1. Math mania: Led by Mr. Bertman, 6 SOIS "mathletes" competed in a math mania event hosted by Seoul International School (SIS) in South Korea. 
2. Leadership: Led by Mr. Sheriff, 4 SOIS student council leaders participated in a leadership conference, also hosted by SIS in Seoul.
3. Basketball, boys: The Sabers high school boys varsity basketball team, coached by Morioka-sensei and Mr. Kralovec, vied for a season-ending championship at the annual AISA tournament, hosted this year by Yokohama International School.
4. Basketball, girls: After hosting - and winning - the WJAA girls basketball tournament last week, SOIS hosted the AISA tournament this week. The Sabers, coached by Sagara-sensei and Okamoto-sensei, were defending AISA champions, having won the tournament last year in Busan. The Sabers JV team competed, also.  

​Both the boys and girls basketball tournaments will be livestreamed. Be sure to tune in. Click on the basketball links above for tournament information.

SOIS hosted the 2019 Western Japan Athletic Association (WJAA) high school girls varsity basketball championship tournament January 18-19 in a chilly Sabers gym, and the Sabers thrilled the home crowd by winning the WJAA title, defeating Yokohama International School in the finals, 35-32. In a scrappy defensive battle full of turnovers and jump balls, neither team could mount much of an offensive attack. OIS senior Niki Heimer led the Sabers with 10 points, with SIS senior Yulia Ikumi adding 9 points despite spending much of the game on the bench with foul trouble. Haruka Mibuchi scored 8 points, Akari Sugimoto added 4, and Sakura Okamoto and Karen Akashi each chipped in 2 points to round out the scoring for Coach Sagara's team. 

• Yulia Ikumi, Haruka Mibuchi, and Sakura Okamoto were named to the all-tournament team.
• For more details (rosters, photos, scores), visit the tournament webpage.
• photo album here
• Replay of championship game on YouTube. (Special thanks to Mr. Frater for the livestreaming.)

RESULTS UPDATE

• JV girls: 1st place
• JV boys: 2nd place

Congratulations, players and coaches. Great results.

The high school boys junior varsity basketball team is playing in the WJAA tournament hosted by Yokohama International School, January 11-12, 2019. Good luck to Coach Morioka and Coach Sala and the boys.

Be sure to check out the tournament website for team photos and live streaming of the games.
www.yis.ac.jp/school-life/athletics/tournament-page

For Makoto Honda, 1998 graduate of SIS (then known as OIA, Osaka Intercultural Academy) and veteran of many basketball victories on the Sabers hardwood, Wednesday night’s annual Fossils-Sabers matchup was especially important. 

“You know, this was the first time I’ve ever been on the winning side in this game,” Honda remarked after the game. “The Fossils always beat the varsity team back when I was a Sabers player in the 1990s. The teachers back then, like Mr. Combes, Mr. Pekin, Mr. Tromburg, Mr. Berg, Mr. Searle, Mr. Zulauf, Coach Bonnette, Coach Heimer, those guys could really ball. Then, once I joined the Fossils team about 15 years ago, all those guys moved away and Heimer got old, and the varsity have always won. So, I’ve always been on the losing end.”

Until Wednesday night. ​

Sabers athletic gear is now available for sale. Deadlines approaching.

• Sabers jacket ジャージ.  Order deadline 締切: 2018年10月22日(月)18:00まで. Pink order sheet.
• Sabers hoodie パーカー.  Order deadline 締切: 2018年10月26日(金)18:00まで. Online order form.
• Sabers t-shirts. "SaberStrong" short-sleeve Under Armour, and Sabers logo long-sleeve raglan. AD office.

Visit the Sabers merchandise page for details.
Show your Sabers spirit! Go Sabers!
 

Middle school Sabers sports
セイバーズの中等部（MS）のスポーツチームの情報
現在のMSのスポーツ / Winter season I MS sports

• girls soccer 女子サッカー Coach Nikolic
• boys basketball 男子バスケットボール  Coach Ray, Coach Sala
• swimming 女子男子水泳  Coach Bertman, Coach Kano
• running 女子男子トライアスロン, ランニング  Coach Munemasa, Coach Cheney

Schedule: http://sabers.senri.ed.jp/season-schedule.html

• セイバーズの中等部（MS）のスポーツチームの練習は、毎週、火曜日と木曜日の15:45–17:45 PMです。
• Sabers MS sports teams practice on Tuesdays and Thursdays, after school, 15:45–17:45 PM.
• すべての中学生が、セイバーズのスポーツチームに参加してくれることを期待しています。
• All MS students are encouraged to join a Sabers team.

Swim practices: Tuesday, Thursday, 16:00–17:15  First practice: Thursday, October 18.
15:45 change; 16:00 on deck, in the water. Wait for PE swim make-ups to finish.

10月16日（火）TUESDAY, OCTOBER 16: Sabers Sign-Up, first practice
First Tuesday after previous season’s WJAA / AISA tournaments.
Too many boys and girls to host one joint meeting, so we split into 2 meetings.

