【Germany】Unisex Sports Promotion Support Project Devised in Japan

実施期間
17th Sep., 2017 to 28th Feb., 2018
スポーツ種目/プログラム種別
Takkyu volleyball, Balloon volleyball
実施組織
co-innovation laboratory
支援先
German Wheelchair Sports Association
Association for Disabled Sports North Rhine-​Westphalia (AVNRW)
支援対象者数
50 people
The purpose of the project was to help local sports organizations for persons with disabilities solve problems by promoting takkyu volleyball and balloon volleyball, which are unisex sports that can be participated by both men and women of all ages, regardless of the presence, type, and degree of disability. This program was devised in Japan.

In many sports for the disabled, the types of disabilities that people can participate in are limited. For example, those with lower limbs for wheelchair sports and those with visual disabilities for visually impaired sports could not participate in other contact sports activities. However, since the 1970s, when sports for the disabled became widespread in Japan, competitions have been developed in various places where people with different disabilities can participate together. Among them, takkyu volleyball and balloon volleyball were not only widely used in Japan, such as being adopted as open events multiple times at national sports competitions for the disabled but are also highly valued overseas and are becoming more popular internationally.

In Germany, regional sports groups for persons with disabilities are organized and operated by the type of disability. In recent years, unisex sports in Japan have been attracting attention because people with various physical conditions coexist in sports for the elderly, which are being promoted by sports groups for the disabled. In addition, due to the increase in the number of people with severe and multiple disabilities, the number of people who have difficulty participating in existing sports events is increasing, and the need for sports events for people with the most severe disabilities are increasing.

Takkyu volleyball and balloon volleyball are not only sporting activities that people with disabilities can participate in with healthy people. Sports that were originally devised on the premise of the participation of people with the most severe disabilities contributed to solving the problems faced by the German sports organization for the disabled. It is said that the project representative, Mr. Hashimoto, has been promoting balloon volleyball since 2010, and went to Germany to support the training of balloon volleyball leaders and to plan the spread of takkyu volleyball. He also donated equipment exclusively for balloon volleyball to the German Wheelchair Sports Federation.

【Overview】
(1) Meeting with the Nordrhein-Westfalen Sports Federation for the Disabled (Vice Chairman of the Federation, Mr. Volk.
・Agreed to hold trainer training courses for balloon volleyball and takkyu volleyball in 2019.
・Agreed to hold a demonstration at the booth of the federation of Europe's largest exhibition of nursing care and welfare equipment "Rehacare" to be held in September 2019.
(2) Held a balloon volleyball seminar at a trainer training course of the German Wheelchair Sports Federation
(3) Donated 50 balloons for balloon volleyball to the German Wheelchair Sports Federation
(4) Courtesy of the Consulate-General of Japan in Dusseldorf and request cooperation for the implementation project in 2019.

See below for the Japanese version.
http://www.sftlegacy.jpnsport.go.jp/wp/jp/20180416-2/

Feedback from Local Contacts :

Comments from North Rhine-Westphalia Sports Federation for the Disabled:
Takkyu Volleyball is a powerful tool for creating sports opportunities for the most severely disabled.

Comments from the German Wheelchair Sports Federation:
Unisex sports in Japan are the sporting events that most embody the idea of inclusion.

【Germany】Unisex Sports Promotion Support Project Devised in Japan1
【Germany】Unisex Sports Promotion Support Project Devised in Japan2
【Germany】Unisex Sports Promotion Support Project Devised in Japan3
【Germany】Unisex Sports Promotion Support Project Devised in Japan4
PAGE TOP