[Special Feature: The COVID-19 Crisis and the University] Athletic Association Activities During the COVID-19 Pandemic / Nobuto Yamamoto

2020/08/06

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has spread since the winter of 2020, has also affected the activities of the Keio University Athletic Association. The current Keio University Athletic Association consists of 43 clubs and 59 divisions, all of which experienced a suspension of activities from late February through May. Nevertheless, with the full support and guidance of Keio University and the Mita Athletic Association (the alumni organization), we have managed to overcome this difficult situation and have entered a phase of resuming activities, albeit with restrictions.

The organization of the Athletic Association is as follows. The President of the Juku serves as the Chairman, followed by the Vice-President in charge of the Athletic Association and the Directors of the Athletic Association. The Board of Directors consists of Directors, Deputy Directors, and Vice Principals. Athletic Association offices are established at the Mita and Hiyoshi campuses. Student representatives organize the Athletic Association Headquarters and collaborate with the offices to ensure the smooth implementation of each club's activities. The Mita Athletic Association, composed of alumni organizations from each club, provides full support, including supervision and guidance for current club activities.

In this way, the Athletic Association has continued its unique activities within Keio University as a loose organizational body. Its history already spans 128 years. Furthermore, the basic stance of the Athletic Association is to respect the independent judgment and activities of each club.

From the stage when the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic was still unclear, the Athletic Association made its stance clear, prioritizing the health, safety, peace of mind, and prevention of infection for members and related parties in accordance with Keio University policy. On February 28, the Athletic Association issued a "Request for Self-Restraint in Athletic Association Activities (Response to COVID-19)." This followed the Keio University decision to cancel or postpone events, and requested that "for the time being, meetings such as training camps and farewell parties be cancelled."

One month later, on March 27, a second report titled "Regarding Athletic Association Activities on Weekends" was issued. Following the worsening situation, such as the Tokyo Metropolitan Government's request on March 25 to refrain from non-essential outings on weekends, the Athletic Association "requested that each club conduct activities cautiously based on their own judgment." At this point, many clubs had already decided to suspend their activities.

Four days later, on March 31, the "Future Activities of the Athletic Association (Request) (3rd Report)" was distributed. This led to the difficult decision to "change the policy to, in principle, suspend all activities for the time being," taking the form of a strong request to each club.

The 4th report, dated April 29, was titled "Response of the Athletic Association Office and Future Athletic Association Activities Following the Extension of the Campus Facility Closure Period." This was based on the decision by Keio University, which had already closed campus facilities from April 7 to May 6, to extend that closure for the time being beyond May 7, as announced on April 28.

At the end of May, two months after the suspension of Athletic Association activities, the fifth report, "Toward Athletic Association Activities After the Lifting of the State of Emergency," was issued. On May 27, the Keio University COVID-19 Response Headquarters announced that starting June 8, essential within Keio facilities for maintaining educational and research activities would be opened for use in stages. In line with this principle, the Athletic Association requested that each club and division create their own individual policies for resuming activities. This document clearly stated guidelines for precautions before and after activities, and how to handle cases where infection is suspected or confirmed.

From late May to early June, each club and division presented a roadmap for resuming activities tailored to the characteristics of their respective sports. In each roadmap, one could clearly see the traces of current members, managers, coaches, and alumni organizations pooling their wisdom. The Athletic Association carefully reviewed all documents and made judgments on whether activities could resume, were permitted with conditions, or were not allowed.

The criteria for judgment were: (1) use of within Keio facilities, (2) outdoor vs. indoor sports, (3) contact sports, (4) official match schedules, and (5) the specificity of infection control measures. Among these, clubs using within Keio facilities took the most time to coordinate. Even so, with special consideration from Keio University, although not all clubs could resume activities at once, by mid-July, all clubs had reached the point of resuming activities under certain restrictions. On July 5, the Men's Soccer Club began participating in league matches.

On July 3, an online managers' meeting was held to share the challenges of sports activities during the COVID-19 pandemic. In a keynote lecture by Professor Hiroyuki Ishida of the Juku Sports Medicine Research Center, detailed and clear points regarding infection prevention were provided.

However, in response to the worsening infection situation in the Tokyo metropolitan area, on July 12, we were forced to issue the painful announcement "Regarding the Prohibition of Summer Training Camps in the Athletic Association." This was also in response to Keio University guidelines, but knowing the importance of summer camps for the fall season, it was a heartbreaking decision.

University sports are condensed into four years. Due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, one-eighth of that time was forced into a suspension of activities. Furthermore, the schedules for official matches for each sporting organization toward the second half of the year are not yet clear. The realization of regular matches against our ally, Waseda, also remains uncertain. Nevertheless, the members of the Athletic Association do not neglect their daily training and are preparing for the day they will fight as representatives of Keio University.