Faculty of Health and Sport Sciences & Tsukuba International Academy forSport Studies (TIAS), University of Tsukuba

2020

November 8th 2020_TIAS Research Tour: Osaka (TIAS × CHEZA)Sports x International Exchange for Kids
-Connect to Africa from Senri!@Senri-chuo Park in Osaka
NOTE 1: The present research is a pilot study to use a new protocol of sports performance test which is being created for the ‘Sports Talent
Identification’ in East Africa as part of a TIAS ‘legacy project’ with Alumni in Rwanda, and Tanzania and Uganda coordinated by Prof.
Rakwal (Sports Science and Medicine module). Working towards with CHEZA as partners (industry-academia cooperation is the keyword)
we hope to progress the educational aspects using sports activity to enhance the value of sports and education in East Africa. Sports talent
identification is the first phase of the project. With no protocol of sports performance test along with insufficient information for theprocedure and evaluation methods, the team was prompted to develop a new protocol, referring to previous studies, and which needs to berevised based on practical data to enhance the test’s reliability. The aim is that many young kids/pre-schoolers and elementary students will
join the events. Point of Caution: TIAS members were made aware of the health ‘safety’ issues and extra-precautions to be taken during thecurrent Covid-19 pandemic conditions, and all members were fully equipped with ‘masks’ and sanitizers/alcohol tissues during the trip; thiswas repeatedly made clear and emphasized by Prof. Rakwal to all. The same was emphasized by CHEZA in Osaka and during the pre1 with STAFFS/VOLUNTEERS. Moreover as we would be working with the kids/children and their parents, all members healthmeetings
before and during the trip was carefully considered.

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1.

Outline of the Event

NOTE 2: OUTLINE OF THE EVENT

10:00-16:00 / 8th November, 2020 (Sunday)

Time/Date

Senri-chuo Park (15 min walk from Senri-chuo Station)

Location* See location map below:
Kids and their parents

Target(Mainly elementary school-aged children)

Organized by

Senri Park Life Design Project, co-organized by CHEZA LLC.
●

Contact
PersonTomoko Amemiya: tomoko.amemiya@cheza.co.jp
WhatsApp: +81-80-3930-3302●

Masaaki Nakarai: masaaki.nakarai@cheza.co.jp
WhatsApp: +81-80-7039-2424

Senri-chuoStn.
Senri-chuo Sta.

15min walk3
4

Location Map

5Transport:

6●

21 min from Umeda Station by Osaka Metro Midosuji-Line1

Faculty of Health and Sport Sciences & Tsukuba International Academy forSport Studies (TIAS), University of Tsukuba

2020

Pre-Event Day=Nov. 7th : Move to Osaka from University of Tsukuba
Moving early morning from GSI building, the team members cross-checked the equipment’s and all
resources necessary for first, carrying out the planned activities and second, conducting the research.
Travelling by Tsukuba Express and JR lines to the Bullet Train we reached Shin Osaka station around
1 PM, and immediately after a check-in at the designated hotel, moved by subway to the Senri-Chuopark, walking to the main activity area as designated by CHEZA and Toyanaka-city in the park.
Meeting up with Mr. Masaaki Nakarai and Ms. Tomoko Amemiya, CHEZA founders, and ourpartners in this event/activity, we set about conducting a survey of the grounds around 2:45 PM. Oneof the TIAS ALUMNI, Ms. Mi AN (TIAS 1st BATCH) joined us from Kyoto University (withpermissions for her academic supervisor in the current Covid-19 rules and regulations by theuniversity) to support the research activities as a staff member. Each activity equipment and placed at
the respective locations within the designated ground area and checked and practice runs were madeby all members, finishing around 5:30 PM. Following that we had a final meeting before the next
main day over dinner and rested well for the event after a long day.

