Notice Regarding Category Ranking Changes for Freestyle Western

Notice Regarding Category Ranking Changes for Freestyle Western
We would like to report that there has been a change in the rankings for the Freestyle Western category at Asia Massage Championship 2026.
Following the conclusion of the competition, a review was conducted regarding the performance of the competitor who had initially placed 2nd in the Freestyle Western category, from the perspective of competition regulations and safety management.
As a result, it was confirmed that there had been a violation of competition regulations, and that a serious safety concern had arisen during the performance. Careful deliberations were held among relevant parties, including the competition organizers, Asia Massage Championship Chief Judge Takeshi Uehara, and International Massage Association (IMA) Representative Jeppe Tengbjerg.
Subsequently, direct contact was made with the competitor in question, and a hearing was conducted to verify the facts. The circumstances and reasoning behind the decision were explained to the competitor, who understood and voluntarily returned the medal.
We express our sincere gratitude to this competitor for making such a courageous decision. At the same time, we sincerely apologize on behalf of the organizers that such a situation occurred during the competition.
In light of this matter, a decision was made to revoke the ranking and silver medal of the competitor in question. The medal has already been collected, and a silver medal has already been awarded to the competitor who originally placed 3rd, moving up in the rankings.
Additionally, as a result of this ranking change, the competitor who originally placed 4th has moved up to 3rd place and will receive the bronze medal.
Rightfully, this competitor should have been formally recognized at the awards ceremony on the day of the competition, in front of the audience and fellow competitors. However, since the decision to change the rankings was made after the competition had concluded, it was not possible to properly honor them and present the medal at that time.
We sincerely apologize to this competitor on behalf of the organizers for this.
We once again express our deepest respect for the effort and dedication this competitor demonstrated through their long preparation and sincere approach to the competition, and we offer our heartfelt congratulations as the official bronze medalist.
Going forward, we will handle the medal presentation with the utmost sincerity, while respecting the wishes of the competitor.
Accordingly, the rankings for the Freestyle Western category have been revised.
The official rankings, including scores for the top 10 competitors in the Freestyle Western category, will be published on our website.
This will reflect the official rankings incorporating the current ranking changes, and we kindly ask that you refer to it.
AMC considers it an important responsibility to uphold safety, fairness, transparency, and the consistent application of competition regulations, while respecting the effort and challenge of every competitor.
We take this matter seriously, and going forward, we will work to more clearly establish competition guidelines, prohibited actions, category definitions, safety management systems, and emergency decision-making processes.
We also hope that fairness, transparency, and safety will be firmly upheld and further improved at massage championships held around the world in the future.
Through this statement, we hope that the massage competition industry as a whole will continue to develop in a healthy direction.
Lastly, we deeply apologize for the significant inconvenience and concern caused to all affected competitors, judges, and event personnel as a result of this ranking change.
We further apologize that the rankings had to be changed after the fact, and above all, that the organizers were unable to make a prompt decision and thoroughly verify the situation on the day of the competition.
We take this matter to heart and will ensure that this reflection leads to concrete improvements in future event management.
We extend our sincere gratitude to all competing athletes, judges, attendees, and everyone who supported the championship.
Asia Massage Championship
Event Operations Office
Takuto Kawakami
Representative, Asia Massage Championship
Takeshi Uehara
Chief Judge, Asia Massage Championship
Jeppe Tengbjerg
Representative, International Massage Association (IMA)