News

For the successful Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games (to be held in 2021), a Technical Official Seminar was held for selected ITOs and NTOs for Tokyo 2020 during 22-23 November 2020 at Shin-Yokohama Prince Hotel.

IWF Technical Committee Secretary Ms. Reiko Kato Chinen conducted the seminar, 2 ITOs and 17 NTOs participated on-site, including Mr. Jun-ichi Okada, IWF Coaching and Research Committee Member. One NTO participated online.

On the first day, after Mr. Tetsuo Komiyama, Japan Weightlifting Association General Secretary opened the seminar, 4 topics were presented by Ms. Chinen –

1. Tokyo 2020 Update after Postponement of the Games,
2. IF Flow in Tokyo International Forum (Tokyo 2020 Weightlifting Venue),
3. Athletes’ Outfit, and
4. Authorised Identifications for Tokyo 2020 (IOC Rule 50).

During the evening, each Technical Officials made a short presentation on statement of determination for officiating at Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.

On the second day, after Ms. Chinen explained about Video Playback Technology, participants were divided into 4 groups to perform Role Plays to review Weigh-in procedure and to study/improve Chief Marshal skill. For the Role Plays, various tricky scenarios made participants remind important points for each role.

Only a few days in prior to the seminar, increasing tendency of COVID-19 started especially in the big cities (3rd wave). Japan Weightlifting Association urgently discussed if the seminar should be kept as originally planned, but decided to carry out the event with strengthened countermeasures such as:

• Change of the hotel room type from double to single
• Individual countermeasures during the trip between home and seminar site
• Submission of health inquiry sheet
• Measuring body temperature upon the arrival and at the beginning of Day2
• Wearing a mask whenever in the meeting room or in the hotel
• Wearing a mask plus face shield while carrying out Role Play
• Providing disinfectant
• Change of the style of taking dinner – from round table to meeting table, using one large folding table for one person with 2 meters distance.

The invitation letter sent by Japan Weightlifting Association to participants many weeks in prior to the seminar had also requested daily self-health check. Self-health check will be continued by each participant for 2 weeks more after the seminar.

Shin-Yokohama Prince Hotel is a group hotel of The Prince Park Tower Tokyo, where all participants from Japan, China, USA and Russia in 2020 Artistic Gymnastics Friendship and Solidarity Competition stayed. This Competition was held by FIG (the International Gymnastics Federation) on 8 November 2020 in Tokyo under the values of excellence, friendship and solidarity, but also to test all aspects on COVID-19 countermeasures such as PCR tests (before the departure of the country, upon the arrival, in the hotel etc.), restriction of activities, sport and venue operation (disinfection etc.) and the way for meals. The hotel used for this IWF Development Program had already planned to provide a big meeting room before the start of this 3rd wave of COVID-19, but accepted all the demands from Japan Weightlifting Association including last-minutes change requests, furthermore used the same way as applied in FIG event whichever applicable for this seminar. At the end, participants of the Seminar, who normally organize national or regional events, also realized that they need to be prepared for these kinds of possible urgent logistics changes under the pandemic for near future events in Japan.

JWA greatly appreciates the contribution of the IWF and IWF Development Program, also for Prince Hotels, Inc., the owner company of the hotel.