As for how the WCA came to be held in Japan, the audience gave a big round of applause when JCRWS Executive Director Dr. Ogasawara said, “After participating in the NCAA WCA in the U.S., which was one of the most exciting things I had ever seen in Japan, I immediately decided to hold the WCA in Japan (starting in 2015, 9 months after participating in the academy).
When Deputy Director Koikawa then shared about the emotional changes that occurred as a result of her participation in the NCAA WCA, the audience again applauded loudly. She also explained the differences between the WCAs of the two countries and the cultural differences between the U.S. and Japan. In Japan, there are few female coaches at the collegiate level, and nutritionists, trainers, and school teachers are involved in coaching, which means that Japanese WCA has a wider target audience. She also introduced that, unlike in the U.S., where a specialized staff is responsible for the physical care of athletes, in Japan, where the system is not yet in place, the program includes not only coaching, but also medical and nutritional knowledge. This was praised by the audience as an excellent program.