• 15:45 - 16:15: boys basketball / swimming meeting, room 210; girls soccer start practice on field.
• 16:15 - 17:15: practice, basketball and soccer (swimming practice begins Thursday)
• 17:15 - 17:45: girls soccer meeting, room 210; boys basketball finish practice.
• 17:45: everyone go home.

Don’t forget SABERS SIGN UP  セイバーズ・サインアップ

• 一年に一回、シーズンが始まる前にセイバーズ・チームに参加することを希望する生徒は、セイバーズ・アスレティクス・ウェブサイトからオンラインでサインアップをしなければいけません。(sabers.senri.ed.jp - Forms).
• Once a year, prior to the start of a season, all students wanting to join a Sabers team must sign up online on the Sabers athletics website (sabers.senri.ed.jp - Forms). 

Three high school Sabers teams - cross country, girls volleyball, boys volleyball - wrapped up their 2018 fall campaigns with strong showings at AISA competitions Friday and Saturday, October 12-13, 2018. 
 
Top billing goes to Coach Hirai, Coach Yoneda, and the girls volleyball team who dominated the 2018 AISA tournament held at Seoul International School, conceding only one set in four matches, and dismantling the Dragons of Yokohama International School in the finals, three sets to none. All-tournament team members are Yulia Ikumi, Asumi Muto, and new SIS 11th grader Miharu Otake whose thunderous spikes were like many sale items from Amazon  - nonreturnable, no matter how hard you try. Otake, who spent the past four years in the US, credits her jumping ability and power to the strength training she did there. Otake says, "Strength, speed, and jump training has really benefited my explosiveness, flexibility, and coordination. And I think it has helped prevent injuries, for me, anyways. I hope more Sabers athletes, boys and girls, will learn how to do athletic multi-joint compound exercises like cleans and squats. It made a big difference for me. An AISA championship made all the hard work worth it."
 
Coach Mitsuhashi, Coach Majima, and the boys volleyball team traveled to International School Busan with high hopes of repeating their 2017 AISA championship, but fell short of that, losing to Yokohama International School in the consolation match to finish in 4th place. Richie Dix and Neo Yokoyama were named to the all-tournament team. With only one senior – Fumiya Okabe – and two freshmen, the Sabers are already looking forward to a better finish next year.
 
SOIS hosted the second annual AISA cross country meet at Senri Kita Koen. The meet featured freshly mowed grass (thank goodness), perfect weather (thank goodness), and a thrilling finish in the opening race (oh my goodness!). In the first race of the meet, the men’s 1st and 2nd seed individual race, OIS junior Riki Sampson came from behind in the final 50 meets to edge a surprised KIS runner at the line by 0.13 seconds. (See photos below.) A tired but elated Sampson told reporters, “I miscounted and thought there was one more lap, so I was saving my energy. Fortunately, I realized my error just in time. I was always better at sprinting than at math.” Sampson's AISA victory was the big highlight for an SOIS team that finished in 3rd place out of four teams, a long 89 points behind champions KIS. The Sabers had only four boys on the team, so their scores were “pushed” too high to make any run at a better finish. All-meet members were Miki Fujito, Karin Iwaki, Tyus Sheriff, and Riki Sampson. The Sabers won the “fair play” award, a great testament to the spirit and camaraderie of the team. Coach Munemasa and Coach Cheney look forward to building up team numbers and team speed in the upcoming years.

Be sure to check out the cross country webpage for more details and photos.
 
Congratulations to all Sabers 2018 fall season high school teams, managers, and coaches.
 
Below: Sabers 1st seed runner Riki Sampson (left, black uniform) chases down a started KIS Phoenix runner and crosses the finish line just 0.13 seconds ahead to capture the 2018 AISA men’s individual championship.

http://sabers.senri.ed.jp/ms-volleyball.html
​
SOIS hosted the WJAA middle school boys volleyball tournament May 11-12, 2018, in the Sabers gym. For the third year in a row, both the Sabers A and B teams won championships in their divisions, completing an unprecedented "triple double" title run dating back to 2016. The A team, under the leadership of Coach Sugishita, kept its composure after an opening match upset loss to win 5 straight matches for the title. The B team's championship was its 5th in a row under the helm of B team coach Michael Routh.

Sabers high school players Neo Yokoyama, Goshi Tanaka, and Leon Gonno were volunteer assistant coaches and helped greatly. Special thanks to the 4 Sabers managers for their vital work all season and during the tournament as scorekeepers: Marina Ninomiya, Janet Jones, Arisa Yoshikoshi, and Asuka Hong.

​It was a fun, competitive tournament full of parity. Both A and B divisions ended pool play with 3-way ties for 2nd place, sets of 3 teams with identical 2-2 records. Determination of who advanced to the finals came down to the final points of the final matches of pool play. Both championship matches went 3 sets - fun to watch.

Congratulations to Coach Sugishita, his first year as coach of the A team, and to Coach Routh. For Coach Routh, this was the 5th straight championship for his "Killer Bs" B team, a perfect ending to his legendary Sabers coaching career before he moves on to China.

Thank you to all players and coaches and managers and SSC members.