During the summer of 2024, while the Paris 2024 Paralympics Games were in full swing, the 2024 Pan-American Masters Games (PAMG), an international multi-sport event for masters athletes, took place in Cleveland, USA. Professor CHOGAHARA Makoto from the Graduate School of Human Development and Environment participated in the 10-day event both as an athlete and as a board member of the International Masters Games Association (IMGA), the organizing body, and shared in the excitement of rubbing shoulders with rivals from around the world. With the World Masters Games 2027 Kansai coming up, we asked Chogahara, who specializes in sports promotion and serves as a council member for the event, about its significance and the role lifelong sports play in an aging society.

Inspired by the participatory international event

The World Masters Games are not a well-known event to the general public. What kind of event is it?

Chogahara:

The World Masters Games are an international sports event for middle-aged and older adults, organized by the International Masters Games Association (IMGA). It has been held approximately every four years since 1985. This open event allows anyone aged 30 and above to participate, whether they are former Olympians, ex-professional athletes, former Paralympians, senior athletes who have stepped away from competitions since high school or college, or even 100-year-old athletes enjoying sports post-retirement. Competitors are grouped by age, which is one of the unique features of the event, allowing a wide range of athletes to participate. My personal journey with the World Masters Games began in 1998 when I first competed in the 400-meter track event at the Portland 1998 World Masters Games in the United States. I could not forget the excitement of seeing a former Olympian in the lane next to me in the final. This experience has stayed with me and spurred my involvement in bringing the World Masters Games to Japan. If the Olympics represent the pinnacle of elite athletes, this event is the pinnacle of lifetime sports.

The Pan-American Masters Games, which I participated in this time, is another international event overseen by the IMGA. Although run by continental associations that divide the world into three regions, the event was open to athletes from any country in any region of the world, and 4,400 people gathered from 70 countries. While it is currently a continental event, the IMGA board has decided that it will evolve into an international event in the future. This means that an international event will be hold every two years.

I am also a member of the IMGA board, and at this year’s Pan-American Masters Games it was my duty as board member to stay until the closing ceremony, evaluating the event’s operations. Board members are expected to lead by example as athletes and to practice sports as much as possible, so I competed in the disc golf events. Competing in an age-specific group, I won the bronze medal. In disc golf, players throw a plastic disc, slightly larger than the palm of the hand, towards a metal basket. Like golf, the competition involves completing 18 courses, and the goal is to achieve the lowest score over three days. This was my first time winning a medal in this sport.

The culture of sports volunteerism is strong in the United States, and I could really feel the welcoming atmosphere from everyone. Not only the participants but also their companions join in and enjoy the event together. It was not just about sports – you could also enjoy sightseeing, and it felt like a celebration, creating a lively and vibrant atmosphere. The volunteers, spectators, and organizers were all trying to make the event a success. I would love to participate in any of the events.

How was your welcome in the United States?

Chogahara:

Cleveland, where the event was held, is a city passionate about baseball and home to the Guardians, a Major League Baseball team. Participants of the World Masters Games were invited to attend the first game of the league’s second half, experiencing the proud baseball culture hosted by the organizing group. Since I happen to have a background in baseball, I was given the honor of throwing the first pitch ceremony on behalf of the IMGA board. During this time, the public address system announced the upcoming World Masters Games 2027 Kansai and mentioned our involvement in organizing the Masters Koshien.

At the first pitch ceremony, I was happy that the ball managed to reach the catcher without bouncing. I was also thrilled to hear participants of the World Masters Games say, “We are going to the Kansai Games!”

Renewed determination for the Kansai Games in three years

Was it a great opportunity to promote the World Masters Games 2027 Kansai?

Chogahara:

Being able to promote the Kansai Games on the Major League stage was a success for our mission. We want as many people from North America as possible to come to Japan.

The Kansai Games were originally scheduled to be held in 2021 but were postponed twice due to the COVID-19 pandemic and are now set for 2027. In the past, two such events were postponed, and some were cancelled as well. It was a situation where the Kansai Games would likely have been cancelled, too, under normal circumstances. However, we did not stop. Moreover, we are not reducing the scale of the event at all and are targeting a record 50,000 participants. I am impressed by the stamina of the people involved in organizing the event.

Rather than thinking that the COVID-19 pandemic caused the postponement, I now believe that it rather gave us time to promote the event. With the excitement from the Pan-American Masters Games still fresh, I truly feel the historical significance of hosting the Kansai Games. Stakeholders from around the world view the event as perhaps the most sustained sports event from the bidding phase to the actual event. We started the bidding process in 2013, and after two postponements, it will have taken 14 years to finally open.

