Sunny start to the Academy in Karuizawa!

For the first time in three years, the "WCA 2022" was held in Karuizawa as an in-person event. Under a clear blue sky that seemed to bless the long-awaited event in Karuizawa, each with a nervous face, participants gathered at the outdoor deck surrounded by lush greenery in order to begin the opening ceremony.

By the time the participants had warmed up with the customary ice-breaker and self-introductions, they were relaxed and they raised hopes in the three days academy that was about to begin.

The WCA, a pioneering program in the Japanese sporting world, started back in 2015. This year is the 8th Academy, and we received a record number of applications and welcomed more than 40 participants for the first time. Their backgrounds such as the type of sports they play, affiliation, line of work they do, etc. are becoming more diverse each year, making the Academy a valuable and informative place for networking.

Leaders and Coaches, as a Whole Person
Enhancing your energy.

Ms. Marlene Bjornsrud has served as a GM of a U.S. women's professional soccer team and a college coach and has created numerous team cultures. She offered six keywords from her experience and shared useful information for women in all professions involved in sports.

Her words, delivered in her unique gentle tone, were not only a hint to turn back to oneself as a leader and coach but also as a whole person. From the sense of relief that they acquired a method of not being negative and not giving up on anything, the participants' expressions gradually softened. She said, "When I was about to give up, I told myself, I can do it. Remember that you can make a difference and influence others. You are the ’special gold’”.

Essential knowledge for Coaches
To make athletes happy

Dr. Natsue Koikawa shared an episode in which she learned from Ms. Marlene Bjornsrud at the WCA of the USA which she attended in 2014. The role of a coach is not to "make them win" but to "make athletes happy", and she expressed her hope that the participants will use the knowledge they learn from this lecture to guide the athletes to stay healthy and compete at their best condition.

She explained that coaches must acquire proper knowledge because, unlike in the U.S. where specialized staff members are responsible for the physical care of athletes, the system is not yet in place in Japan. She explained the three obstacles that female athletes are prone to which are called the "Female Athlete Triad, FAT". Based on her experience in this field, she gave specific examples of tips that would help recognize the athletes' signals and how to deal with them when you notice them and explained how they can be used for the conditioning of athletes.

The latest information concerning "diet" in the sports field
Significance of Sports Nutrition

At the beginning of the presentation, the definition of "sports nutrition" was given and the significance of introducing nutritional guidance in the field of sports was explained.

Food is a key factor that affects a person’s health status, and for athletes, even their athletic life, nutritional management needs to be based on specialized knowledge and evidence that is tailored to the individual's situation. Dr. Shihoko Suzuki, who has provided guidance and nutritional support to Olympians and Paralympians, not only provided nutritional management for top athletes, but also generously shared the latest information on the concept of supplements, points to keep in mind during the developmental period, and how to adjust nutrition to modern lifestyles. In a world where everything is so easily available, the basic of “diet” is very important and the lecture was an opportunity for the participants to consider this once again.

The Changing Ratio of Men to Women in Sports
Think and act on what you can do now

The WCA is an opportunity where two generations to come and sit together to attend the same seminar. One is the generation that has always felt the pressure of being a "woman" in a male-dominated society and the other is the younger generation that has lived through the time when gender equality has become more prevalent. Dr. Kaori Yamaguchi started her lecture by advising the participants that she wants everyone to make this lecture an opportunity to think about what we can do from our respective standpoints in order to eliminate gender bias and disparities that still exist today.

Why is it necessary to increase the number of women leaders? She explained the necessity of women leaders based on her experience as the head of the JOC Women's Sports Specialized Section and her experience serving as a board member of several organizations. She also explained the management skills that are necessary to becoming a leader by citing detailed examples. She encouraged participants to "speak out with feminine sensibilities and characteristics.

Strong will and strategy
That is essential for problem-solving leaders

Ms. Lisa O’Keefe, who played rugby for Scotland's national team during her athletic career and is currently the Secretary General of the International Working Group (IWG) on Women & Sport, began her lecture by defining leadership and collaboration. She reminded the participants to judge her at the end of the lecture whether she has been fulfilling the definition that she explained in her lecture.

