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JAPAN
JAPANESE COMPETITORS posted 10 December 2012
The following video clips on YouTube showcase Japans latest sport, cycle speedway!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sivUSELCKp4&list=UL https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M2TLqNL_4kg
Cycle Speedway Japan is delighted that their fledgling sport has already gained international attention and that a group of British competitors are considering visiting Japan, one of the most interesting countries in the World, next Spring.
This sudden interest from overseas is quite a shock, although a very welcome one said spokesman Byron Kidd.
As I mentioned in the Spokesman interview, I'm loosely connected to the organisers of Cycle Speedway Japan, having attended just a few of their planning meetings, handling some translations, and doing what I can to promote the event to an English speaking audience, which it seems I've succeeded in doing outstandingly! said Byron with a smile.
I plan to work much more closely with the organising team for the Cycle Speedway Japan III next Spring. Initially I'm hoping to raise an international team from Tokyo's foreign community, but having true international representation from the UK really would take the sport to the next level in Japan.
Things are happening quite quickly so I've not had the chance to speak with the organising team, but have drafted an email to them (in Japanese) informing them of the international attention we've gained, and of Pete Barness interest in possibly bringing a team of juniors to compete in the next event he added.
Cycle Speedway Japan has recently recorded some audio for Episode 9 of the influential Pedal Asia Podcast. The cycle speedway segment starts around the 21 minute mark. Do not miss this!
http://www.pedalasia.com/ DESTINATION JAPAN posted 4 December 2012
Ideally early April would be the best date, provided there was no Elite League racing in the UK. Id envisage taking probably half a dozen riders for an extended weekend, perhaps racing on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
Spokesman-online have put me in touch with Cycle Speedway Japan and we hope to make a formal announcement soon said Pete enthusiastically.
If anyone is interested, please would they contact me at said Pete. MORE PICS FROM JAPAN posted 4 December 2012
Theres an excellent portfolio of photographs from Sundays Cycle Speedway Japan meeting in Tokyo. Take a look at
https://plus.google.com/photos/109440292762537254483/albums /5817719027196521553?banner=pwa&gpsrc=pwrd1#photos/ 109440292762537254483/albums/5817719027196521553
Heres what Byron had to say in our exclusive Spokesman-Online interview
Firstly Byron whats your involvement in developing Cycle Speedway Japan?
First up I'm not the one to take credit for Cycle Speedway Japan. I've attended some of the planning meetings for the events but the hard work is being carried out by others, but as nobody on the team speaks English, I'm effectively the unofficial spokesman for Cycle Speedway Japan when it comes to dealing with enquiries from overseas.
How did cycle speedway start in Japan?
The NPO Bicycle Ecology Japan is responsible for organising events promoting cycling around Japan. One of the events they promote heavily is Bike To Work Day and they work with employers in Japan providing advice on how to cater for bicycle commuters. They're a group of bicycle lovers, some in the bicycle business, others just enthusiasts.
Japan is coming down from a fixie boom and we were looking for a way to keep the popularity of cycling high especially among the younger generation who rode the fixie craze but looked like abandoning cycling at the end of the boom. One of BEJ's members had seen cycle speedway events online and was convinced that cycle speedway was perfect for Japan, especially Tokyo.
But what really attracted us was the accessibility of the sport. You don't need a lot of space, you don't even need a specialist bicycle, you just need some like-minded mates ready to have some fun.
As event promoters in Japan we don't have to find huge spaces, close roads etc. to hold a cycle speedway event. In addition to that we can take the event to the people rather than making the people come to the event.
Also we've relaxed the rules around the type of bicycles that can compete, making the races open to pretty much anyone who has a bicycle. As the sport grows in popularity and becomes more competitive the rules will be tightened but for now we want as many people as possible to try the sport regardless of what they ride. Once they've raced and seen how much fun it is I'm sure they'll be hooked.
What are the age ranges of those competing?
How many events have been held so far?
Sunday was the second cycle speedway event in Japan, the first one being held over the summer of 2012 in Komazawa Koen in Tokyo. A smaller kids only event which they're calling "Cycle Speedway Japan - Milky Class" was held in November and was hugely popular. Kids events require even less space as we run them on smaller tracks.
Have any teams been formed?
Currently we have no teams. It is still very early days here. At Sundays event most of the adult riders were friends of the organising committee, or friends of friends. But that, along with the very relaxed rules made for an awesome day of fun which attracted a lot of interest from spectators, again because it all seemed very accessible to the average person. You didn't have to be a super fit elite sportsman to join the fun.
Of course as the sport grows it will become much more serious at the top End but we don't want to close anyone out from the lower end of the sport, those that just want to race for pleasure.
Currently we have no tracks. As I've mentioned previously, space is at a premium here so any training would have to be done in public parks and I'm not sure how officialdom would cope with that. But as the sport grows I'd love to see some clubs formed, and even see Japan represented at an international level.
What are the prospects for the sport in the future?
I've touched on that in the earlier answers. We would like to grow the sport, even field an international team in the future, but we don't ever want to become so focused on the top elite riders that we forget all those riders out there that just want to have a spin around the track.
I'm very new to all this and I'm not sure of the logistics of staging an international event (I'm sure others on the team are). But if we could attract some riders from overseas that would certainly add to the occasion.
For next Spring's proposed event I plan on fielding a team of international riders recruited from the ranks of Tokyo's expat community which will give the event an added dimension.
At the moment we're having fun with the sport, increasing its visibility through fun events and recruiting riders, as popularity grows who knows just how far we can take it? |
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