Para Sports in Japan

Candy commemorates para-medal at Vancouver

2010-05-24T03:05:00.000-07:00

Hitachi Systems Sales Promotion Department, where Paralympic medal winner Yoshihiro Niita works, dotes on this kintaroame candy. It was made especially to commemorate Niita's win.

Oita International Wheelchair Marathon set

2010-05-10T06:11:00.000-07:00

The 30th annual running of the Oita International Wheelchair Marathon is now set for November 14, 2010. The full marathon will start at 11:00 a.m. Look here for more details.

Chiba Hawks lose WCB championship game

2010-05-05T03:25:00.001-07:00

Shucks.

I got to the Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium just before 2 p.m. The two teams were already on the floor -- The Miyagi Max and the Chiba Hawks. Being from Chiba, I naturally wanted to see the Hawks win.

Introductions were taking place, and the players wheeled themselves between lines of cheerleaders. These are top-notch athletes. I was surprised to see that 11 of 14 players on the Hawks team were in wheelchairs because of traffic accidents. Amazing. About half the Max team were also traffic accident victims.

Hundreds of fans were on hand to watch the game. These are not people who came because of sympathy for people in wheelchairs. They came to watch high-level basketball. And they were not disappointed.

Notice the extra wheels in the open space near the bottom of the photo. This is intense action. Players end up on their backs more than once. And during the game, in the second half, a player had to call on those extra wheels because one of his got bent. One more thing. When a player goes down, the game goes on. The player gets back on his wheels by himself. For some, that's not an easy task.

For the first time, Japan's National Wheelchair Basketball Championships final game was broadcast live on Sky Perfect satellite TV. Again, not because of the disadvantages the players overcame, but because this game represented the very best of sports and sportsmanship in Japan.

First half action was hot and heavy, but the MAX clearly outclassed the Hawks (to my eyes anyway). Player No. 13 on the MAX team was like Kobe Bryant. He scored more than 30 points in the game. Fujimoto is his name, and I can't help but think he'll be a mainstay center for the Japan National Team. He's a big guy with long arms, and once he gets the ball in the key, there's no stopping him.

Halftime saw the Hawks down by 13 points, 35-22. The team huddled at the edge of the courts for a conference with Head Coach Tetsuhiro Kikuchi.

The cheerleaders put on an acrobatic halftime show, but everyone had their eyes on the two teams. What would the second half bring? Could the Hawks hold Fujimoto down? Could they up their percentage from the field?

The Hawks gave it their all. The team played its heart out. They tried this strategy and that, but nothing seemed to work. The MAX had a great fast break that earned them basket after basket, and Fujimoto just kept on scoring from the post. When the final whistle blue, the MAX had won, 76-46.

My Chiba Hawks were runners-up. But they and their rival Miyagi MAX had shown me 80 minutes of top-flight basketball. They deserved the applause that the crowd gave them. Just wait. Next year the Hawks will be back!!

Wheelchair basketball nationals

2010-05-04T07:20:00.000-07:00

I'm going to the Japan Wheelchair Basketball National Championships tomorrow. Will report on and photograph the championship game. If we're lucky, the Chiba Hawks will be in that game. More tomorrow.

Tsuchida wins London marathon

2010-04-30T02:29:00.000-07:00

Wakako Tsuchida not only won the London wheelchair marathon, she also won the Boston wheelchair marathon last week. No other athlete has accomplished that. Check out her win on Youtube here.

The art of para-sports photography

2010-04-12T03:55:00.001-07:00

If you want a taste of the tremendous effort and talent and just plain guts that the paralympic athletes give to their sports, click on this button!!

Photos from Vancouver Ice Sledge Hockey

2010-04-05T03:51:00.000-07:00

Click on the photo for more.

photos from Vancouver Wheelchair Curling

2010-04-05T03:42:00.000-07:00

Click on the Pic to see more.

Photos from Vancouver Biathlon

2010-04-05T01:54:00.000-07:00

Biathlon!

Parateam Japan has put these photos up on the web. Have a look at tremendous athletes in action.

Snapshots from Vancouver

2010-03-29T06:04:00.000-07:00

Click here and feel the fever all over again!

Mistake

2010-03-26T05:10:00.000-07:00

I wrote a blog for my Outlaw Trail blog and put it on this blog by mistake. Sorry. If you want to read it, go here.

Sushi platter feats ice sledge hockey team

2010-03-24T01:20:00.000-07:00

The rolls feature red tuna and chutoro tuna wrapped in rice and salmon. Caviar makes a nice puck, and celery carved into hockey sticks top out the plate. Available in Vancouver at Kamei Royal, 1030 Georgia Street, Vancouver. Available from March 24. Thanks guys for saluting the silver medalists!

Ota gains silver on the final day

2010-03-22T05:21:00.000-07:00

The skier's blog tells us that Shoko Ota earned a silver medal in the 1km sprint. She got bronze at Torino but stepped up to silver at Vancouver. Well done. Congrats to the Hitachi Ski Club. Information from the Hitachi System Ski Blog http://www.skiblog.jp/archives/2010/03/post_912.html.

Photos of the ice sledge hockey medal awards and action shots

2010-03-20T18:32:00.000-07:00

I got up early in the morning to watch these modern day samurai take on the American powerhouse. Japan's team did a credible job against the more experienced Americans, but their biggest kudo was beating the Canadian team on its home turf. The Japanese team can bear their silver medals home with tremendous pride.

Ice Sledge Hockey

2010-03-20T13:46:00.000-07:00

USA Gold, Japan Silver. Good game!

