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Shinano Mainichi
From the Olympics Toward Tomorrow On the making of a city Sport culture What's to become of local skating rinks? The "Crazy Ducks" were organized in September 1995. Sponsors of youth ice hockey in Nagano City say their goal is to create parent-child teams in order to simply have fun adults together with children. Kiyoharu Sato (age 46), a Nagano City business owner who manages the league says, "It would be pretty boring to stand around at practice in the cold. So, we decided to play at local rinks." Most of the players are new to the sport, but in January they invited a parent-child team from Chiba Prefecture and had their first inter-league game. Sato says, "Parents and their children end up having conversations on the same subjects. I think through these kind of activities the kids will end up being good kids until they 'leave the nest.'" Members of the "Crazy Ducks" talk during a break in practice. How will the Olympics raise our awareness of winter sport culture? (photo taken at the Olympic venue "Big Hat") The number of ice hockey enthusiasts has been increasing recently due to the draw of the Olympics. When Nagano was picked in 1986 as "Japan's Choice" for the Winter Games, there were six teams in Nagano City. Now, eleven years later, there are 24. | |
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