She concluded her lecture by sharing about her role in the IWG, in which she is determined to "take action at a time when many women are forced out of sports after the pandemic," and showed how she is thriving forward with courage to face the "big challenges. The participants received a lot of inspiration and courage from her.

A link to the future
Stress coping training

This was the only lecture given online by Dr. Miyako Tanaka-Oulevey. Based on her expertise and theories, she gave a comprehensible lecture on the definition of stress coping and what it means to athletes.

As an example, she explained how she experienced and coped with all kinds of stress from when she was an active athlete, studied at graduate school, and received a Ph.D. last year, with which the participants greatly sympathized.

She also used examples from her interactions with athletes and coaches to illustrate how she has dealt with people in different situations and with different ways of thinking. She encouraged the participants to put the lecture into practice by saying, "I want you to apply this to your own life”. During the Q&A session, many hands were raised, and she carefully and thoughtfully answered each participant's questions, which touched the hearts of the participants who had serious concerns.

The power of women to bottom-up
Organize the status quo and recharge your power

Dr. Nicole LaVoi, who is the director of the Tucker Center which practices interdisciplinary research in women and sport, began her lecture by explaining her role and sharing how she enjoys carrying out her duties despite the burden of her responsibility.

She also discussed the "double standard" that women face and shared it with the participants who are also facing it just now. She also mentioned burnout, which is a condition that many women can suffer due to prolonged mental strain since most of the time, women are considered a minority. She used her own experience as a tennis coach to give examples of how she cared about herself and was able to reset herself. The lecture gave an opportunity for the participants to return to the starting point to think once again, about why they coach.

Discover yourself to understand others
Learn the DISC Program utilization technique

CoachDISC is a program that analyzes the behavioral characteristics of a coach. Ms. Liz Masen began her presentation with a lecture on what kinds of research led to the development of the DISC model theory, which is the basis of CoachDISC, and explained the significance and how and why it was chosen to be used for coaches. She also mentioned that the DISC program can be used to help leaders and coaches understand themselves which is an important factor when leading others, and also to understand others.

Participants then did a simple activity where they learned that there are various approaches to achieving a certain result (getting others to do a certain thing) and learned how to think of "ways to achieve a result.

In closing, she said, "It is important to respect the values that different people bring, and discover those values.” She reaffirmed that the DISC program is effective in the world today since diversity is much valued nowadays.

For the benefit of the athletes
Keep in mind the different cases

Ms. Maki Moriya, who researches team building and team support, gave examples of actual cases she supported at the Tokyo 2020 Games, and reflected on the difficulties, challenges, and results of generating the best performance as a team. She explained that the important point is to adjust the ways to give feedback depending on the behavioral style of the other person (athlete) and what to focus on when you communicate and emphasized that the effectiveness of the feedback depends on the choice of the method.

Next, participants were divided into groups to perform a discussion about various cases in order to exercise how they can apply what they learned so far in the CoachDISC program lectures to their profession.

Since it was an in-person event for the first time in three years, for the first time in a long time, she returned to performing the role of an athlete where she interacted with the representatives of each group when presenting the results of the group discussion. Each representative desperately acted out their roles, pondering over how they should feedback to the athletes to help them grow. As the other participants gave their precise compliments and opinions in response, the audience became one, just like a team.

Learn and think about the gender issues
From multiple perspectives

Dr. Rieko Yamaguchi stated that in the Japanese policy, gender issues are often replaced as "women's empowerment", and started her lecture by first introducing the laws and policies related to women and explaining their aims. She then explained that the gender issue is not a matter of women versus men, but the system (structure) itself is what makes it problematic.

Next, on gender issues in the sports world, she lectured about the history and background of the obstacles to women's participation in physical activities and also regarding harassment. She also shared information on the problems of voyeurism, exposure to sexual images, and sexual harassment, which have become more visible in recent years. She also mentioned the importance of taking measures to prevent such incidents from occurring in sports and how to respond when they do occur. Ms. Miyuki Kobayashi introduced actual cases of sexual harassment that occurred in her sports in the past.