Japan alpine skiers get silver and bronze

2010-03-20T04:19:00.001-07:00

NPO STAND's collaboration site with Seijun Ninomiya had this photo of the alpine skiers medal ceremony. Silver medal to Hiroki Morii, Bronze medal to Toru Karino. Sorry if I get the names wrong, there are so many ways to read Japanese names. See the original photo on this site.

Ice Sledge Hockey Finals on NHK

2010-03-20T04:12:00.000-07:00

Freelance writer Miharu Araki is a big ice sledge hockey fan. She says NHK will broadcast the ice sledge hockey finals between Japan and USA here in Japan live. That puts the time at 3:45 a.m. on Sunday March 21. Can't decide whether to go to sleep and get up or just stay up all night. Time will tell. Fantastic job by the ice sledge team! They can hold their heads high, win or lose.

Japan beats Switzerland

2010-03-17T04:34:00.001-07:00

Japan's wheelchair curling team garnered its second win by taking Switzerland.

Day off for Japanese ice sledge hockey team

2010-03-15T19:56:00.000-07:00

The team showed up at the wheelchair curling venue to provide support for the Japanese contingent.

Oginata takes bronze

2010-03-15T07:46:00.000-07:00

Twitter at http://twitter.com/navagraha_ tells us that alpine skier Kuniko Oginata took a bronze in her sport.

Crazy local Japanese supporters

2010-03-15T05:56:00.000-07:00

Japanese living in Vancouver are doing their best to cheer Japan's paralympians to greater efforts and higher placings. Their antics were shown on the big screen in the Ice Hockey stadium.

Kubo takes 7th place

2010-03-15T05:17:00.000-07:00

Skiblog_aurora tells us that para-skier Tsunezo Kubo placed seventh in cross-country competition. Kubo belongs to the Hitachi Ski Club, who supplied the picture.

Japan wins over Slovakia

2010-03-14T23:06:00.000-07:00

Just got word that the Japanese ice sledge hockey team won its first game against Slovakia. The score was 5-0.

Kazuko Ito in Vancouver

2010-03-14T06:16:00.000-07:00

This is a rough translation of the blog report made by Kazuko Ito of NPO STAND, who is representing us all at Vancouver.

The Paralympics are on.
I went to the opening ceremonies of the Vancouver Paralympics. I was really glad I came to Vancouver. I saw the opening ceremonies of the Winter Olympics a month ago, too. Now I think maybe I thought too much about comparing the two. Still, it kind of comes naturally. Look at these tickets. The size is different. The smaller one is for the Paralympics. For what reason, I have to wonder. So as to use less paper? Less printing ink? Or was it to save the environment?

The opening ceremony tickets. The one on the left is for the Paralympics, right is the Winter Olympics.

There was a lot of difference in action on the streets of Vancouver, too. Perhaps because there were fewer visitors. I'd looked forward to the street performers, but there were none. I was left with time on my hands.

But the moment I arrived at the stadium, all was forgotten. I was enthusiastic and excited. The Paralympics were on!

The Opening Ceremonies

The sound of the brass band vibrated against our skin as the IPC flag was raised. The provided the fanfares for the entire ceremony, and they made us feel that we should sit up straight and pay attention.

Raising the IPC flag

The Japanese contingent enters the stadium

Balloons go up and images are projected

Then the eternal flame

The items passed out to the audience lacked the quality of the Olympics, there were empty seats, and not much entertainment . . . I couldn't help thinking there was a huge differences in budgets. Do we dwell on that? Or do we look for something greater? I couldn't make up my mind. What good would it do to compare? Many people gave their best efforts to give us a memorable opening ceremony. It's nonsense to compare. It was a wonderful opening ceremony!

Nevertheless, the entrance of the athletes was the most memorable of all. It started with no warning. We couldn't think about sitting down. The groups of athletes followed one after the other in close formation. Every nation's flag. We stayed on our feet the whole time. In the Winter Olympics, you stand up when your country's athletes enter, then sit back down and don't pay much attention. But at the Paralympics, everyone cheers for every athlete. When the athletes entered the stadium, it was as if everyone in the house was applauding their entrance. It was an experience the Olympics could not produce. It was fantastic. I was totally satisfied. I and everyone else was filled with a warm feeling, and the Paralympic fever caught on.

One more thing. A wonderful thing happened. Quite by accident, I met one of the Japanese residents of Vancouver. Her name was Ms. Shima.

With Ms. Shima

They organized a cheering section on their own and came out to meet us. She was the head of a cheering section of about 30 people. Their children made about 1,000 Japanese flags. They even proposed the toast (kanpai!) at the Japanese consulate reception. These wonderful people, who live so far away, came to join us, to cheer us, to watch our athletes in action. Look at their twitter tweets.

Today our ice sledge hockey team won their game with Czech.

I saw our photographer, Mr. Shimizu, who will be putting photos on our blog at Challenger TV. Have a look.

Until next time.

Vancouver Paralympics opening ceremonies

2010-03-13T08:06:00.001-08:00

I'm watching the opening ceremonies. It warms my heart to see the stands completely full. When the Asian Youth Para Games were held, only a smattering of fans showed up for the athletic events. Those same games saw more than a million accesses from over two dozen countries.

We're in Japan, but we'll be watching.

Vancouver Paralympics

2010-03-12T16:14:00.000-08:00

Look here for the official website.

Some of Japan's paralympians.

Mitsuru Nagase

Native of Asahikawa in Hokkaido. Nagase is the goalkeeper on Japan's ice sledge hockey team. Vancouver is his third Paralympic appearance. He actually got into disability sports while an exchange student in Canada, and works hard in his home town to promote sports activities for persons with disabilities. He's a director of the Japan Paralympian Association.

