The 51st Hokuryu Town Sunflower Olympics 2022 (Hokuryu Town Board of Education) - The laughter of lively seniors echoes throughout the city

Friday, November 18, 2022

The 51st Hokuryu Town Sunflower Olympics was held at the Hokuryu Town Rural Environment Improvement Center from 9:30 a.m. on Thursday, November 17th.

Hokuryu Town Rural Environment Improvement Center

On the day of the event, with the first snow falling lightly from the morning, around 50 people aged 65 and over from each neighborhood association, including students from Hokuryu Town Himawari University and members of the Himawari Longevity Association, participated and enjoyed the competition with great energy.

Organized by: Hokuryu Town Board of Education

• Organizer:Hokuryu Town Board of Education
• cooperation:Hokuryu Town Sports Promotion Committee

Greetings from the Chairman: Hokuryu Town Board of Education, Superintendent Arima Kazushi

"I would like to express my sincere gratitude to all of you for taking time out of your busy schedules to attend today.

When I woke up this morning, everything was covered in white. Winter has finally arrived. So today, I would like to ask everyone to warm up this gymnasium with their enthusiasm.

The floor of this gymnasium was resurfaced over a three-month period starting in August, and today's tournament marks the opening day of the sporting event.

We have prepared a variety of physical education events for today. We hope that those who are good at each of them will put in their best efforts. Even those who are not good at them will help make these Olympics a success with loud applause and cheers.

Since this is an Olympic Games, winning and losing are inevitable, but I hope that the participants will enjoy competing without being obsessed with winning or losing.

The coronavirus infection is spreading again. The weather will get colder and colder from now on. We ask that everyone take good care of their health.

In closing, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to all the sports promoters, members of the Himawari Longevity Association, Senior Citizens' University, and Himawari University for their tremendous cooperation in holding this tournament. I would like to conclude my speech by saying, "I hope you all do your best today."

Attention Chief Referee: Sports Promotion Committee Chairman Okino Manabu

There was an explanation of the competition and precautions to take during the competition.

Athlete's oath: Hiroshi Oji, class representative, Himawari University

"We, the athletes who are committed to lifelong learning, pledge to deepen regional exchanges at the Sunflower Olympics, stay injury-free, and enjoy today to the fullest. November 17th, 2022, Athlete Representative, Oji Hiroshi," declared class representative Oji Hiroshi with great force.

Introduction of each team's manager

• Red Team:Director Kazuo Shibasaki (Sakuraoka, Wamotocho)
• Yellow group:Director Akira Tanimoto (Furusaku, Itaya, Nishikawa, Kazu, Watocho, Wacho, Mitani)
• White Team:Director Hiroshi Oji (Hekisui, Iwamura, Mibowu, Kyoei)

Hokuryu Town Sports Promotion Committee and Committee Members

• Chairman:Manabu Okino
• Vice-chairman:Hiroto Sakamaki
• Committee members:Ryo Kato
• Committee members:Masami Abe
• Committee members:Hifumi Shimabayashi

Warm-up exercises (radio exercises)

Before the competition begins, participants will thoroughly loosen up their bodies with full-body exercises.

competition

1. Word Association Game

・Respondents compete to get the correct answer by expressing a word associated with a given topic using a single kanji character.

The three topics asked were "rabbit," "melon," and "beer."

• "Rabbit", "white", "ear", "jump", "moon", etc.
• "Melon", "fruit", "net", "blue", "red", "evening", etc.
• "Beer""Sake", "Foam", "Barley", "Cold", etc.

Everyone wrote down the kanji they associated with each word.
The Yellow team got all three questions right! Well done!!!

2. Bowling

- Roll the ball towards 10 bowling pins and compete to knock down the most pins

3. Ladder Getter

・Players compete for points by throwing a ball with a string attached to it up a ladder and getting it caught.

4. Breaking the Barrier

・Play rock-paper-scissors with the guard who is the coach of each team. If you win, you go back and pass the baton to the next person. If you lose, you go around the guard and play rock-paper-scissors again. If you lose three times, you pass the baton to the next person. Compete for the fastest time until all 10 people are finished.

Break time: Drink time

5. Ball Toss

- Compete for the fastest time when all 100 balls have been placed

6. Floor curling

- Each player throws the ball twice, and if the flocker lands within the designated zone, they score points.

7. Aim for a comeback

・Throw the ball at numbered targets and compete for the total points you can hit.

Closing Ceremony

Results and awards: The scores were announced and each team was awarded a prize.

• Victory :Yellow group 73 points
• 2nd place:Red team 53 points
• 3rd place:White team 51 points

Comments from the conference: Koji Kawada, Chairman of the Hokuryu Town Sunflower Longevity Association

"A pure white snow fell in the northern part of the country this morning, and we old folks are now hoping to somehow make it through this harsh winter.

I think today's Olympic Games was a very good experience.

The number of coronavirus infections in Hokkaido is expected to rise to the same level as Tokyo. Flu is also likely to spread, so I hope to take good care of myself and make it through the New Year holidays in good health so that I can welcome next spring in good health.

I hope everyone takes good care of their health and makes it through the harsh winter ahead.

"I would like to express my sincere gratitude to the Board of Education and others for planning such a fun event today. Thank you very much for all your hard work today," said Chairman Kawada.

Fun big lottery

The Superintendent of Education, Mr. Arima, drew lots for the numbers shown on the raffle tickets given to the participants in advance, and the prizes were awarded.

With boundless love, gratitude, and prayers, we offer our heartfelt thanks to the Hokuryu Sunflower Olympics, a sport that brings together friends from the neighborhood to enjoy cheerful conversation and energize the mind and body with smiles and energy.

Other photos

Photos (116 photos) from the 51st Hokuryu Town Sunflower Olympics (Hokuryu Town Board of Education) are available here >>

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◇ Photography and editing: Noboru Terauchi Interview and text: Ikuko Terauchi