Reached Senri-Chuo ParkTo Osaka

Event Day=Nov. 8th : Move to Senri-Chuo Koen (park)
Starting early morning for the location venue for the event at – TIAS students under teamleadership of Mr. Takafumi Tomura (5th batch) for the SPORTS PERFORMANCE TEST &PARENT-KIDS GYMNASTICS and Dr. Kazuhiro Kajita (TIAS Researcher, and Leader for
the SPORTS CLASS) set up the field area as planned and discussed on the previous evening (7 thNov.). The participating students were Ms. Kae Ebihara, Ms. Hada Atiyeh and Mr. Kai Png – all2

Faculty of Health and Sport Sciences & Tsukuba International Academy forSport Studies (TIAS), University of Tsukuba

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2020

of the 5th Batch. As mentioned above, Ms. Mi AN (1st Batch-TIAS Alumni) again came to support
the activities from Kyoto. The meeting between CHEZA and TIAS and all volunteer’s for the event
was held at 9 AM and each activity was reviewed and roles re-checked. The details are below: All theactivities were conducted successfully and 17 children actively participated in all the TESTING
and around 113 parents/kids was either participating in the PLAY CLASS and
INTERNATIONAL LEARNING WITH AFRICA.
1. Event Contents

34(1) “Let’s learn about Africa by enjoying English communications and Sports!”

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Quiz or small presentation on Africa and physical exercises using simple English phrases,

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like “Jump!”, “Squat!”, “Forward!”, “Backward!”, etc.

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1

50 mins each2(1) Parent-kid Gymnastics

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Easy gymnastic exercises for kids and their parents.

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20 mins each

Time

Activity

Performance Test

9:00 – 10:00
10:00 – 10:20

Venue Set-up
Parent-kid Gymnastics

10:30 – 10:50

Sports Class

11:00 – 11:50“Learn Africa throughOpen anytime

Sports” Activity
12:00 – 13:00

56(2) Sports Class for Kids supervised by TIAS (http://tias.tsukuba.ac.jp/)

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Short lessons on running and throwing by national level athletes.

8Time Schedule

20 mins each

13:00 – 13:20

LUNCH BREAK
Parent-kid Gymnastics

13:30 – 13:50

Sports Class

14:00 – 14:50“Learn Africa throughSports” Activity

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14:55 – 15:15

Parent-kid Gymnastics

10(3) Sports Performance Test for Kids supervised by TIAS (http://tias.tsukuba.ac.jp/)

15:20 – 15:40

Sports Class

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This is a program to assess sports performance of kids through 8 items of sports

15:40 – 16:30“Learn Africa through12

performance tests. As a result, kids will receive a result sheet with recommendations on

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suitable sports and training menu. A professor and a few researchers/students will join

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the event from the TIAS program, which is based at University of Tsukuba – one of the15

top universities in physical education field in Japan.

16Open during the event

Open anytime

Sports” Activity
16:30 – 17:00

Venue Dismantling

END

The START of the DAY, Nov., 8 th 20203

Faculty of Health and Sport Sciences & Tsukuba International Academy forSport Studies (TIAS), University of Tsukuba

2020

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Faculty of Health and Sport Sciences & Tsukuba International Academy forSport Studies (TIAS), University of Tsukuba

2020

Final Day=Nov. 9th : Move from Osaka to Tsukuba
The final day was a check of all equipment and health of the TIAS members and we moved back to
Tsukuba. Discussing the previous day’s events was also a part of the return journey, despite thetiredness which was sweet due to the great experience of all members; and as can be seen below ineach student’s comments/impressions/networking. All staffs/students reached safely to Tsukuba via
the Bullet train/TX journey.