The cover of a book by Kuniko Obinata -- Walls are made to be broken down

Obinata was born in Tokyo and suffered loss of her legs in a traffic accident at age three. She graduated from the law faculty at Chuo University in 1996. She is now a member of the Japan Paralympic Committee's steering committee.
She started alpine skiing while still in high school and represented Japan in her first Paralympics at Lillihammer in 1994. She's been on the team ever since. Vancouver is her fifth appearance as a representative of Japan in alpine ski events.

Kenji Takigami -- Crosscountry skier
Born in Hokkaido, Takigami now lives in Aichi prefecture. While automobiles are Takigami's hobby, his real love is reserved for crosscountry skiing. This time, there was a moment when Takigami thought maybe his prosthetics would not be ready for competition, but with help from Japanese residing in Canada, and from the coach of the Japanese team, he was able to get ready by competition time.

More about Japanese para athletes in days to come.

NPO STAND's Kazuko Ito left yesterday for Vancouver. Athletes Villagewill carry blogs from her and I'll put the interesting portions into English for you who don't read Japanese.

NZ Wheelchair Open in Waikato

2010-03-07T06:32:00.000-08:00

Honma san fit his seed with a fourth place. More details after he's posted his blog. I got the results off the official site, but there's no description of the action.

Honma in New Zealand

2010-03-05T04:06:00.000-08:00

The New Zealand Wheelchair Tennis Open is on in Hamilton, New Zealand. The Japanese contingent is doing well, but I'll concentrate on Masahiro Honma, who I know and who is blogging from NZ.

Japan's Fujimoto is second seed; Honma fourth. Honma won his first match with Australian "Andrew," 6-2, 6-3. Honma took a fall, which he is not prone to do, but all turned out OK.

He won the second match with Lee Hinson, 2-6, 6-0, 7-5. That put Honma right where he was seeded, in the top four. Tomorrow he plays in the semifinals. In that semifinal game, he must face his teammate, Fujimoto.

Honma writes of a quad player who he respects tremendously. James McCloud. He's won the Waikato Quad six times in a row, Honma says. "He can move only his right hand, but he's quick. He's not very big, but he's a great tennis player." Will he make this his seventh quad victory at Waikato? or will the top seeded Koga win? "Tomorrow will be very interesting," Honda says.

Paralympic athletes

2010-03-04T03:47:00.000-08:00

The website for Japan's para-athletes, Athlete's Village (http://www.athletes-village.jp/), lists the athletes competing in the March 12 Paralympics in Vancouver.

Alpine Ski
Kuniko Ohigata

Cross Country Ski, Biathalon
Hiroyuki Nagata, Yoshihiro Nitta, Tsunezo Kubo, Shoko Ota,Kenji Takigami

Tsunezo Kubo/Photo by Arai

Ice Sledge Hockey
Mitsuru Nagase

With Mami Sato in Shibuya

2010-03-01T20:11:00.000-08:00

Not only is Mami Sato a Paralympian long jumper, she's also a first-class speaker. Yesterday (March 1) I accompanied her to Tokiwamatsu Elementary school in Tokyo's Shibuya Ward. Tokyo's a big city with a population of more than 12 million living within the metropolitan boundaries. So it seemed a bit incongruous to visit an elementary school with only slightly more than 120 students in six grades.

After a meeting with the school principal, Tomiko Mori, a vivacious woman who obviously took her position seriously and was concerned with the welfare of each of her charges, we went to the gymnasium, where the entire student body greeted Mami with a standing ovation, then sat cross-legged on the floor to listen to her speak.

Mami spoke of her childhood and how she decided at an early age not to let her love of sports and athletics interfere with her need to study. "You can do both," she said. "And both are important."

She spent her elementary and junior high years in her home town of Kesennuma, in Miyagi Prefecture, but decided to attend a boarding high school in Sendai, the prefectural capital. While there, she was not only a top-notch athlete, she also studied hard enough to pass the entrance exam to Waseda University, one of Japan's most prestigious private schools.

First she told the kids about her days on the cheerleading squad. Then she quietly recounted discovering that she had bone cancer and would have to lose her right leg below the knee. More than a hundred children and a bevy of adults listened in total silence as Mami related the feelings she had while fighting cancer, and how she turned to sports to build a new life.

Standing before her audience, Mami looked absolutely normal, if that's the word to use. The children surely didn't totally realize what she was talking about. Until she brought out her sports leg.

It doesn't look like a leg, unlike Mami's other prothesis.

"How heavy is it," a third grader wanted to know.

"Here, lift it. See? It's heavier than it looks, right?" Mami never lost her trademark smile, and the children were enthralled.

Mami took off her daily prothesis and fitted the sports leg. She showed the children how it fit and what kept it from falling off. She showed them how it provided spring when she ran. She even ran a race with some students across the gym. With that, she ended her talk and the 5th grader MC opened the floor for questions. At first the questions were ones that had been prepared in advance with one spokesperson per grade. Then came the Monster game.

Playing the "Look for a Monster" game allowed children to come in close contact with Mami. The questions became ones that children really want to know. "Does it still hurt?" "Was it hard to learn to walk?" Things like that.

The 4th grade hosted Mami and I for lunch of sardine, daikon radish, egg-drop soup, and a 180cc glass bottle of milk. Some of the guys went back for seconds. The lunch was nourishing and well balanced, undoubtedly the work of a professional nutritionist.

After a short meeting with the PTA mothers, we left the Tokiwamatsu Elementary School behind. I drove Mami to Shibuya station and myself back to the office in Monzen Nakacho.

