Characteristics of the Japanese National Team of the First Youth Olympic Games

Abstract

Objective: To investigate the change in young elite Japanese athlete’s attitudes during the Youth Olympic Games (YOG) in 2010. Design: Survey study. Setting: 2010 YOG, Singapore. Participants: Data were collected from individual surveys completed by 57 athletes selected for the Japanese national team. Main outcome measures: Main outcome measures were change in athlete’s awareness of the equal emphasis on sport, culture, and education and athlete understands of anti-doping education. Results: A total of 57 athletes agreed to participate in this study, Twenty-five respondents indicated that their main route of entry into their competition sport was family members who played the sport. Thirty-one respondents indicated that fun upon winning the game was their primary motivation for continuing to participate in the sport and 42 respondents stated that a good result in the competition was the main types of satisfaction gained from participation. Conclusions: The results revealed the influences for taking up sports among young elite athletes on the Japanese national team competing at the Singapore YOG in 2010. The findings indicated that athletes were originally influenced by their parents. Lastly, the attitude of the Japanese athletes was significantly broadened through participation in the YOG.