At the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics, pre-camps for overseas athletes are planned in local governments nationwide, such as host towns, but many local governments have given up accepting them due to the burden of infection control.

According to the Cabinet Secretariat, which serves as the secretariat of the host town, 517 local governments nationwide register in the host town, and many of them plan pre-camps and some local governments accept their own.



In December last year, the government imposed responsibility on local governments to prevent infection with the new coronavirus, such as athlete inspection and behavior management, and announced guidelines requiring direct contact with athletes, such as using online for pre-convention exchanges. Did.



In addition, although we asked to agree on the partner country and infection control the beginning to the prospect next month, on the grounds such as that the exchange of the burden and players of infection control is limited, not one after another local government to abandon the acceptance I will.



[Kurihara City, Miyagi Prefecture] We


planned to accept South African hockey and men's team pre-camps on our own, but decided to give up because of the burden of infection control.



[Okuizumo Town, Shimane Prefecture] As a


host town, we invited the Indian national team for hockey, but we gave up accepting it because it was difficult to prepare for infection prevention.



[Gujo City, Gifu Prefecture]


We abandoned the invitation of the 7-a-side rugby girls' national teams from Colombia and Madagascar to camp in advance because it is difficult to take measures to prevent infection.



[Okaya City, Nagano Prefecture]


We had planned a preliminary training camp for the Canadian representative of table tennis, but the Canadian side said that the outlook for the spread of the infection was unclear, and that they intended to see it off.



[Saijo City, Ehime Prefecture] I


was inviting Austrian sports climbing, but the Austrian side told me that it would be difficult to visit, so I gave up the invitation.



There is also a view that the number of local governments that will abandon acceptance may increase in the future, and the Cabinet Secretariat said, "It is a pity that the residents were looking forward to the exchange at the pre-camp, but the connection so far will not be lost. , I want you to continue the exchange after the tournament. "

"Abandoned due to various measures required"

Gujo City, Gifu Prefecture, has been focusing on promoting rugby, such as attracting overseas teams to pre-camp at the Rugby World Cup held in Japan, and has been registered as a host town in Colombia and Madagascar at the Tokyo Olympics. I will.



Of these, for the sevens rugby girls, we have continued activities to attract national team pre-camps for the Tokyo Olympics by inviting national team players to interact with children and hold competitions. ..



However, according to city officials, it is difficult to take infection prevention measures indicated by the government, such as securing a dedicated vehicle while moving and renting out the facility to avoid contact with other users at the accommodation facility. As a result, it turned out that the invitation was abandoned so far.



The difficulty in interacting with the national team and the citizens was also a reason for the abandonment.



Takanari Kuroda, chief of the Gujo City Sports Promotion Division, said, "I gave up because various measures are required when moving, staying, and interacting with athletes. I'm sorry I couldn't interact with the children, but I used letters and SNS. I want to continue the exchange. "

The local junior high school students who were expecting exchanges

Local junior high school students, who were hoping to interact with overseas Olympic athletes, have expressed their regret that they no longer have the valuable opportunity to see top athletes up close.



Kurihara City, Miyagi Prefecture, which was planning to accept a pre-camp for hockey boys from South Africa, is the only junior high school in the prefecture to have hockey club activities.



The hockey club of Tsukidate Junior High School, which is usually practiced at the hockey ground that South African players planned to use in the pre-camp, is the mother school of Aki Mitsuhashi, who participated in the 2nd Olympic Games, and currently 15 men and women are active. doing.



Three years ago, when a friendly match between the Japanese national team and an overseas strong team was held on this ground, many members had experience interacting with the players, and the city was considering inviting them to an exchange project. It was.



Ryuta Sonehara, a teacher who teaches the hockey club, said, "It was a good opportunity to talk with top players and absorb even unfamiliar English. I can't. "

Mai Chiba, a female captain in the second grade, said, "I enjoyed interacting with the players three years ago. It's a shame because I rarely have the opportunity to see the players fighting in the world up close. I wanted to see it, "he said.

A painful decision "Vaccination alone is full"

Kurihara City, Miyagi Prefecture, became the venue for the National Athletic Meet 20 years ago, and hockey became popular. Three years ago, a match between the Japanese national team and powerful Germany and Canada was held at the city's hockey ground. Then, there were times when I was standing.



Although the city is not registered as a host town, it decided to accept South Africa on its own in October last year, renting a hotel in the city for two weeks to secure a dedicated ground and for about 30 athletes and staff to stay. I was working on a plan such as cutting it.



However, after that, according to the guidelines set by the government, the local government was responsible for preventing infection, such as requiring inspections by athletes and local government officials.



The city has abandoned acceptance in late January because vaccinations will start and the burden on regional medical care will be heavy, and the South African side has also accepted it.



According to the city, the gymnasium adjacent to the hockey ground may become a venue for vaccination of citizens in the future, and it was considered that the work of staff will increase if the vaccination becomes full-scale.



Mayor Kenji Chiba of Kurihara City said, "The government entrusts all infection prevention measures to local governments, but one local government cannot handle it, and vaccination alone is not enough. There are many children working on hockey in the city. I'm very disappointed because I was thinking about it. I think I could have made progress toward acceptance if I could do it at the responsibility of the country, "he said, revealing that it was a tough decision.