Athletic organizations in Japan are racking their brains over creating guidelines to prevent the spread of the new coronavirus while ensuring that their athletes can start preparation in full swing for next year's Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Doubles practice has been banned for table tennis players in order to maintain social distance, and fencers have been prohibited from vocalizing during matches. Both measures are painful for each sport.
There are some cases where these measures differ between sports and each organization continues looking for ways to deal with the situation.
The Japan Table Tennis Association announced guidelines at the end of May for resumption of the use of the Ajinomoto National Training Center (NTC) in Kita Ward, Tokyo, which includes a ban on doubles for the time being.
It's a tough situation for Jun Mizutani and his teammates, who were selected to represent Japan at the Tokyo Olympics.
"Players can't keep their distance in a game of doubles because they play side by side. It's a decision for safety," an official at the association said.
The serious problem is combat sports, like judo and wrestling. The basis of these sports is sparring, which inevitably leads to a proximity between fighters. Both sports organizations decided that athletes should practice alone without sparring with other athletes in early stages and limit the number of athletes on tatami or mats.
In fencing, fencers must practice leaving the piste next to them open. Although the sport values decorum, the Japanese Fencing Federation takes thorough measures to prohibit even shaking hands after a bout, which is required by rule of the International Fencing Federation.
Swimmers are required to swim "one person per lane" when practicing at the NTC, and archers are also limited to one archer per target, instead of the usual two or three. Sailing athletes are instructed to change clothes "outdoors using ponchos and other items, not in changing rooms, if possible." An official at the Japan Sailing Federation said: "Preventing infections is top priority. Athletes are used to not having changing rooms because they often encounter such situations at overseas competitions."
For fencers, one of the difficulties with countermeasures against infection from exhalation is suppressing verbal calls that are made when a technique is decided or point is won.
The fencing federation stipulates in guidelines for competitions, things like, "fencers should not speak loudly as a rule," and "raising one's voice is allowed when explaining or protesting to referees, but at a distance of two meters or more." Even amateur fencers are required to adhere to the rules and guidelines. A member of the federation said, "It's quite tough because it's normal to raise your voice when a technique is made."
Table tennis players are also forced to refrain from vocalizing as much as possible.
On the other hand, shouting is allowed in clay target shooting, as targets are released when a shooter verbally gives the signal. The association's guidelines state that if shooters give a signal while wearing a mask, "microphones may not pick up their voice" but, it urges athletes to wear masks outside shooting stands.
"It's not a problem because it's outdoors and the shooting zones are far away from each other. We will take all necessary precautions, including in the waiting room," a person in charge at the association said.
Japan Gymnastics Association has struggled to improve training efficiency amid the emphasis on disinfection of equipment. The association's guidelines for NTC use states that "in principle users must disinfect the equipment in advance." A senior official at the association explained that they have changed their way of thinking; "Disinfection is not conducted after the equipment has been used, but before it is used, and by the athletes themselves."
The Japan Para-Volleyball Association has taken cautious measures, for example, when members of the sitting volleyball national team travel on the Shinkansen (bullet train) to a training camp. The association reserves, if possible, three seats side by side for two travelers, with one seat in the center open. In addition, about 50 players and staff will be tested for antibodies.
The Japan Para Athletics has recommended measures that are tailored to the characteristics of the athletes' disability; for example, urging visually impaired runners and guide runners to wash their hands before and after running together, and asking wheelchair athletes to thoroughly disinfect their competition wheelchairs.
The Japan Boccia Association has suspended full-scale practices and camps because many boccia players are severely disabled and it believes that they have a higher risk of becoming severely infected than able-bodied people. There are many organizations taking such a cautious approach.
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