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The annual National Seven Universities Athletic Meet is being hosted this summer by Nagoya University. Over the next few months, member universities will be competing in 43 sporting events to decide this year's overall champion.

To cheer on Tohoku University's athletes, a pep rally was held at Kawauchi Hagi Hall on May 15, attended by more than 200 members of the "Gakuyukai" (also known as the "Students' Friendship Association"), student representatives and faculty advisors of Tohoku University's sports clubs.

The event was also broadcast live for students and alumni to watch online.

In his speech, President Teiji Tominaga, who is also the new head of "Gakuyukai," said that Tohoku University students have always been very active in extra curricular activities, as shown by the growth of the "Gakuyukai" from having nine member clubs in 1921, to its current roster of 193 student organisations.

"Student life is not only about classes and research," he said. "I encourage all students to engage in clubs and extracurricular activities where you can make many friends, encourage each other to grow and help each other achieve your goals."

The president added that he's confident Tohoku University will put up a good fight in this year's tournament, especially after last year's disappointing fifth place finish.

"I look forward to seeing the passionate rivalries and heated matches with the pride of the universities on the line," he said. "And I hope that all athletes, regardless of which university they represent, will deepen their bonds with each other through the tournament."

The captains of Tohoku University's women's volleyball club and water polo club took the players' oath on behalf of all Tohoku University's athletes to "do our best in the tournament, show the fruits of our hard work and training, and win in the spirit of fair play."

The university's cheer squad (応援団) and cheerleaders then took center stage with a spirited performance.

The seven imperial universities involved in this tournament are Hokkaido University, Tohoku University, the University of Tokyo, Nagoya University, Kyoto University, Osaka University and Kyushu University.

The main tournament will officially begin in Nagoya in June, but three winter sports were completed earlier this year - ice hockey (in which Tohoku University finished in third place), skiing (second) and aviation (third). Results of the other sports, and the race to the overall championship, will be published on the tournament's homepage.

Tohoku University has traditionally done well in this tournament, winning 16 championships so far, including four consecutive titles between 2017 - 2022.