML and makes clear his opinion of where the future lies for online sumo forums.
Eternal Banzuke Phase II
Lon Howard
Stats, equations and mathematics all lead to a list of sumo's most prolific up and downers
Matta-Henka: Another View
Lon Howard
A row that will never be fully decided but Lon gives his impressions on it all the same
Heya Peek
Mark Buckton
Mihogaseki, former home of Estonian sekitori Baruto is toured (and peeked at) by SFM's Editor-in-Chief
SFM Interview
Mark Buckton
Mark interviews shin-komusubi Kokkai
Photo Bonanza
See the Nagoya basho and Akeni photo bonanzas
Nagoya Basho Summary
Lon Howard
Lon gives us his Nagoya basho summary, along with the henka sightings results
Lower Division Rikishi
Mikko Mattila
Mikko Mattila casts his watchful eye over lower division goings on in makushita and below.
Aki Ones to Watch
Carolyn Todd
Carolyn takes over the job of rikishi job performance prediction for SFM as she looks at those to keep an eye on come September
Kimarite Focus
Mikko Mattila
Our man Mikko's latest trio of kimarite get thrown about the SFM literary dohyo
Amateur Angles
Howard Gilbert
Howard returns with the second of his columns on the amateur sumo scene.
Sumo Game
SFM's very own quiz comes in for a bit of self scrutiny by our secretive man of questions. We'll call him 'X'.
Sumo in Print
Barbara Ann Klein
SFM’s Editor reviews “The Little Yokozuna”, a book for “young” (and older) adults
Kokugi Connections
Todd Lambert
Check out Todd's bimonthly focus on 3 of the WWW's best sumo sites
Fan Debate
Facilitator - Lon Howard
Keri Sibley and Eduardo de Paz  ponder the concept of ‘to pay or not to pay’ makushita salaries
SFM Cartoons
Stephen Thompson
Sit back and enjoy the offerings of one of sumo's premier artists
Lets Hear From You
What was it that made you a sumo fan? SFM’s own Todd Lambert details his path into sumofandom
Readers' Letters
See what our readers had to say since we last went out
Sumo Quiz
The Quizmaster
Answer the Qs and win yourself next basho’s banzuke.

Amateur Angles

by Howard Gilbert
gaining full recognition, which includes introduction into the Olympic programme, requires a majority vote of the 115 Olympic members at a full Session of the IOC. This would only be put to the vote once amateur sumo had convinced the powers that be that they are ready to become a fully-fledged Olympic sport.

As a point of comparison, five other sports that have IOC provisional recognition were presented to the Olympic Session in Singapore in July 2005 to be considered for the 2012 Olympic programme. Days earlier, the Olympic Games had been awarded to London and the decision before the Session was the sporting make up for 2012. Two sports (baseball and softball) were dropped, and none of the five provisional sports (Roller Sports, Golf, Rugby Sevens, Karate and Squash) gathered enough votes to be included. A message was sent that the Olympiad needs to be a manageable two-week event and that there were already enough

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For those of us interested in amateur sumo, the past two or three months have raised issues about the direction of the sport, the stakeholders within and around it, and the issue of player welfare and development. In one corner is the International Sumo Federation (IFS) and its system of continental and national sumo federations under the IFS umbrella. In the other corner stand Big Boy Productions and their World Sumo League (WSL), an attempt at staging and popularising the sport for commercial profit that began in North America in the past 12 months. The differing approaches of the IFS and WSL beg the question: Where is amateur sumo heading?

The International Sumo Federation is the established

international sports federation that administers amateur sumo worldwide. It currently has over 80 members, which are the national federations of various countries throughout five continents. Regional and world tournaments are held under this umbrella, and national federations generally hold tournaments in their countries in accordance with international rules.

The IFS has been provisionally recognised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) as having met some of the requirements for entry into the Olympic Games. What remains for the IFS (and approximately 30 other sports which are similarly provisionally recognised) is a process whereby the sport is elected into the programme of the Olympic Games. However,












































































 

















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