EACH MEMBER IMPRESSIONSInternational exchange through sports is an
essential educational activity as a legacy program of TIAS at University of Tsukuba (part of
the Faculty of Health and Sport Sciences and Graduate School of Comprehensive Human
Sciences). On this research tour, TIAS and CHEZA collaborated to conduct a pilot study tocreate a program to support sports education in East Africa. With the cooperation andsupport of Toyonaka City officials and JICA alumni and other volunteers, it was also a trial
for the development of a new network of community support projects through sports. We
found that the practice of combining the Sports Performance Test and Sports Classroom
Activities, a new program that we had been meeting and planning before the day of the event,was enjoyed by children of all ages, from infants to children. We also found that there wereparent’s expectations for their children to improve their motor skills and their interest in
sports performance testing was seen through active and enthusiastic participation. We
believe that we were able to teach parents the importance of developing their children's motor
skills while allowing them to experience a variety of physical activities. This was a valuable
experience for the TIAS students and the international students from Benin (2 student’s
from this West African country joined together as a team) who participated as staff
members, and I believe that it created a great deal of motivation and expectations for their
future research, education and career development. However, the pilot study showed usthat there are still many challenges and problems to be solved in implementing a similar
program in East Africa or Africa in general. On the other hand, we were reminded of thedecline of Japanese children's motor skills and physical strength, with many children having
difficulty with unusual movements such as side-stepping and ball throwing. With the numberof children playing baseball in Japan decreasing every year, we were able to reaffirm theimportance of introducing baseball lessons into the program of such events so that thechildren can experience the fun and excitement of baseball. It will be a major mission after
hosting the Tokyo 2020 Olympics and Paralympics for TIAS graduates and University ofTsukuba faculty and staff to work together to figure out what we can offer and support
children with a bright future through sports. It also became clear that there is a need to
explore the possibilities of international sports exchange events that make effective use of
public parks like this one, with the aim of increasing the physical fitness and athletic
ability of children as well as the amount of physical activity of their parents. The event
was held in the COVID-19 era, and there were more preparations than usual to deal with andcountermeasures to be taken, so we would like to thank once again the support andcooperation of many people who made the international exchange event a success. We hopethat the international educational activities through sports provided and supported by TIAS
will continue.
Dr. Kazuhiro KAJITA (TIAS Researcher):5Faculty of Health and Sport Sciences & Tsukuba International Academy forSport Studies (TIAS), University of Tsukuba

2020

Mr. Takafumi TOMURA (5th Batch student): My roles in the research tour were to create theprotocol of sports performance test, to compile the travel itinerary, to be an instructor for
Parent and Child Exercise and Sports Class for Kids and to oversee whole of the sports
performance test. The experience and learning from the research tour were very beneficial for
expanding my perspectives as a developing researcher to recognize the demand in termsof sports activity from real parents and children. Moreover, I reconfirmed that initiatives
including physical activity elements needed to provide the participants with a joyful
experience to boost their motivation and to engage in an active lifestyle. Ordinally,children like to play outside, and parents are required to provide the opportunity for children
to support children’ physical and mental development. As such this activity/event can be agreat supporter of parents to bring their children naturally and be the opportunity for parents
to learn (observe) how the learning experience is crucial for children. I really appreciate theinvitation from CHEZA to join in the events as a supporter, and which was also mostbeneficial to collect the research data and questionnaire survey, and support my final
research project and increase my knowledge. Finally, with such a great experience andnetworking with like-minded sports loving volunteers in Osaka, I am more motivated andeager to organize the events such as international sports exchange again in the future toaccelerate the learning journey as a TIAS student.
Ms. Kae EBIHARA (5th Batch student): I am extremely grateful for this opportunity toparticipate in the event as a staff. I worked as a staff for measuring the children’s fitnesslevel under the ‘Sports Performance Test’ part. My international classmates (Kai Png, from
Australia) and one TIAS international alumni (Mi An, from China, now a PhD student inKyoto University) worked together with me. Working together at such a public event andcollecting data was a tough job but a wonderful learning. I think that it is good experience
for not only students but also the children who participated in the event because they could
communicate with international persons during the activities. As for my role during theevent, it was first time for me to support physical fitness test targeting the children. This time,
the participants were mainly children aged 7 or under. I have less opportunity to deal withthose small children in my regular life. Therefore, it was very unique experience to me. I
learned how to explain what the children should do for the fitness test in an easy
understandable way by observing the actions of other volunteer staff, who were moreexperienced than me. Most of them were OG or OB of Japan Overseas Cooperation
Volunteers (JICA). So, they are good at communicating with different people and acrosscultures. I was able to get to know such people thanks to this tour. Other than the researchdata collection duty, these human experiences gained through this tour will be helpful in
my future life.
Ms. Hada ATIYEH (5th Batch student):