I have no doubt that these youngsters will remember Mami Sato for the rest of their lives. And I think they'll watch the Paralympic games. They'll certainly view people with physical disabilities with different eyes now, thanks to Mami's superb presentation and selfless mingling with a hundred and more young students.

Off to New Zealand

2010-03-01T02:47:00.000-08:00

Honma does "chair work" with his physical trainer

Masahiro Honma tells me the Japan team is off to New Zealand tomorrow to compete in the New Zealand Wheelchair Tennis Open, held this year in the city of Hamilton. If you are interested in keeping track of how the Japanese players do, hit this URL:
http://www.sportwaikato.org.nz/news.cfm?article_id=342&page_obj_id=4

Support for the Para-curling team

2010-02-28T07:31:00.001-08:00

According to Kannane Net, word came from the Asahikawa Cute para-curling team. The Asahigawa team said they sent a support flag (with messages from a bunch of fans) to the national Wheelchair Curling Team in Vancouver.

They also sent another message. Four years from now, Asahigawa Cute women plan to represent Japan at the next Paralympics!

Photo from kannane.net

Elementary school with Mami

2010-02-27T15:54:00.001-08:00

Paralympic long jumper Mami Sato often speaks at elementary schools. I will join her tomorrow (March 1) at an elementary school in Tokyo's Shibuya Ward to see exactly what she does.

These are photos from her blog, Mami's Diary. She said I could borrow them for this blog, whenever. This young woman is a bundle of energy and I've never seen her without a smile on her face. If she has a gloomy side, she doesn't show it in public. In fact, the para-athletes I'm personally met have all been bright, optimistic people who have a firm grip on their lives. They're inspirational.

Busy day on Friday

2010-02-27T05:09:00.001-08:00

Yama-chan of Manatees Diving and I met with the CEO of Nozomi Securities for lunch. CEO Itsuki Toyama is also a para-diver. His company does a great deal to boost the community and to help preserve Japanese culture. Specifically, Nozomi provides a venue for young rakugo traditional comics so they will be able to perform before live audiences and hone their skills.

Nozomi Securities has a history of very nearly a century, and is one of Japan's conservative yet profitable securities companies. CEO Toyama began as a trader and recently celebrated his 60th birthday. It was a pleasure to meet him. Thanks Yama-chan.

Five in the evening saw Yama-chan and I at the Roppongi Midtown complex. Underwater photographer Ikuo Nakamura's photos are on display for a month there and are well worth a trip to Roppongi to view. Photos were forbidden, but what do we have cellphone cameras for anyway. Although I did not count, I imagine upwards to 100 people were at the kickoff, including many from the media and a number of well-known personalities.

Author Makoto Shina toasts photographer Ikuo Nakamura.

Mami Sato contributes to new sports book

2010-02-24T22:39:00.000-08:00

Iwanami Junior just launched a new book (in Japanese) called Introduction to Sports Development. Several high-ranking athletes contributed to the book, which was edited by Shu Takamine. Mami wrote the chapter on Paralympics and the process of becoming a top-level para-athlete. She says she was somewhat reticent about doing the chapter, especially in a book for kids, but with encouragement from the publisher, feels she did a decent job. The book shows young athlete wanabes what kind of dedication and effort is needed to become a top-level player, whatever sport they choose to compete in.

This is Mami's second "book." Her first one details her life from her cheerleading days at Waseda University through losing her leg below the knee to bone cancer to discovering para-athletics to long jumping to a Japan record and competing in two paralympics so far. This inspiring tale should really be put into English, but at the moment, it's only at the idea stage.

Strong athletes like Mami Sato are an inspiration to us all.

Masahiro Honma readies for the New Zealand Wheelchair Tennis Open

2010-02-22T23:17:00.003-08:00

I went to the Tennis Training Center in Kashiwa, Chiba Prefecture, about 32km from my home. Masahiro Honma, one of the athletes on Japan’s national wheelchair tennis team, had scheduled four hours of workouts with the team’s coaches and physical trainers.

Leaving at 6:30 a.m., I thought I’d have plenty of time to reach the center before Masa started his workout at 8. About eight kilos out, the morning rush hit, and it took me nearly as long to drive those eight kilos as it did the first 24. At any rate, I arrived at the Tennis Training Center about 10 minutes late. Story of my life.

Masa was already on the center indoor court with his instructor. The two hour workout concentrated on one aspect of Masa’s game at a time. Serving. Volleys. Pinpoint returns. Backhands. Forehands. The works.

At 10, he switched from his tennis chair to his “life” chair and we went into the lounge to wait for the physical trainer.

Masa told me that the Tennis Training Center teaches about a dozen and a half wheelchair tennis players, including the top four on Japan’s national team. Shingo Kunieda, the No.1 wheelchair tennis player in the world, trains at TTC.

The New Zealand Wheelchair Tennis Open will be held in Hamilton, NZ, March 5-7, and Masa is the fourth seed. “I need to make the semifinals,” he said. “Especially as I’m seeded fourth.”

He put in a hard day on the courts. When the physical trainer arrived, the two of them headed outside for “wheelchair training.” No use of tennis racket involved. It’s all starting and stopping, turning and whirling, speeding through a multiple slalom of pylons, working to whittle down the time.

Tomorrow, Masa’s daughter finds out if she passed the entrance exam to the high school of her choice; one where she can be in a high-caliber hip-hop dance organization. Masa spoils his only child, but she loves her Dad.

Today, Masa put in a thorough workout. He bundles his tennis chair into the back of his Daihatsu Move van and stashes his racket case alongside the chair. You can tell he’s totally in control. No doubt he’ll do well in New Zealand.

