MARINE CORPS AIR STATION IWAKUNI, Japan -- Japanese children and youth from the surrounding area visited the station July 19 to participate in the Chibikko Young Taikai (Kids and Youth Games) hosted by the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force.
Teams from areas around Iwakuni, Kuka, Hirao, Hikari, Shuto, Tabuse, Yanai and Yuu came to participate in the sports day. The day’s events, hosted at Penny Lake, the IronWorks Gym and the JMSDF Gym, included soccer, volleyball and kendo, a form of Japanese fencing.
800 competitors broken up into 16 teams participated in the soccer portion of the event held at Penny Lake.
When the dedicated participants weren’t playing in one of their matches, they were practicing hard. They ran through drill after drill and raced their teammates during multiple long-distance sprints to make sure they were ready for their next game.
“I’ve never seen such young kids take sports so seriously,” said Bradley Hanson, a broadcaster for American Forces Network.
The young boys played hard the entire day, aggressively running the ball up and down the field and never letting up.
While the soccer tournament continued at Penny Lake, volleyball had already commenced at IronWorks Gym.
Approximately 400 young girls from around the area participated in the volleyball festivities.
Coaches passed the ball back and forth between the team members to practice some of their skills before getting to the court.
The sweltering gym was filled with the sound of hand fans clapping together as family members and friends cheered the players on.
The girls smiled and laughed as they rejoiced in celebration and high-fived every time they were able to score a point against the other team.
Whether either of the teams won or lost, they still ran to the center of the court to shake hands and to say “good game.”
The confidence and morale of the participants never seemed to dwindle, even as their bodies grew more tired, and the day got hotter.
“We just want to have fun,” said Hiromi Hayashi, a volleyball athlete playing for a team from Shuto. “We don’t really care if we win or lose.”
As these events went on, 13 groups of Japanese youth dueled it out during the kendo portion of the day’s activities.
Competitors fought with a shinai (bamboo sword) and traditional armor which allowed for full contact and competition with others.
During each match, no one was allowed to say a word, and even coaches were not allowed to give advice.
All players respected their opponent by bowing before and after each match whether they won or lost.
The day came to an end around 4:30 p.m., and teams celebrated their wins and showed a huge amount of sportsmanship by congratulating and shaking the hands of their opponents.
After the closing ceremony, participants rushed to take group photos with each of their teams before heading home.