The "Student Sports Festival 2021 in Virtual Shibuya" was held on August 20th at the Shibuya Ward official distribution platform "Virtual Shibuya" in support of the idea of diversity and inclusion, with the aim of supporting and supporting student sports. In the first part, Risa Nakashima and Ayumi Kataoka, who are active in women's baseball, will appear. While watching the women's baseball good play collection, I introduced the charm of "women's high school baseball" which will reach the final at "first ever" Koshien. In addition, Yuka Murofushi, the Japanese record holder for female hammer throws, will also appear in the second part. The event was very lively, with a corner introducing the future Olympians who will be active in the near future about the "university sports" that are currently attracting attention, and introducing the charm of active university student athletes.
"This year's sacred place decisive battle! Girls' high school baseball! Our Koshien"
Risa Nakashima, the director of the SAMURAI JAPAN Women's National Team, Ayumi Kataoka, the director of the Ibaraki Golden Golds, and Tetsuya Ikeda, an entertainer who loves high school baseball, will appear.
Women's high school baseball is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year, and although the scale is smaller than that of boys, 40 schools from all over the country participate this year. This year, for the first time in the history of women's high school baseball, the final match will be held at Koshien, so a heated battle has been fought aiming for the last two schools. The appeal of women's baseball is that "the appeal of women's baseball is that all the smiles and regrets of the players who are playing baseball are conveyed by their love of baseball" (Mr. Nakajima) and "Women's baseball is always a girl's habit." I've been told, so I'm expressing the joy of playing baseball on the ground. "(Mr. Kataoka)
When asked about "Women's baseball is there," Mr. Nakajima said, "Each high school has a ritual to raise morale before the game, and handmade amulets are handed over." There is a light ground ball. If you sprint in front of the light, you can run at full speed. It is easy to get a three-base hit or a running home run. ")
Mr. Ikeda, who actually saw the good play VTR of girls' high school baseball held this year, seemed to be impressed, saying, "The way of joy after fine play is the best!" On the other hand, Mr. Nakajima also commented on his passion for women's baseball, saying, "It's amazing to see it live." The hour that fully conveyed the appeal of women's baseball passed in no time.
"Find the future star! Shining college athlete"
Regarding university sports, Yuka Murofushi, who won the discus throwing incarnation for the fourth consecutive time, Yasuo Kabasawa, General Manager of Business Planning Department of the University Sports Association, and Shinko Osada, Future Design Shibuya, have appeared as guests.
Currently, the number of professional athletes from college is increasing, and in baseball and soccer, nearly half of the new players who entered the professional team last year were college athletes. Now, instead of becoming a professional immediately after graduating from high school, I am also opening the way to grow by studying hard at university and training scientifically for four years.
Under the title of "I just want to know this! My favorite college athlete", I was introduced to an active college athlete who is currently in the spotlight. Mr. Murofushi cites "Juntendo University, Rachid Muratake, who has a 110m hurdles for track and field men," and said that he is "the next player who has the power to compete in the world." Also, I was paying attention to Juntendo University's Shingo Omori, who is a soccer player, and I expected him to play an active role in the world, saying, "I am very physically strong and will be a candidate for the next world championship." Mr. Osada mentioned "BMX Nippon Sport Science University, Sae Hatakeyama" and Mr. Kabasawa mentioned "Volleyball Nippon Sport Science University, Ai Takahashi".
In addition, as a special guest this time, Asuka Terada, a female 100m hurdle record holder, will appear on the air. Mr. Terada, who is from Waseda University, actually retired from track and field and then entered the university. He has a unique background in that he did not play sports when he was in college, but went on to study while working. Mr. Terada recalled, "The fact that I had various experiences and broadened my horizons was returned to the competition." "I want you to do what you want to do while meeting various people while you are a college student. I think that experience will come to your future life," he sent a message to the viewers.
Next, Mr. Isoda and Mr. Sawada, reporters from the newspaper club of active university students who are watching the players closer, also appeared. We picked up "semi-rigid baseball" and "field hockey" as the most addictive competitions. From a reporter's point of view, we introduced the appeal of each sport, such as the fact that semi-rigid baseball is a "university-specific" sport without a professional league or professionals, and that field hockey is powerful due to its overwhelming sense of speed. In addition, Mr. Kabasawa learned about university sports from the three perspectives of "top-level battles," "collision between universities!" And "interesting competitions unique to university sports." A presentation about the charm that can be talked about only by Mr. Kabasawa who is exhausting.
Finally, from Osada, regarding Shibuya Ward's sports-related initiatives, Future Design Shibuya is focusing on sports support for people under the age of 15, especially in Shibuya Ward, because there is no dedicated stadium, urban sports that can be enjoyed in the city. He introduced the activities of Future Design Shibuya, focusing on enlightenment and creating an environment for continuing sports for a lifetime and continuing to seek new styles.
Comment from Ayumi Kataoka
I was so happy that I took up the girls' high school baseball obediently, and I talked too much. I am truly grateful for this opportunity. Today, the focus was on high school students because it was women's high school baseball, but there are many women's baseball clubs nationwide, even for elementary school students and junior high school students, even if they are university students. I don't think there are many chances to go to see it, but there are many ways to watch the game, such as YouTube distribution. I think it's definitely better to see it than we talk about it, so I'd be happy if you could watch it with a light feeling like "Let's see it"!
Comment from Tetsuya Ikeda
I think that the image of baseball = boys is very strong. Until now, baseball is a sport that only men have played, and it is dangerous for women, so I think it may be said that it is difficult for women. However, as you can see from this fine play collection, women's baseball can be seen as a powerful and wonderful sport if you can do so much skill. I think that women's baseball will develop further in the future as there are many sports with a smaller competitive population. It would be great if women's baseball became so widespread that women's players like Shohei Ohtani appeared, and maybe a women's major league could be created, and such players could be born from Japan.