The collaboration between CHEZA and TIAS
program was both a learning experience and a sport-cultural exchange between membersof CHEZA and the Japanese parents who brought their children to be tested. During theexperiment, I got to be a part of a team that worked coherently to achieve a targeted goal
which was making the sport performance test for elementary students a success. I was
impressed with the ethics and the method the research was conducted while having
volunteers who did not hesitate to lend a hand when in need. Not only the event went bysmoothly, as volunteers we got to see a holistic view of how the data collection method isdone in a public setting and the obstacles one might face during data collection, as aresult, to learn from this experience, be better prepared, and avoid in future research.
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Faculty of Health and Sport Sciences & Tsukuba International Academy forSport Studies (TIAS), University of Tsukuba

2020

Nonetheless, it was an entertaining and beneficial experience for both volunteers and theelementary students' parents who participated in the sport performance test. I would like tothank the CHEZA organization for inviting the TIAS program to be involved in a fruitfulexperience.
Mr. Kai PNG (5th Batch student):

The trip to Osaka was a great learning experience inunderstanding the work that goes on behind the scenes for an event and thecomplications that occur as a result of human nature. It was great to work with members
from another organisation (CHEZA) and the volunteers who were mostly from JICA-OBs
and OGs) with shared interests towards a common goal. The event itself was long andtedious but throughout I was impressed with the organisation that went into making it
possible. I believe the parents and the children who participated enjoyed the event and bothorganisations benefitted from the data collected. I was involved in the first series of tests – forSports Performance for the Kids – Body Measurements – and supporting other tests andactivities during the day-long event. During my experience it was great to be a part of theteam and to also meet and talk in depth to previous students as well as staff from CHEZA as
I was able to broaden my understanding of the different opportunities sport offers.
Overall the event served to be a wonderful experience and will be fondly remembered.
Ms. Mi AN (TIAS alumni; 1st Batch):

I personally think the idea of organizing this event isamazing. Both parents and children spent long time staying at home in 2020 and this event
makes it such a great chance for them to stretch their bodies outdoors and get to know
about people from different cultures. As one of the TIAS alumni, it was nice meeting
TIAS last (5th) batch junior students and make new connections with people who are
enthusiastic about sports for development, international communications. I was amazedby my juniors. They have so many practical experiences in their own field, and I am so happy
to see the TIAS networking is growing bigger and stronger. Collaborations with otherorganizations like CHEZA and JICA is always wise. It increases the possibility for us to carryon new projects together in the future. The task I was assigned is a bit boring but critical to
the research - measuring the height, weight and length of shoulders and legs of children, andas that was the duty assigned to me I was happy to be part of the testing and event. It is
important to mention that the data for the body measurements might not be so accurate withthe thick winter jackets and pants on; however, this was good learning of the challenges andimprovement in the next phase. On the other hand, I also got to support other sessions forthe daily-event and it was lovely to see how children got involved in both doing sports andlearning African cultures happily. Overall it was a pleasurable experience.
First of all, I would like to thank the
TIAS team and all other supporters to make our first of its kind event successful. I was
happy to see many kids and parents enjoying playing sports during our event. It was also
really a nice opportunity for different actors such as TIAS, Toyonaka City officials,
Africans in Kansai (2 Beninese), ex-JICA volunteers, friends to meet and network undercommon interests for “sports”, “kids”, and “Africa”. There are many challenges andlessons learned from the event as well. Although the sports performance test went successful
as our first public trial, I believe it has a potential to become more attractive, valuable andof quality as we continue. Making use of the lessons learned we hope TIAS-CHEZA joint
research program continues to earn more data and more experiences to reinforce theprogram and make impacts in sports and education in Africa and Japan.
Ms. Tomoko AMEMIYA (CHEZA Co-Representative):

7Faculty of Health and Sport Sciences & Tsukuba International Academy forSport Studies (TIAS), University of Tsukuba