Masahiro Honma with Paralympic long jumper Mami Sato and a wheelchair tennis teammate.

Masahiro and teammate with NPO STAND officer Kazuko Ito and sportswriter Seijun Ninomiya

Yama-chan is back

2010-02-22T03:26:00.000-08:00

SCUBA Diving Club Manatees was named for the mammals that inhabit the warm waters around Florida and the Caribbean. The club went to Crystal River in Florida to swim with the endangered manatees.

This year the weather has been very cold in the American south. Manatees die if the water gets too cold. Crystal River is fed by a hot spring so the waters are always much warmer than the ocean, so manatees came from all around. One count put the mammals in Crystal River at 3,000, which is one-third of the entire manatee population of Florida.

No trouble sighting manatees on this trip, says Yama-chan.

News from Asahikawa, Hokkaido

2010-02-19T03:25:00.000-08:00

I got an email from a Mr. Konno, who has a site that supports "adapted sports." Here's one of his posts, which is really great.

Without thinking about it, we became friends through adapted sports . . .

Then we find ourselves cheering our friends on as they compete . . .

That's how we want it to be, we here at KANNANEKONNE.

Especially with winter adapted sports -- ski, skate, and sports like these are only possible when nature cooperates. And when the community gets involved. But the community can only be involved if people are involved, people who care for other people, people who love their community.

We want to promote adapted sports. We want to thank our community, right? And we want our children to watch what's happening in Vancouver. We adults should be aware of what our children think and feel.

(Konno)

Mami's report

2010-02-19T03:09:00.000-08:00

I said I would put Mami's report of the Japan Paralympic ceremonies and send-off on this blog, so here it is. The photos are below in the first posting.

Tuesday, February 16, the day a Japanese athlete won a our first bronze medal at Vancouver, ceremonies for the athletes going to the Winter Paralympic Games were held at the JAL Hotel in Daiba, Tokyo.

Japan’s 42 para-athletes will compete in alpine ski, Nordic ski distance, biathalon, ice sledge hockey, and wheelchair curling; 53 administrators and support staff will accompany them.

Orientation came before the ceremonies. But first, Deputy Chairman Negi of the Paralympian Association of Japan (PAJ), who is also on the steering committee of the Japan Paralympic Committee, spoke to the athletes, giving them information about what to expect and cheering them on. At the venue, the JPC members sat facing the athletes and there was an atmosphere of tension in the hall, but Mr. Negi said, “I’ll change this atmosphere.” Still, it seemed he was quite tense, and when he returned, he commented, “As I thought, the Paralympics are a big deal.”

Then, as soon as the orientation portion was finished, time came to talk about PAJ, and that was up to me because Chairman Junichi Kawai was unable to attend and I had to stand in for him. At first they gave me five minutes, but the day before the ceremonies the time was cut to two minutes. Thankfully, after I finished, lots of people told me my presentation was short but very easy to understand. (whew) I haven’t been so tense for ages.

Once all the greetings were over, I got a chance to have a good look at the athletes and administrators, and found that I knew many of them. I couldn’t help smiling. There’s nothing more terrible that making a presentation before a lot of people you know (lol).

Actually, more that half the athletes at the ceremonies joined PAJ right then and there. We thank them for their cooperation.

In 2010, PAJ makes a new start as a foundation and I think we need to listen to all para-athletes, regardless of their sport, gender, or age.

About the ceremonies. VIPs included the Canadian Ambassador to Japan, Minister Agetsuma from the Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare, and Dietman Tana, the chairman of the Diet Paralympic Promotion Federation. The national flag was raised, and the captain of the Paralympic Team, Yoshihiro Nitta, made the Athlete’s Pledge. This will be the fourth Paralympic appearance for Nitta, and he said, “There’s no assurance that any of us can win medals. The level of Para-athletics has gotten that high.” Although he was careful, he also said that “we should never forget to be thankful for the opportunities we have.” The national flag bearer will be Ice Sledge Hockey team member Takayuki Endo.

There were more than 100 members of the media at the ceremonies.

Prime Minister Hatoyama came in after the ceremonies. From the podium he asked, “Where is Captain Nitta?” and he spoke to veteran athletes such Mr. Obinata and Mr. Hidai. After the PM spoke for a few minutes, he made the rounds of all the tables to speak to the athletes and give them photo ops.

Perhaps because there are not as many events in the Winter Paralympics, but the athlete entourage seemed to be familiar with each other and anxious to do their best at the Games.

I saw athletes my own age, Daisuke Uehara and Kozo Kubo, as well as Alpine and Curling athletes I’d met at the November event. It was good to see them and get a chance to speak to them again. The athletes were a bit tired (they’d been in meetings from 13:00 and it was almost 20:00 then), but they still looked good.

After the Winter Olympics, get ready for the Paralympic Opening Ceremonies on March 12!!

-- from Mami Sato, paralympic long jumper

OSAKA CUP Women's Wheelchair Basketball TOMORROW

2010-02-18T18:56:00.000-08:00

The International Women's Wheelchair Basketball OSAKA CUP is going on in Osaka right now. Tomorrow, four teams will vie in third-place playoff and championship games. Those games will be webcast live by MOBACHOO. Here is the address. http://www.i-project.jp/stand/mobachoo/wb-fgoc/

Third place game will be webcast from 10 am. Championship game begins at 13:30.

Opening Ceremonies in Vancouver

2010-02-18T05:23:00.000-08:00

Kazuko Ito, one of the secretariat of the Paralympian Association of Japan and the person who is the power behing NPO STAND, which does live webcasts of disability sports from Japan, went to see the opening ceremonies of the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. We've seen it on TV; she went in person. She reports the experience was highly emotional and promises to compare it to the opening ceremonies of the Paralympics in March.

