Kochi Prefecture is a sports camp promotion prefecture! Close to training camp in Taiwan High School Volleyball Club

Kochi Prefecture accepts training camps for many amateur sports groups every year. Our achievements range from soccer, baseball and canoeing both in Japan and overseas. Therefore, this time, we will introduce the state of the Kochi training camp of the Taiwan high school volleyball club and the sports group support project that Kochi Prefecture is working on.

Amateur Sports Training Camp

Kochi Prefecture, which focuses on promoting sports and international exchange through sports, supports a number of amateur sports organizations every year and accepts training camps.
In fiscal 2022, 99 teams from outside the prefecture provided training camps by Kochi Prefecture. Hokkaido in the north, Nagasaki Prefecture in the south, and two overseas organizations in Japan and overseas.
There are many sports facilities in the prefecture, and there are various competitions. In addition to soccer, baseball, land, softball, and water sports such as canoeing, swimming and water polo. In Kochi Prefecture, where high-quality meals and accommodation environments are also set up, each group conducts a fulfilling training camp.

Taiwan High School Volleyball Club Training Camp in Kochi

From September 14 to 18, 2024, a high school boy volleyball club at Akinori High School in Shinhoku City, Taiwan held a training camp in Kochi Prefecture. Shinhoku Municipal Akinori Senior Junior High School is known as a powerful Taiwan high school volleyball school.

Players and managers arrived at Kochi Ryoma Airport using regular charter flights. At the airport, students from Kochi University of Technology and other stakeholders welcomed the party.
As of October 2024, regular charter flights between Kochi and Taiwan are operated two days a week (water and soil).

After arriving, the members who moved to the Eikokuji Campus of Kochi University of Technology. An exchange game, the main event of this Kochi camp, was held.

In the exchange game on the first day, a junior high school selection team from Akinori Takanaka and Kochi Prefecture participated.

On the second and third days, an exchange game was held after joint practice by the participating teams. In addition to Akinori High School, Kochi Institute of Technology, Kochi High School, Takamatsu Crafts High School in Kagawa Prefecture and Tottori Chuo Ikuei High School in Tottori Prefecture participated.

Each team represents each region and it is a battle that cannot be defeated. There was a heated match like the tournament.

On the evening of the second day, an exchange meeting was held by all teams.

After the meal, students were able to get acquainted with each school. I had a conversation with Akinori Takanaka students using a translation app, exchanged LINE with each other and interacted beyond language barriers.

Day 4 is free action. We visited the city of Kochi and visited a sports goods shop to purchase Japanese products.

Interview with directors, members and coordinators

We talked to Director Chin Akinori Takanaka about this Kochi training camp. He is a former president of the Taiwan National Team. Akinori Konaka is a key player who raised the volleyball club into a powerful school.

ーThis Kochi camp. What was the reason for this?

"I wanted to show the children the outside world, so I thought about a training camp in Japan. After consulting with a coordinator who has a relationship with Kochi, this training camp was realized."

ーWhat did you want the members to learn through the training camp?

“One is Japanese volleyball technology. Japan is the top level in Asia. I wanted you to learn tactics. The second is polite. Japanese students will greet them well, and they will maintain and clean the gymnasium. I thought that attitude was great, and I wanted the students to experience it."

ーWhat did you feel when you actually played an exchange game with the Japanese student team?

“The politeness was really great. And then you don't give up until the end. Our students will inevitably lose their strength when the point difference opens. I would be happy if the students could learn the attitudes of Japanese students that I experienced up close this time."

Next, on behalf of the students, we interviewed Tou and Yu, third-year high school students.

ーWhat was the impression of you at the training camp?

Mr. To: “The exchange game is impressive. I was so strong that I wanted to try harder to practice. Next is the attitude, right? I felt that I had to work with a feeling that I was representing Taiwan and that I was not ashamed of it.”
Yu: "I also had a lot to get in exchange games. There are many differences in Japanese volleyball, such as tactics and approaches. I learned a lot.”

Did you enjoy your free time?

Tou: “The food was delicious! The breakfast at the hotel was very good, and we ate whales at the souvenir shop (laughs)."
Yu-kun "Kochi's yuzu juice was also delicious. I bought my father a drink.”

- From Taipei to Kochi by charter flight. How was your first flight?

To: "It's very convenient because it's close. Next year, I would like to come to Japan on a personal trip. At that time, of course, in Kochi! People who became friends at the exchange meeting will go to a university in Chiba Prefecture, so I would like to go to see you via Kochi."

This training camp was realized through volleyball. Akinori It seems that it was a meaningful time for both high and middle school students and Japanese students.

Finally, we spoke with Coordinator Chao Sunway.

- Mr. Chao, a baseball boy. When I was a high school student, I heard that I studied baseball in Kochi Prefecture.

"I've been playing baseball since the fourth grade of elementary school, and I've been doing good exchange games with Japan. Japanese baseball is completely different from Taiwan, and I have been thinking since I was a child that I would like to come to Japan if I had a chance. After that, I was able to learn at Kochi Chuo High School."

ー Currently, we are supporting students from Taiwan to Japan.

"I was able to study abroad in baseball and go to a Japanese university. But some children can't come even if they want to come to Japan, and even if they come, they don't have much support. That's why I want to support these people and work. It is very meaningful to experience and learn abroad. Over the past eight years, we have supported 47 international students.”

ーYou seem to be focusing on the second career support of players.

"We support not only studying abroad, but also the subsequent second career of international students. When thinking about a second career, knowledge and experience are important. It is necessary to meet, interact, and learn from various people from an early age. With knowledge and experience, there are various places of activity even if you can't become a professional athlete. In fact, many international students say, “I want to be a bridge between Taiwan and Japan.”

ー Have you been working on this training camp with awareness of exchange?

"Yes, of course, the game is important, but I think the important thing is exchange. Isn't there something that students could learn by experiencing? Kochi Prefecture is the home of Japan for me. I love it and want to give back to Kochi Prefecture. I would like to continue to promote training camps for the Taiwan team, and I hope that the Japanese team will come to Taiwan."

Information on sports camp support projects

Finally, I would like to introduce the sports camp support project in Kochi Prefecture.
Kochi Prefecture subsidizes accommodation expenses when sports groups outside the prefecture conduct sports camps in the prefecture. The grant is for sports organizations certified by schools (club activities, clubs, circles, etc.) or sports organizations that are members of public sports organizations, and must stay at accommodation facilities in Kochi Prefecture for more than 20 nights. . For more information, please refer to the following website.

■Kochi Tourism Convention Association
https://kochi-tabi.jp/corp/sports/support2024.html

Kochi Prefecture has a variety of sports facilities that support various sports. Please use it at the camp. You can see sports facility information here.

■Kochi Sports Information Comprehensive Site
https://sports-navi.pref.kochi.lg.jp/