2020

I would like to show my deep
appreciation to the TIAS members and all supporters who joined this event. Because oforganized and powerful supports, we could see big smiles of kids and their parents without
any troubles. According to staff from Toyonaka City which manages the event site (Senrichuo Park) this is the first event ever to utilize open space of the Park. Therefore, they also
paid attention to reactions from event participants. In fact, four (4) staff from different
departments of the City came and observed during the event day. They were surprised that
more than expected local people joined to the event and enjoyed the activities, and weresatisfied on the event organizing. From this perspective, I understood that we could say theevent could contribute on activation of local community. And of cause, this event was
fruitful for TIAS-CHEZA joint research program. Concept of this event was discussed at
the first TIAS and CHEZA meeting in Kigali, Rwanda (2018), and finally we couldorganize the event. I really appreciate on this continuous relationship and expect this step willreach to East Africa someday. Since a model of event could be developed, we keep polishingby utilizing challenges which we found through the event, and expect to organize anotherround sooner in Tsukuba or Kansai.
Mr. Masaaki NAKARAI (CHEZA Co-Representative):

SUMMARY
This research tour aimed to collect the data by using a new protocol of sports performance test.
CHEZA (hosting company for the event) organizes the international sports and culture event at SenriChuo park and TIAS is a ‘support partner’ for the event through implementation of the sports
performance test and sports activities such as parent-child exercise and coaching the running activity
and baseball. Multiple pre-meetings were done and zoom sessions organized to fulfil theobjectives of November 8th.

8Faculty of Health and Sport Sciences & Tsukuba International Academy forSport Studies (TIAS), University of Tsukuba

2020

The main event was successfully held on the second day (11/08, Sunday) during the research tour. To
prepare for the test implementation, TIAS member met with CHEZA at Senri-Chuo park on the firstday (11/07, Sat) for a final discussion and confirmation of the contents. Further, a feedback meeting
was held after the main event to discuss and analyze the data from the event and to discuss the
feedback and future development. Finally, the research tour concluded by returning safely to Tsukuba
on day 3 following the post-event discussion on the return journey (morning to afternoon/evening of
11/09, Monday). The collected data will be used to revise the protocol of sports performance test thatis the first aim of the research tour. Furthermore, participating TIAS students are expected to improvesocial and educational skills in the event through the interaction with Japanese children, JICA
OB/OGs and others. It was also an important chance to meet members of ASICS Corporation, whowere interested to see such an activity/event having PLAY and FUN and RESEARCH at its base,and were more interested to visit TIAS and discuss possible cooperation/collaboration. The interaction
with the 2 students from the West African country BENIN was a great chance to learn about
their ‘sports culture’ and challenges, and it was decided to introduce TIAS2.0 and University ofTsukuba to Benin and their sport organizations/officials. As TIAS students, it is required to expand
the perspective of sports and physical education by interaction with Japanese and International,
including such activities where they can take a participatory role and not just be observers. This wasan important exercise in NETWORKING and INTERNATIONALIZATION for the TIAS 5 th
Batch students and understanding the SPORTING and PARK PLAY CULTURE of the peopleof Japan, especially the young kids and their parents.

Thank you CHEZA, colleagues and supporters at Toyonaka-shi, Osaka, including the
JICA OB/OGs in and around Osaka for supporting the event; we continue thecooperation with research-education and sports business-community engagement as our
focus. Thank you TIAS for the permission’s and funding for student’s research tour.
2020.11.17

Dr. Randeep RAKWAL, Ph.D.
Professor,
Faculty of Health and Sport Sciences
TIAS - Global Sport Innovation Bldg., Room 403, UNIVERSITY OF TSUKUBA,
1-1-1 Tennodai, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8574, Japan
Email - plantproteomics@gmail.com - rakwal.randeep.fu@u.tsukuba.ac.jp (office)
Mobile – (+81) 090-1853-7875 / Office phone – (+81)029-853-2681
Website: http://tias.tsukuba.ac.jp / http://www.trios.tsukuba.ac.jp/en/researcher/0000003045

LINKS:

http://tias.tsukuba.ac.jp/
http://tias.tsukuba.ac.jp/tias2/
https://www.cheza.co.jp/
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