Victory in Vancouver

2010-02-17T18:18:00.000-08:00

Mami Sato, Japan Paralympic long jump athlete, gave me her permission to copy her Japanese language blog as she writes about the Winter Paralympic athetes got together with supporters for a pep rally/send off.

Mami wrote:

Last night I went to the ceremonies to send off the Vancouver Para-athletes. I'll report as soon as I can, but couldn't find time to write details today. I'll do it as quickly as I can.

First off, I'll post some photos to let you feel the atmosphere. Many para-athletes and representatives of the media were there. I was able to give my speech without any glaring errors (whew). Come back for more tomorrow, I hope.

Miyagi Max puts 5 players on the National Wheelchair Basketball team

2010-02-16T23:40:00.000-08:00

The road to national prominence is rocky. Even after achieving the top level and getting five members placed on the Japan National Wheelchair Basketball team, finances are a problem. When international travel is involved, costs mount. And there's only so much individuals can take upon themselves.

Looking back.

Miyagi Max was organized in 1988, and took the name Miyagi Max in 1996. The goal, win a national championship. The steps toward that goal were first the Sendai city championships, then the Miyagi Prefecture tournament. After that, the nationals.

In 1999, Miyagi Max won the Japan Tournament (not the nationals) and player Masatetsu Sato garnered the MVP award.

In 2001, the team took 3rd place in the nationals.

Finally, in 2008 and 2009, Miyagi Max won the Japan Nationals!!

And now, in 2010, five Miyagi Max players have been selected for the Japan National Wheelchair Basketball team.

Hooray.

Look for details at the Miyagi Max site, although the English part has not been updated lately.

Kunieda wins 2010 Australia Open

2010-02-14T06:45:00.000-08:00

Shingo Kunieda, Japan's only professional wheelchair tennis player recently won the 2010 Australian Open, repeating his win of 2009. Kunieda is considered the top wheelchair tennis player in the world.

Women's Wheelchair Basketball

2010-02-12T06:54:00.000-08:00

I've already talked about the upcoming International OSAKA CUP, but perhaps a little about wheelchair basketball would be in order.

Wheelchair Basketball was originally developed by World War II veterans in the USA in 1945/1946. Since then, the sport has developed worldwide and was introduced to the Paralympic Program in Rome in 1960. It is one of the most popular sports in the Paralympic Games. It is designed for athletes who have a physical disability that prevents running, jumping and pivoting. Women's wheelchair basketball is especially popular, with leagues in the United States, Australia, Great Britain, Canada, and many other countries. Here are a few links that may be of interest.

http://www.nwba.org/index.php

http://wnwbl.sports.org.au/

http://www.gbwba.org.uk/gbwba/index.cfm

http://www.wheelchairbasketball.ca/en/homePage.aspx

Introducing Yama-chan

2010-02-10T05:19:00.001-08:00

Yukiko Yamazaki runs SCUBA Diving Club Manatees in Tokyo. She and I met in 1991 when I first certified as an open-water scuba diver. While she was not my instructor (I was certified in Mexico) I went on more than a few dives with Manatees. In fact, I got both my advanced diver's certificate and my rescue diver's certification at Manatees. Imagine how pleased I was to meet with Yama-chan after several years (two and a half in New Zealand building a yacht) to find out that her organization offers trial dives and diving certification for the physically challenged. If you're interested in scuba diving, Manatees is worth a call.

Yukiko Yamazaki
SCUBA Diving Club Manatees
15-17 Sakamachi, Shinjuku-ku
Tokyo 160-0002 Japan
Tel: 03-5367-1277

Tokyo Diving Club teaches physically challenged

2010-02-10T03:21:00.000-08:00

Itsuki Toyama wears a wheelchair, but that doesn't keep him from doing what he wishes. Itsuki wanted to learn scuba diving. Where could he be freer than in the weightlessness of Mother Ocean?

Enter SCUBA Diving Club Manatees. The Tokyo-based club, run by Yukiko Yamazaki and Hideki Goto, not only certifies PADI divers, it also provides instruction and assistance to physically challenged would-be divers. Scuba diving stresses the buddy system. Never go diving alone. With the physically challenged, the buddy must be a qualified scuba diver and preferably a divemaster or instructor.

Yamazaki, Goto, and Itsuki Toyama traveled to the diving pool in Funabashi, about 25km from Manatees' Tokyo digs. After learning the basics of breathing with a regulator, clearing the diving mask, adjusting the floatation vest to reach neutral buoyancy, Itsuki went into the pool.

Itsuki cannot use his legs. So he had web-fingered gloves, and can move through the water with the greatest of ease. See how he seems to hang in the water? His buoyancy is neutral, so he goes up and down slightly as he breathes air in and out.

At the bottom of the pool, five meters under water, Yukiko and Itsuki gaze out the windows. What a feeling of freedom. Itsuki can do almost everything any other diver can do, unlike when he's on land.