If the summer games are succeeding, the winter games will be next.

I am sure that you have renewed your feelings towards the Kansai Games. 

Chogahara:

The Kansai tournament is getting more and more attention, and everything is going right. Like the Olympics and Paralympics, the World Masters Games are held in summer and winter. By successfully hosting the summer games in Kansai in 2027, I hope we can then bid for and host the Winter Games, just as Tokyo hosted the Summer Olympics in 1964 and Sapporo hosted the Winter Olympics in 1972. The scheme used for the Kansai Games can be applied to the Winter Games as well, leading to the promotion of lifelong sports in the future.

How can we, as Kansai residents, get involved in the event?

Chogahara:

Since it’s a participatory event, you will see how much fun it is once you participate in each competition. I hope as many people as possible can make their world debut. How you participate is entirely up to you, whether you are with a group of friends, old acquaintances, or even in multinational teams since this event doesn’t require representing a country. Families, couples, parents and children, married couples, three generations, or mixed genders can join. Couple and family sports are not very common in Japan, but there is no other event like this where families can compete for medals on an international stage.

The overall success of the event is to achieve our goal of 50,000 participants. However, I hope not only that, but also that after the event, a culture where everyone enjoys lifelong sports will take root in Japan.

I have heard that you have been involved in the operations of the Kansai Games from early on and have a significant connection to the event’s legacy.

Chogahara:

In preparation for the Kansai Games initially scheduled for 2021, as the chairman of the Legacy Creation Committee, I formulated a legacy plan. Usually, legacies are created at the time of the event, but for the Kansai Games, we planned its legacy even before the event began. We thought about what we wanted to leave behind after the event from the preparation stage. We established legacies in five areas: a legacy to celebrate individuals, a legacy to create community, a legacy to enrich culture, a legacy to expand the world, and a legacy to nurture the future. Rather than just hosting a sports event, we thought about how to utilize this event for the promotion of sports in collaboration with industry, government, academia, and the private sector. I specialize in sports promotion, and my research focuses on cultural promotion of lifelong sports and I believe the concept of legacy is closest to my university research.

My seminar (the Masters Sports Promotion Support Office) has been involved in the event planning since the bid stage and created the event logo and concept. We have listed, in a researcher’s terms, hypotheses as to what we want to revitalize and what legacy we want to leave behind through this event. We are currently in the process of monitoring to see if the hypothetical goals set forth in the legacy plan are being achieved. Three years later, we will need to examine how these legacies have been achieved. The IMGA, the organizing body, is expecting a lot from the event and is paying close attention.

In addition to being a WMG board member, you also serve as the chairperson of the Masters Koshien Executive Committee, where former high school ball players compete. Your contributions to the baseball community are significant as well.

Chogahara:

The Masters Koshien, in which any high school baseball alum can participate, have been hosted since 2004, and the secretariat is located at Kobe University. This year marks the 21st year. There are about 2 million former high school baseball players across the country, and they participate in teams of high school alums. The program started in 2004 with 82 schools and now has 716 participating schools. Teams that advance through the preliminary rounds compete in intense matches at Koshien Stadium every November. Many professional baseball players have not stepped on Koshien soil in high school, and many of them aim for this tournament. Even former professional baseball player KUWATA Masumi has competed as a member of PL Gakuen High School.

Engaging in sports gives seniors vigor

What do you think of the role that sports can play in a society with a long life expectancy?

Chogahara:

Until high school and college, there is an abundant choice of “doable sports,” but after that, as the number of competitions in which one can participate decreases and the stage for success disappears, the number of competitors declines and the sports culture degenerates. It is lifelong sports that make it right. In Japan, there is a strong belief that people do not do strenuous sports as they age, but it is possible to enjoy strenuous sports with some ingenuity.

I feel that the culture of genuinely enjoying sports is still low in Japan compared to other countries. Japan is leading the world in the super-aging society, but there is a lack of a sense of active ageing. Promoting lifelong sports can transform seniors into more dynamic individuals. The most important thing is having “doable sports” in order to boost the whole sports culture itself.

What is your dream in the realm of sports?

Chogahara:

Whether it is the World Masters Games or Masters Koshien, I am proud to have planned, organized and developed these events together with students. I would like to enjoy participating as an active athlete, with the juniors who I have been involved with in my career taking on a supportive role.

I would like to participate in the Masters Koshien as an 88-year-old competitor when it celebrates its 50th anniversary. Of course, I also plan to compete in the World Masters Games.

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