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Waseda University’s volunteer ambassador Momoka Muraoka speaks about attractiveness of volunteering for Tokyo 2020 Games

Olympic and Paralympic Games offer invaluable experiences

Momoka Muraoka

Sit skier* Momoka Muraoka, who won five medals at the PyeongChang 2018 Paralympics, was appointed volunteer ambassador for Waseda University. As the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games, in which students can also participate as volunteers, is approaching, she speaks about the meaning and value of the Games.

Note: Sit skiing is an alpine skiing competition for athletes with physical disabilities. A skier skis in a seated position within a seat that is fixed to one ski.

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Momoka Muraoka: Born in Saitama Prefecture in 1997, and diagnosed with transverse myelitis at age 4. She has since been bound to a wheelchair. In her second year of high school, she placed fifth in the giant slalom at the Sochi 2014 Paralympics. She later became the first Paralympian to pass the Waseda University entrance exam for top athletes and enter the School of Sport Sciences. She won five medals at the PyeongChang 2018 Paralympic Games.

 

PyeongChang Paralympic Games supported by many volunteers

I participated in both the Sochi and PyeongChang Paralympic Games, where games volunteers had a significant presence for me. They were from all around the world. The number of volunteers was so large that you saw them at every Olympic venue. Volunteer staff take responsibility for a range of services from managing games to supporting athletes. In my case, for example, they shoveled snow off roads to make way for me at five every morning when I left the dormitory, and attentively supported me when I attended awards ceremonies.

They fully supported me during skiing practice as well. We usually use a lift to go up and down a slope, but we had to ride a gondola at the PyeongChang 2018 Games. Every time you get on and off a gondola, you need to take off your ski plate. So it is going to be a lot of work when you go up and down a slope several times for warm-up. They helped me much; they were with me all along, carrying my ski plate during transportation, helping me take on and off the plate, and driving a snowmobile for me. Dedicated staff are supposed to provide such support at the game sites, but in reality, we need volunteers’ help because dedicated staff are limited in number.

Volunteers come from not only the host country but also other countries, and I became acquainted with some of them through communication. During the PyeongChang 2018 Games, I once went shopping at the Olympic Plaza. It was an award giving day when I had to stand on a podium to receive a gold medal in the evening. On my way back from shopping, I could not find a depot for buses bound for the athlete’s village. I panicked and asked a volunteer staff near me about the location of the depot. The volunteer did not know where and asked other staff around. Staff showed up one by one and started to look to find the depot. Even after depot was found, they all went along with me as far as there. They were so kind. I think they were all volunteer staff.

Olympic Games is a big event to be held in our own country only once in decades

The Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games is coming close. Frankly speaking, I, as a winter game athlete, am envious of athletes who can participate in the Games taking place in our country. I like the Summer Olympics and see competitions on TV whenever I have time, particularly track and field competitions as I was a track and field athlete before.

Though much is being discussed about volunteer matters in news media, it is a great opportunity to be able to be involved in a big event like the Olympic and Paralympic Games. They will be held in Japan only once in a decade or decades. It will not happen many times in a life time.

Volunteers will embrace the same level of commitment to the Games as we athletes do. While people generally see them from “outside” through media, volunteers will have a quite different experience as they can see them from “inside.” They can feel the scale and dynamics of the Games, including different views on the event, interactions between people, and actual management issues.

We athletes are very grateful to volunteer staff for their sincere support of the event and us. I was really pleased with the support extended to me during the PyeongChang 2018 Games, and I thought that the people there are gentle. In my opinion, Japanese people are warm at heart but they are rather reserved toward strangers, both of which may be something good about Japanese. But when it comes to a big event like the Olympic and Paralympic Games, where they will meet and act with visitors from overseas, I would definitely like Japanese people to provide more active support that goes beyond expected services. Through mutual care and support by us all, the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games will become a wonderful event.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Volunteering for the Olympic and Paralympic Games will offer extraordinary experiences

I started sit-skiing when I was in the third grade at elementary school. It was great when I knew I was able to go on the snow wherever I wanted, feeling the wind against my face. From that moment until now, I have worked hard to win games by overcoming failures with passion while at the same time enjoying competition.

Athletes spend their entire life preparing for the Olympic and Paralympic Games. By getting engaged directly with them, you can learn about their mental strength as top athletes and may also get to see unexpected sides of them when they are off games. I would do volunteer work if I could. The mission imposed on yourself as a volunteer for the once-every-four-year event may be something you cannot experience in everyday life. Work may be tough, but I’m sure that you will enjoy a sense of achievement when the Games is over. I would highly recommend that students actively participate in volunteer activities.

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