SCUBA Diving Club Manatees
15-17 Sakamachi, Shinjuku-ku
Tokyo 160-0002 Japan
Tel: 03-5367-1277

Ice Sledge Hockey

2010-02-08T19:28:00.000-08:00

The news may be a bit stale, but an international ice sledge hockey tournament was recently held in Nagano, with teams from Japan, the United States, Czech, and Norway . STAND was there to put the live action on the Web via Mobichoo. The games are still up, so you can take a look at the action. Unfortunately, the color is all in Japanese. Ito san had a talk and a photo op with Nagase, goalie and member of the Japan National Team, which is headed for the Paralympics in Vancouver.

http://www.i-project.jp/stand/mobachoo/jp-ish/eng/index.html

Winter Olympics

2010-02-06T03:14:00.000-08:00

Kazuko Ito, one of the secretariat of the Paralympic Association of Japan, told me she got tickets to the Winter Olympics. "The Para Olympic people always complain about coming after the Olympics, but none of us has actually seen any Olympic games. That's why I'm going. To get some first hand experience," she says. Good luck, and we'll expect a report when you get back, Kazuko.

Wheelchair womens basketball

2010-02-05T01:48:00.000-08:00

The International Womens Basketball OSAKA CUP tournament opens in Osaka on February 19. Live action webcast set for Saturday Feb. 20, 10:00 and 13:30, the third place and championship games. Check it out. http://www.i-project.jp/stand/mobachoo/wb-fgoc/

STAND by your team

2010-01-27T04:12:00.000-08:00

NPO STAND, a non-profit organization run by a team under the management of Kazuko Ito, does live webcasts of paralympian sports events. The whys and wherefores are most interesting.

Yukari Shiroshita and Kazuko Ito have long been friends. Yukari was and is a member of Best Brothers, Kanazawa's powerchair soccer team. Ito's public relations company, Pastel Labo, headquarters in Kanazawa, the capital city of Ishikawa Prefecture on the Sea of Japan. That year, Best Brothers were in the regional finals, to be held in Osaka, a three-hour drive away.

Yutaka Yoneyama starred on the Best Brothers team, but he had bad news about the Osaka trip. "I won't be going," he said.

"If you have financial problems," Ito said, "I'll lend you the money."

"It's not finances," he replied, and fell silent for a moment. Then he added, "My doctor says I can't go."

Ito felt so bad about Yoneyama staying in Kanazawa by himself while the rest of the team went to Osaka that she decided to webcast the games with mobile telephone cameras. Later she found out that Yoneyama donned his uniform and sat in front of his PC to watch the games and lend his fighting spirit to the team.

Her eyes mist up as she relates how STAND got started. "Once we did the webcast, we had to do it again the next year," she said. "Word spread. I began to get phone calls from other disability athletes. They wanted their games webcast, too. I'd been footing the bills all myself, which I couldn't continue to do indefinitely. So I organized NPO STAND, using an English word to mean 'independence.'"

Kazuko Ito

Kazuko Ito with wheelchair tennis players

and sports writer Seijun Ninomiya

at a charity auction sponsored by STAND

and the Japan Paralympic Association.

Besides powerchair soccer, STAND and its Mobichoo (a combination of MOBI-le and chukei, or live broadcast, in Japanese) webcast wheelchair tennis, athletics, ice sledge hockey, and other sports events as they occur. Many of these events can be viewed at the STAND site. Check out the Athlete's Village site STAND runs.

http://www.athletes-village.jp/eng/

And the Ice Sledge Hockey site, too.

http://www.i-project.jp/stand/mobachoo/jp-ish/eng/index.html

How to beat cancer and the competition

2010-01-19T04:30:00.000-08:00

At 19, Mami Sato headed a varsity cheerleader squad at Waseda, Japan’s top private university. One summer day she hurt her ankle landing from a high lift and thought she’d sprained it. The ankle never healed. Not in a week, not in a month. But Mami was a grin-and-bear-it kind of athlete, so it was December before the pain got so intense she went to a local clinic.

“I thought it was a sprain,” she said to the doctor, “but maybe it’s a stress fracture.”

The doctor had her ankle X-rayed. His face was stern when he called her in to show her the film. The end of her ankle bone had dissolved. “You need treatment at a specialized hospital,” the doctor said. “Go to the National Cancer Center.”

Mami was diagnosed with osteosarcoma -- bone cancer.

“We’ll start you on chemotherapy right away,” the doctors said. “Nine months to a year.”

“You mean I have to stay out of school for a year?” Mami asked.

“Yes, and we won’t be able to save your right leg.”

“. . . .”

“There are really good prosthetics now. You’ll do fine,” they said. “You’ll even be able to participate in sports.”

Sports? Mami clung to the spark of hope brought by those words. She could be an athlete. She could beat this thing.

After three months of chemo, Mami lost her right leg to the surgeon’s knife. They left about four inches below the knee. Then six more months of chemo.

While in the chemo ward, Mami learned to stand up again. Then to walk. Frustrated by her seeming lack of progress, she’d cry into her pillow at night. I want to walk. I want out of this room. I want to go out into the fresh air.

The next day she returned to the rehabilitation room with renewed determination. Nearly ten months after she walked into the National Cancer Center, she walked out.

She learned to swim. At the pool, she saw a poster for the Tokyo Sports Center for the Disabled. I’m one of them, Mami thought, but can I run?

Through the center, Mami was introduced to Fumio Usui, Japan’s foremost maker of prosthetics for enabled athletes. She joined Usui’s Health Angels.

“Usui Sensei made me a prosthetic,” Mami said, “and I ran 50 meters . . . well, it was closer to a walk, but I made it.”

By the time she could actually run, Mami’s hair had grown back in. “I think my body remembered that I’d been a swimmer and a runner,” she said. “Sports give you tremendous power.”

As an extension of her sprinting, Mami began broad jumping. One of the staff members of the Sports Center had been a broad jumper and he coached her.

Mami entered her first track meet the summer after she left the hospital. She ran the 100 meter dash and broad jumped. “I only jumped a little over three meters,” Mami said with a smile, “but the length didn’t matter. I competed, and that thrilled me. I decided to see how far I could really jump, and I found myself wanting to compete in the Paralympics.”

