Making Fujiyoshida the “Sacred Land of Rugby” ~How to make the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Pre-Tournament Training a Success~ 【RWC2019 Preliminary Team Camp Public Engagement】 (Part ③)

The long anticipated arrival of the French National team ahead of the 2019 Rugby World Cup kicked off a 12 day training period here in Fujiyoshida City.

・ For more information regarding the Preliminary Team Camp, click here
・ For more information regarding the Official Team Camp, click here

In between practices, the French National Team was gracious enough to engage with the local community. The public voiced their excitement and were visibly stunned by the sheer physical scale of the athletes and moved by the rare opportunity to get up close and personal with world class athletes.

【September 9, 2019: Welcome Reception for the French National Team】

A reception was held in celebration of the team’s arrival in which gifts were exchanged, and a traditional taiko drumming toupe, the Fujisan Kaen Daiko no Kai, performed and even brought athletes on stage to try their hand at drumming themselves. (Venue: Highland Resort & Spa)

【September 12, 2019: School Visit】

The team visited a special needs school and a junior high school where they watched performances by students and demonstrated various rugby skills such as passes and line outs. Following the demonstration by the team, students were thrilled to be given an opportunity to pass the ball with players and get lifted up for line outs themselves.

A banner that was gifted to the team by the students at the special needs school could be seen hanging in the team’s locker room at every game, illustrating the meaningful bond that was realized between the team and our local community through this experience.

The schools worked tirelessly to organize the visit and in turn were rewarded with a once in a lifetime opportunity to interact with the team and express their awe and support.

We plan to have a welcome reception and school visit during the Tokyo Olympic Games as well. We hope that the Tokyo Olympic Games become yet another opportunity for the sport of rugby to become further engrained in the culture here in the northern base region of Mt. Fuji.

Continue in “Making Fujiyoshida the “Sacred Land of Rugby” ~How to make the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Pre-Tournament Training a Success~ 【RWC2019 Official Team Camp Public Engagement】 (Part ④) “

Fujiyoshida City Hall / City Planning Department
International Sports Competition Training Camp Invitation Promotion Office
TEL: 0555-22-1353
Email: s_camp@city.fujiyoshida.lg.jp
(Japanese Inquiries only)