“To Create an Environment in Which Anyone Can Enjoy Sport in Their Own Way.” Thoughts of Yuta Saito, Representative of HOKKAIDO ADAPTIVE SPORTS
Through its social contribution activities, Chugai Pharmaceutical aims to realize an inclusive society in which everyone can play an active role with vigor.
‘When children engage with sport, it transforms them, and it also gives them opportunities to grow.’ We would like to share the thoughts of Yuta Saito, Representative of HOKKAIDO ADAPTIVE SPORTS, who expresses a desire to “first create a gateway to make that happen.”
Profile of Yuta Saito
Yuta Saito was born in Hokkaido in 1989. He coached Japan’s national wheelchair softball team in 2015 and studied parasport in the United States in 2018. On his return to Japan, he established the non-profit organization, HOKKAIDO ADAPTIVE SPORTS, and he now devotes his efforts to the promotion of sport in regional areas through the development of junior athletes and planning of events. In 2020, he served as an international wheelchair rugby referee at the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games, and he has since branched out into lectures and research presentations.
Bringing the sporting culture that he studied in the United States to Hokkaido.
What most surprised Saito when he was studying abroad in the United States in 2018 was the environment in which junior programs for wheelchair sports had become firmly entrenched as a natural part of society. ‘There, I discovered a culture in which anybody can enjoy sport and enrich their lives,’ he recalls. For example, even regions of about the same size as Sapporo have numerous programs in place, and many people participate in those programs.
In Japan, on the other hand, the opportunities for children with disabilities to engage with sport are limited. On his return to Japan, Saito decided that he wanted to bridge that gap, and he launched a new sports club in Hokkaido called HOKKAIDO ADAPTIVE SPORTS (HAS). ‘When children engage with sport, it transforms them, and it also gives them opportunities to grow.’ His desire to first create a gateway for that to happen became his motivation for the club’s establishment.
Showcasing the fun of sport with a wide variety of programs
As well as Paralympic sports such as wheelchair basketball and wheelchair tennis, the club has incorporated other fun activities such as tag and frisbee. Through such activities, children are able to move their bodies and really experience the fun of cooperating with others.
On the day of our visit, there was a basketball program in progress. Wheelchair basketball, as its name suggests, is “basketball played in a wheelchair”, and was first adopted as an official event at the Rome Paralympic Games in 1960. It is particularly popular with children at HAS.
Before the program begins, the children are waiting eagerly to play, touching the balls, their eyes shining with anticipation. Riding competition wheelchairs and trying their hands at dribbling and shooting, they throw themselves into the sport, shouting, ‘This is so much fun!’ In particular, when one of them scored a basket, cheers went up, and the venue was enveloped in smiles.
Children of different backgrounds, ages, and environments are interacting and deepening bonds naturally through sport. The power and sense of unity that sport brings is palpable in that moment.
A place to grow, not limited to sport
HAS also offers children opportunities to accumulated new experiences that are not limited to sport. For example, it conducts programs for encountering nature at retreats and camping adventures, such as splitting firewood, cooking pizza, and making crafts using sticks and tree nuts. When they try these kinds of activities for the first time, the children may struggle at first, but they delight in their success, shouting “Yay!” and “Wow!”, their eyes shining with a sense of achievement.
Further, in philosophy lessons and similar activities, through questions such as ‘What does “fun” mean?” and “Why do we feel enjoyment?”, the children are given the opportunity to think deeply about things. These activities also give them time to listen to other people’s opinions in group work, give presentations in front of the class, and examine themselves anew.
The significance of and appreciation of the club felt by parents
This club has become an important place not just for the children, but also for their parents. The mother of Haruhi Yokoe has this to say about HAS. ‘My daughter uses a wheelchair, but because she does not have any friends in the same situation at her regular school, I was worried that she was feeling isolated. At first, she was concerned that her daughter would not be allowed to participate because of her disability, but that thinking changed when her daughter took part in a try-out session.
‘She was able to meet other children like her, and my mind was really put at ease when I saw how much fun she was having. This is a place where my daughter can be herself.’ Mrs. Yokoe also says that having a place to share concerns with other parents is a great support. She expressed her hopes for other families in similar situations, saying ‘I would love to see more clubs like this set up to provide places to help children and their parents.’
To offer children a wider range of possibilities
‘There is a tendency to think that, because you have never done something, you can’t do it, or that you don’t have to do it. However, I want to prove that these children, of middle school and even elementary school age, can do these things if they have the experience of going on an away game or a retreat with people who are not their parents. If the right environment is in place, children will demonstrate their potential even more than we can imagine. I want to keep creating those kinds of opportunities.’
An environment that will lead on to the next generation, as the students become the teachers
‘There was one child who had been coming to our classes since elementary school and is now in senior high school. When she first started, she was very quiet and agonized about whether or not to come to the classes. Despite being so hesitant at first, when she joined in and started pushing the wheelchair around, she had a great time and started coming to the classes again. That child became very good at basketball and tennis, and now she even teaches the younger kids herself.’
‘Seeing our kids return to the environment that they grew up in and, this time, be involved as a coach, is really a wonderful thing.’ Saito says that this was something that he had not expected. ‘I thought that I would have to keep running HAS by myself forever, but it is very heartening to see these children growing up and supporting the club as coaches.’
Wanting to make sport a more familiar part of people’s lives
Saito says that he wants to create a wider environment in which anyone can enjoy playing sport. Through parasport try-out sessions at schools and regional events, he wants to convey the fun and significance of sport to more people. He will roll out further activities in the hope of ‘continuing to create places where children can grow in their own way through sport.’