Japan’s Paralympic trials were held in March 2004. To qualify, Mami had to jump 3 meters 55 centimeters. Up to that moment, her best jump was 3.44, but on the very first leap, she set a personal best distance of 3.65. Mami qualified to represent Japan in Athens.

At Athens, Mami failed to make the second round. But back in Japan, she continued to extend her jumping range. She’d already set her sights on the next Paralympics in Beijing. This time, in the qualifying track meet, Mami jumped 4.46 meters, a personal best and a para-long jump record in Japan. She garnered her ticket to Beijing.

Mami didn’t win or place in Beijing. And the Japanese para-long jump record has gone to a rival jumper. “I’ll be at London,” Mami said. “And I aim to be back on top.”

# # #

Powerchair Soccer

2010-01-18T17:36:00.000-08:00

The opening ceremonies begin at 11 a.m. The athletes enter the gym, one after the other. The captain finds the team placard and leads his teammates to it. They line up behind the placards, which are held aloft by volunteers. Sixteen teams, some with twenty players, some with half a dozen. The names echo the ferocity of the competition. Red Eagles. RC Crashers. Fine Friends. Best Brothers. Nanchester United. Rainbow Soldiers. The teams are here for the 15^th Japan Power Chair Soccer Championships, hosted in Kanazawa by the Best Brothers. A surprising number of fans fill the stands.

The athletes come in all sizes and shapes. Their eyes flash with anticipation. Their teams have won their way through regional competitions to earn a berth at the 15^th Japan Power Chair Soccer Championships. Some lean there heads against special rigging that helps keep their eyes on the playing floor. They operate their chairs with joysticks. One player can only move his head. He controls his chair with his chin. He’s a power midfielder for the Red Eagles.

Yukari is the captain-coach of Best Brothers. Her legs are tiny appendages to her body. Her eyes are big and round and her voices booms across the court. She’s the wife of the Head Coach of the Japan national team. Power Chair Soccer now has a World Cup.

“The American’s a tough,” says Ayumu, Yukari’s son and midfielder. Japan was instrumental in bringing together the Americans and the Europeans and the Japanese and forming a set of International rules for the World Cup. Last year saw the first ever Power Chair Soccer World Cup, played in Japan, and won by Team USA.

The players handle their power chairs like F1 drivers handle their racing machines. Speed is set at no more than 10 km/h, but the special-built power chairs whirl and brake and reverse and dodge with exciting alacrity. The chair operator may be unable to move on his or her own, hardly able to say a coherent word, fight at the constraints of their noncompliant bodies, but they play their power chairs like maestros, joysticks positioned to respond every command, no matter how small. I watched a young woman lying aslant in her power chair, head against a support apparatus and joystick positioned beneath the fingers of her right. She roamed the backfield, helping protact the goalee. She had an uncanny ability to judge where the oversized soccer ball would go, and she and her joystick and her power chair were there to cut it off, knock it out of bounds, or bounce it off to one of her team’s forwards. It seemed she could play for only a few minutes at a time, but the coach would send in a substitute, she’d come off to the sidelines, close her eyes and rest for a few minutes, then when the pinch came, back she went, using her interceptive skills to keep the enemy ball away from her goal and send swift passes into the other team’s forecourt where her power forwards waited to shoot for the goal.

Kato lies flat on his back. He surveys the playing field through a parabolic mirror. He’s learned to match the reverse images in the mirror with reality. His joystick commands are swift and precise. He guards the goal for Nanchester United, and no competitor on the floor is fiercer than he.

Kazuko Ito, a statuesque woman of 47 (she’d hate me for giving away her age), runs NPO STAND, the organization that promotes enabled sports in Japan. Thanks to her, millions of fans were able to watch the recent Asia Youth Paralympic Games from Japan. Ito set up an internet system called Mobachoo through which live action webcasts of the games were shot and uploaded from onsite mobile phones. Mobachoo webcasts of the 15^th Japan National Power Chair Soccer Championship semifinals and finals helped spread the sport across the Internet. The day of the finals, Ito could hardly speak. She wore a surgical mask to keep her germs from others. But she was there, and her team picked up the fever of the competition and webcast it to the world.

The first day of competition is over. The team Best Brothers sit in a semicircle around me. They were eliminated in the first round, 3-2, by the Red Eagles. BB was in the tournament because it was the host team. They just lost their coach to the national team. Yukari does her best while playing midfielder. Son Ayumu adds the enthusiasm that only comes from a 16-year-old. The team shows no disappointment with the loss. “We didn’t expect to score,” says Ayumu. “We came close to picking up a third goal. We totally outplayed ourselves.” Strange things happen in national tournament competition.

Yamazaki travels to Kanazawa from Niigata, more than 100 km away, just to play with Best Brothers. Yamazaki used to be a motorcycle rider until he had a terrible accident. Now he rides power chairs and plays a powerful game of soccer. His smile and enthusiasm lights up the whole gym.

Kyoko can hardly speak. I ask her what soccer means to her. The smile tells the story. “We need every player,” Yukari says. “Kyoko does more than her part.”

Granpa is the oldest player on the team. He plays a patient forward. While Ayumu and Yukari pass and dribble down the court, Granpa carefully positions his chair for greatest advantage. In the second half, he took a hard pass from Ayumu and caromed it past the Red Eagle goalie and through the uprights for the team’s second goal. His joy is catching. He can’t stop talking. His wife Keiko tends goal at the other end of the court. She grins when asked what power chair soccer means to her, and looks at Granpa. “We’re a team,” she says. “A real team.”