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- Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games】7-Person Women’s Rugby Brazilian National Team Camp Report
Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games】7-Person Women’s Rugby Brazilian National Team Camp Report
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Last updated:
Jul 30, 2021
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About the writer:
Nagato Tourism Convention Association
Daily highlight videos
From July 11 (Sun.) to 24 (Sat.), Nagato City served as Brazil's host town for a pre-camp for the Brazilian national 7-a-side women's rugby team for the "Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.
Every day during the camp, we posted highlight videos on YouTube's Nagato City Tourism Information Channel "Nanavi " and on the Nagato City World Games Camp Bid Committee's SNS (Facebook and Instagram ), showing scenes of practice, players' voices, and exchange events with the citizens of Nagato City through which they enjoyed the culture and food of the city. We have been delivering scenes of practice, athletes' voices, and scenes of enjoying Nagato City's culture and food through exchange events with citizens.
Currently, a total of 17 videos (14 highlights, 2 interviews, and 1 live-streaming video) have been released, and have just been picked up by the Brazilian national team players on their SNS and received various forms of feedback, including comments of appreciation from users living in Brazil.
In this issue, we look back on the camp period and introduce the training environment that the Brazilian national team called "Amazing! (Amazing!)" from the Brazilian national team, and the hot springs and food in Nagato City that helped the team heal.
Amazing! Amazing stadiums
The Brazilian national team recently practiced at the Yamane Stadium Tawarayama in the Tawarayama district of Nagato City.
It is about 15 km one way from the center of Nagato City, or about 20 minutes by car, and nearby is Tawarayama Onsen, a hot spring known since ancient times as a therapeutic bath.
The stadium, which was developed as a world-standard rugby base facility after becoming an official Rugby World Cup 2019 team camp, has a natural grass field as well as an adjacent two-story clubhouse with locker rooms, medical offices, team rooms and a deck terrace. The stadium has a natural grass field as well as a two-story clubhouse with locker rooms, medical offices, team rooms and a deck terrace.
The quiet environment surrounded by nature was called "a wonderful environment" by Brazilian national team head coach William Broderick.
In addition, Nagato City provides a subsidy of 1,000 yen per person per night and up to 500,000 yen per organization for rugby groups from outside Yamaguchi Prefecture to hold training camps in Nagato City as part of the "Rugby Training Camp Attraction Project Subsidy. Please be sure to use the "Amazing! stadium for your training camp.
Rich hot springs that healed the team
Nagato Yumoto Onsen is said to be the oldest hot spring in Yamaguchi Prefecture, with a history of approximately 600 years.
The hot springs here healed the Brazilian national team this time around, as well as the Canadian national team that camped in the city in September 2019 for the Rugby World Cup 2019. Raquel Cohan, captain of the Brazilian national team, commented that the daily access to the spa has helped her recovery.
Along the Onshin River, which runs through the center of the hot spring resort area, there are a number of quaint inns, ranging from those with a modern atmosphere to those with an old-fashioned tatami matched appearance. Due to infection control measures, players were not allowed to walk through the area, but renovations to the entire hot spring resort were completed in the spring of 2020, and the area was transformed into a riverside space where visitors can enjoy a leisurely stroll and relax with a takeout gourmet in hand.
It takes about 15 minutes by car from the ryokan in Nagato Yumoto Onsen to the Yamane Stadium Tawarayama, where the training base is located. There is also an automobile-only road between Nagato Yumoto Onsen and Tawarayama Kita, making travel time comfortable. In addition, there are five hot spring resorts in Nagato City, including Nagato Yumoto Onsen, each with a different flavor.
Yakitori and Jidori Chicken "Choshu Kuro Kashiwa
At the end of the camp, yakitori from Nagato City was specially served to the players and coaches after practice.
Nagato City is known as the "City of Yakitori" because it has one of the highest numbers of Yakitori restaurants per 10,000 people in Japan and is also home to the Fukagawa Chicken Farmers Cooperative Association, which specializes in poultry farming and is one of the largest broiler producers in western Japan. Because the chicken is fresh, the style of tasting it with salt is also a well-established feature.
The skewers prepared this time are "Choshu Dori," the association's brand name chicken, and "Choshu Kuro Kashiwa," an original jidori chicken produced in Yamaguchi Prefecture. Choshu Kuro-Kashiwa" has a chewy and delicious flavor unique to jidori chicken, as well as a high content of imidapeptide, which is said to be effective in relieving fatigue, making it a recommended food for athletes.
When we asked the players what they thought of the yakitori, they answered with a smile, "Delicious! (Delicious!)" with a smile.
The team will leave Nagato City on Saturday, July 24 for the athletes' village in Tokyo.
The team will be playing at Tokyo Stadium from Thursday, July 29 through Saturday, July 31. Please watch the video highlights of the team's time in Nagato City along with the matches.
