On December 15th, the Parasports Experience Park by Rakuten was held in Fukuchi Town, Tagawa District, located in the central part of Fukuoka Prefecture.This initiative, which allows people to experience Parasports from three perspectives - "doing", "watching", and "knowing", was participated in by local children.Although I was nervous about interacting with various programs for the first time, I realized that cheers were coming from all around before I knew it.The fun memories from this day will surely serve as a catalyst for considering the diversity in sports.

Rakuten Group and Fukuchi Town in Fukuoka Prefecture have concluded a comprehensive partnership agreement in April 2024, which includes matters related to regional sports.Furthermore, the Rakuten Group promotes the motto, “Powered by Sports. Playing for All.A BETTER FUTURE TOGETHER” embodies a vision for building a sustainable society through sports. As part of the diversity initiatives in sports, this time, the Parasports Experience Park by Rakuten was held at the Kaneda Gymnasium in the same town, targeting elementary and middle school children.

Kaneda Gymnasium, which served as the main venue.The adjacent annex was also used.

For this inaugural event, we welcomed Kazuhei Kimura, a representative of the Para-cycling MB class (visual impairment) from Rakuten Socio Business, and Futo Nagamori, a designated player for the Japanese national men’s blind Soccer team.

Kazuhei Kimura (left) and Futo Nagamori (right) line up for the opening greeting.

Once the opening remarks are over, the blind stretch starts first.Athletes Kimura and Nagamori explained the method on the podium.This course involves children who participate wearing eye masks and performing stretches relying solely on the information received through their ears.We had them experience that even the actions we usually take for granted can lead to new realizations when performed without using vision.

Forming pairs, they challenge themselves to blindfolded stretching, honing their senses other than sight.

Once the warm-up is finished, it’s time for the main event, the Paralympic sport experience.Inside the gymnasium, corners such as “Tandem Cycling Game”, “Blind Soccer® PK Experience”, “Wheelchair Tennis Circuit”, “Parasports Track and Field Throwing Experience”, and “Fukuchi Town Parasports Quiz Competition” were set up, creating a space where various parasports could be experienced.

In the “Tandem Cycling Game” segment, pairs of two take on the challenge of hand-pedaled cycling machines.In order to score points in unison, the participating children are eagerly getting involved.

In actual Para-cycling competitions, athletes with visual impairments and sighted persons (pilots) ride on tandem cycling bikes, challenging the race on the basis of mutual trust and cooperation.

The “Wheelchair Tennis Circuit” section is a full-scale feature where you actually ride on a competition wheelchair to play tennis.While riding a lightweight, highly operable competition wheelchair designed for high performance, I worked hard to master basic actions such as “move forward”, “turn”, and “hit”.

There are also children struggling to play while in wheelchairs.

In the “Blind Soccer® PK Experience” corner, pairs of two were formed, with one person dribbling while blindfolded, and the other person guiding the play by calling out instructions.

The ball used in Blind Soccer® has a metal plate installed inside, and it makes a sound when it rolls.The faces of the children taking on dribbling and shooting are utterly serious.

In the Para Athletics corner, they can experience “Club Throwing,” which is also an official event of the Paralympics.They competed to see how close they could get to their self-declared target distance by throwing while seated in a chair.

Throwing while sitting is harder than it looks.

A stamp rally touring each booth and a quiz competition about Parasports were also held.

For lunch, in addition to the local shop’s bento boxes, Houjou Suiton, a traditional dish of Fukuchi Town, was served.Although they were energetic children, it seemed like the soup they were gobbling up in the cold season was “soothing” to them.

The finale of the event was the “Artwork Workshop”, in which everyone participated.The children used their palms and brushes to layer colors of their choice on a large canvas.

The completed works vividly showcased the children’s artwork.

Pure impressions such as “Playing sports while blindfolded was more difficult than I imagined” and “It was a fresh experience” were successively shared by the children who had experienced each sport.In response to this, Kimura said, “I believe these were all sports that I experienced for the first time, but I hope that you will continue to take on various challenges,” sending warm encouragement.

Teaching children about the diverse possibilities of sports holds significant meaning for building a better future.The first “Parasports Experience Park by Rakuten” provided a valuable opportunity for each participant to deepen their mutual understanding through sports.

PHOTO: Teppei Hori
TEXT: Nariko Inoue
EDIT: Yohsuke Watanabe, Shiori Saeki (IN FOCUS)