“Sports Festival 2024 in Toba City” ended with great success *NPO Mie Prefecture Lifelong Sports Association*
Press release: September 16, 2024
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“Sports Festival 2024 in Toba City” ended with great success *Children from Toba City gathered together! Keep your body and mind healthy through sports! ! *
Tomoaki Egawa giving batting instruction
“Sports Festival 2024 in
Toba City” was held on September 15th (Sunday) at the Toba Central Park Multipurpose Ground.
For this event, we invited former Japanese national team athletes who have participated in the Olympics and World Championships, giving children an opportunity to interact directly with top athletes. The aim of this is to improve the physical strength and motor skills of children in Toba City. In addition, the Mie Prefecture Lifelong Sports Association has been conducting a lifestyle survey of infants and children in Toba City for the past three years, and has found that “late bedtimes,” “short sleeping hours,” and “short hours spent playing outside.” was pointed out as an issue. At the opening ceremony, Chairman Shohei Takeda appealed to the participants, saying, “To improve your lifestyle, let’s start by playing more outdoors.” Additionally, Toba City Mayor Kinichiro Nakamura also attended the event, contributing to the excitement of the event.
Takeshi Kimura instructing how to throw
Soccer instructor Toshihisa Iijima
Track and field instructor Kana Ichikawa
● Event results
A total of 160 children participated in the “Sports Festival 2024 in Toba City” and experienced the charm of various sports. Participants chose two sports from a variety of sports, including baseball, track and field, soccer, softball, and Ninja Nine, and enjoyed learning in each 45-minute class. In particular, it was designed to be easy for beginners to tackle, and even children who were not good at sports were able to have fun moving their bodies. The instructors included many top athletes, including former professional baseball player Tomoaki Egawa and London Olympics track and field representative Kana Ichikawa, and the children enthusiastically received instruction. Commemorative photo shoot
●Main instructors
・Takeshi Kimura
Chairman of the NPO Wakayama Baseball Promotion Association/Yume Club. During his time at Minoshima High School, he won consecutive spring and summer Koshien championships. The match against Seiryo High School in the third round of the summer championship was a great game that lasted 18 extra innings. A total of 14 wins at Koshien. In 1979, participated in the “Miyazaki National Athletic Meet, Japan’s Hometown”. After graduating, he joined Sumitomo Metals, an adult baseball team. They won the 53rd Intercity Baseball Tournament and also received the Hashido Award. In the 1982 draft, he was drafted third by the Seibu Lions and joined the team. After retiring as an active player in 1988, he devoted himself to promoting baseball and nurturing the next generation.
・Tomoaki Egawa
During his time at Ujiyamada Commercial High School, he participated in Koshien in the summer of his second year. He was drafted first by the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks in the 2004 draft and joined the team. He retired from active duty in 2019 and is currently leading a new life as the representative of his family’s butcher shop, Marutomo Arakida Shoten.
・Kana Ichikawa
Japan representative in women’s 4x100m track and field at the London Olympics. IAAF in 2011
Served as the anchor for the women’s 4x100m at the World Challenge Meetings, setting a new Japanese record of 43.39 seconds. He will retire as an active athlete in 2021, and from April 2022, he will become the short-distance coach of the Chukyo University Track and Field Club, working hard to develop the next generation.
・Toshihisa Iijima
Japan national soccer team at the Barcelona Olympics qualifiers. Former Nagoya Grampus Eight. Official S-class coach of the Japan Football Association. After retiring, he was active as a coach for Nagoya Grampus Eight and Chubu University Daiichi High School. ・Riko Yoshimura
Belongs to the Toshijima Sports and Culture Club, a general
incorporated association. Director of Toshi Dream Catcher, an elementary school girls’ softball club. She started playing softball in elementary school, went through middle school and high school, and is currently active as an adult women’s player and coach. The motto is “loving guidance with an eye on the future of children.”
・Tatsuya Kimura
Director of Mie Prefecture Lifelong Sports Association. As an officer in charge of school business, he strives to improve services. In addition to providing exercise guidance to children as a Ninja Nine and soccer instructor, he also contributes to local health promotion as a health exercise instructor at public sports facilities in Kameyama City and Kuwana City.
*Photo provided by Yoshinori Narui
●Organizer, etc.
Sponsored by: Mie Prefecture Lifelong Sports Association
Co-sponsor: Sanko Co., Ltd.
Sponsored by: Toba City, Toba City Board of Education, Chunichi Shimbun, Ise Shimbun
Cooperation: Toshijima Sports and Culture Club, General Incorporated Association *This project was held with support from the Sports Promotion Lottery.
●About Mie Prefecture Lifelong Sports Association
Organization name: Mie Prefecture Lifelong Sports Association Location: 6F CS Building, 18-15 Kotobukicho, Tsu City, Mie Prefecture Representative: Chairman Shohei Takeda
Established: January 26, 2012
TEL: 059-273-5300
FAX: 059-273-5303
HP: https://lifelong-sport.jp
Purpose of establishment:
The business of this corporation is to promote sports, improve competitiveness, develop a healthy information society, and improve the health of the people through sports classes and training classes, while effectively collaborating with the private sector, government, academia, and various organizations. Our policy is to contribute to regional revitalization and development.
Business details:
・School business
Classes (schools) of soccer, futsal, Ninja Nine, programming, dodgeball, street dance, etc. are held in five cities and four towns: Tsu City, Yokkaichi City, Kuwana City, Matsusaka City, Kameyama City, Toin Town, Asahi Town, Komono Town, and Kawagoe Town. ) is operated. ・Designated manager business
Baseball field in Tsu Baseball Park, athletics field in Seaside Park, gymnasium in Ano Central Park, Tsu Citizen Tennis Court, etc. ・Event business
We hold more than 50 sporting events, programming events, regional revitalization, and SDGs-related events a year.
・Other businesses
Health management support business, personal training business, survey/research business, etc.