As it has become increasingly difficult to reach a consensus on what "gender" means, this session provided an opportunity to reconsider the issue of gender.

As fellows who share the WCA Spirit
Messages from our seniors

At the beginning of the session, the coordinator and Executive Director Dr. Etsuko Ogasawara asked each participant for their impressions of attending this academy and listened to their words. After listening, she shared about the sense of freedom that she felt when she reunited with the four international lecturers and about the peaceful atmosphere that she experienced at the WCA in the U.S., and expressed her gratitude for the fact that the participants were also sensing the same.

The microphone was then handed to Ms. Eriko Sanmiya, a 1st-year WCA graduate, who was invited as a panelist to the academy this year. She, who represented Japan in speed skating at two Olympic Games and was the flag bearer for the Japanese team, is currently working hard as the Vice President of the Japan Cycling Federation and the representative of the athletes’ advisory board of the Japan Skating Federation's Strengthening Department. All these positions were filled after she completed the WCA, and she spoke earnestly about how much courage and power the WCA had given her. She is also a mother of two children, generously shared her advice and tips on how to balance work and child-rearing, giving powerful encouragement to the participants.

Another Japanese panelist, Ms. Mikiko Hagiwara, a 3rd year WCA graduate, was the first Japanese to play in the WNBA. After retiring, she has been a skilled coach for the Japanese national team in the Under-generation and is now the head coach of the Tokyo Haneda Vickies of the WJBL. She shared that she still has close bonds with her WCA classmates and that networking and information sharing have supported her coaching. She also said that although it is said that there is relatively little difference between men and women in basketball, the issues of the disparity in prize money and the ratio of men to women coaches still exist. She emphasized that it is important for the graduates of WCA to speak up little by little, rather than taking these differences for granted.

The four international lecturers also talked about what they felt at the academy. Unlike the lectures, the atmosphere was warm and welcoming, as if they were talking to their colleagues with whom they were sharing the same time.

During the Q&A session, the panelists generously shared their experiences and advice in response to the many questions they received, giving courage and power to the participants.

What we can do for the development of sports
Our “Karuizawa Declaration 2022”

One year has passed since the “.WE League” was launched. Ms. Miyuki Kobayashi, who serves as the Board and Director of Empowerment division, explained the changes that have taken place since it became a professional league and the new initiatives taken as a WE (Women's Empowerment) League. She also introduced the trend of gender equality in international soccer. By showing an illustration of the WE League's philosophy, she stated that it is meaningful to visualize her vision.

She then mentioned the "Karuizawa Declaration for 2020," which was established in WCA2015 for the development of sports, and shared the fact that it is getting closer to realization. She urged the participants by stating, "This time, it's your turn!" When each of them publicly declared their own “My Karuizawa Declaration 2022,” their fellow participants nodded their heads in agreement and applauded in support.

She ended the final lecture by praising the participants for their courage in making the declaration and exhorting them to “always remember this courage when you make your way out in the world.

The joy of having fellows who can share your thoughts and feelings
An emotional finale to form a firm bond

At the closing ceremony, the "Best Leader and Coach Award," which was selected by the participants' votes, was announced and Ms. Chiho Watanabe was given a commemorative plaque by Ms. Eriko Sanmiya along with her words, "Please be the lighthouse for the 8th graders of WCA".

The lecturers then gave heartwarming messages to the participants, and each participant received a WCA certificate of completion.

In closing, the Executive Director of the WCA Dr. Etsuko Ogasawara, said, "I am happy to be able to connect with all of you as fellow WCA members. I cannot tell you how much strength it gives me to have friends with whom I can share my feelings in both good times and bad times. That is why I ask you to continue to connect with your fellows." The smiles of the 8th WCA graduates, lecturers, alumni, and staff were seen at the end of her outstretched arms.

The WCA 2022, held in an environment where participants were able to meet eye to eye for the first time in a long time and speak to each other in the same space, brought together women with diverse backgrounds strongly more than ever before.