Mr. Kamata was coming fast on my heels, but ol' USA held him off... this time! :)

Ichihasama Sports Day
On Sunday, September 3rd, I was asked to come out and help with and participate in the Ichihasama Town Sports Day. This is the 62nd anniversary of this day and it’s a time when many of the citizens around town gather to compete in fun athletic events. There are mother/daughter events, father/son events, family events, team running relays, and a few even for individuals. Although never outright stated (in English at least) the obvious goal for the day was simply to have fun, and it sure looked like this goal was accomplished. The activities are held in the large field at Ichihasama Elementary School. This ten-year-old facility is very large and was constructed with a delicious smelling wood. It was VERY expensive to build due to the vast amount of wood used. All of the classrooms are laid out in a huge circle, with the office building at one end, and an enormous gym at the other. In the interior of the circle is a few pathways through a slightly landscaped area. On the outside of the circle is the play area, and like everything in this school, it is massive, too! The area is in another circle roughly the size of the circle of classroom buildings, but lining the outside of this circle is a multitude of varying types of play structures, climbing bars, slides, baseball/kickball backstops, and even a 25 yard zipline that, in the US, would have lawsuit written all over it and be torn down in a matter of weeks, I’m certain, yet here, even the smallest of students play on this machine without adult supervision. In the middle of the whole play area is an official sized dirt track, and this is where the majority of the Sports Day events were held. As usual, the festivities started with a ceremony and speeches by the mayor and other important people. Teams are formed by area for most of the events. For example, my neighborhood is called shimizu-ichi (area one). Somehow, people in each area got together beforehand to decide what events everyone was interested in and what they would enter- I’m not really sure how that all worked. Before the events got underway each team marched around the track for all of the spectators to see, the leader holding the long colorful flag emblazoned with the area name. Finally all of the staff and athlete participants spread our to do the traditional calisthenics warm up. This is the traditional calisthenics routine done in each public workplace anywhere from 1 to 3 times a week. It was a great way to start the festivities and bring the group together. Many of the 500 or so spectators joined in the calisthenics, too.

Anyway, I was asked to participate in the 400 meter relay and I agreed, eager to get any kind of exercise I could. My teammates thought I might be the fastest on the team, so they made me the anchor for the race. I was very nervous. From the moment I stepped onto the field there was a murmur in the crowd and soon all noted that the one gaijin would soon be performing in his event. The other reason I was feeling anxious was because I was racing against my supervisor, Mr. Kamata! I’m a very competitive person, as those who know me are aware, and when I any type of event, I try my hardest to win- no matter who the person is I am competing against. Well, I know that Kamata-san is a stellar athlete. I can just tell; he’s trim, fit, has an athletic build, plays tennis, and I’ve noticed him spring up and down stairs with the grace and ease of a gazelle. I knew this would be tough. Well, we got off to a slow start, and by the time the baton was handed off to me, we were in 4th place (out of 6). Close behind me were the footsteps of the other competitors and glancing back, I could see Kamata-san ahead of those in the back! I went sprinting for my life. As we rounded to long corner of the oval track, I came up behind the third place competitor so quickly that I had to check my stride and nearly tripped us both as I passed him. The home stretch was in sight! I dug in with all I could! I was running not only for myself, but also for America! I could hear footsteps gaining behind me, but it was too late, we had crossed the finish line and come shimizu-ichi had come in third place! I glanced back to see who had been gaining on me, and… yep, you guessed it… it was Kamata-san! If the race had been even 50m longer, he would have passed me for sure, and I told him that, but being the always humble man that he is, he said he didn’t think so. It was a great day and everyone really seemed to enjoy themselves. I thought, why don’t we have something like this in Oregon? Then I thought maybe the Oregon State Games fit the bill. This just had such a nice local feel. I’m sure there are many small cities in the US that have something similar. It inspires me to look into forming a “neighborhood games” when I move back home.