Tokyo 2020 stages “Ideathon”

On Sunday 27 November, the first in a series of “Tokyo 2020 Ideathon” events was held, pitting Japanese college and university students against each other in a competition of ideas designed to address various challenges related to preparations for, and the actual hosting of, the Tokyo 2020 Games.

Reflecting the theme of making the Paralympics a success through technology, the event, sponsored by the Tokyo 2020 Ideathon Executive Committee, brought together 33 students from around Japan to brainstorm ways in which spectators can enjoy watching wheelchair basketball. Participants were divided into 10 teams, jotting down their ideas on paper slips, arranging these on whiteboards and then giving shape to those ideas using models and other techniques.

The winning team's proposal was to provide goggle-style headsets to enable spectators to experience through virtual reality the sensation of playing wheelchair basketball. Describing his team's elation at winning the Grand Prize, Shota Iwamasa of Yamaguchi University said: “Our idea was to make it easy for people to experience the sport and understand its appeal in confined spaces like railway stations. We never imagined we'd win the Grand Prize.”

Japanese Paralympic Committee President Yasushi Yamawaki, who served as a judge at the event, thanked participants, observing: “The teams came up with some great ideas despite the small amount of time available. We would really like to try out some of them.”