Journal of Japan Society of Sports Industry Vol. 27(2017) No. 3

     The purpose of this study was to investigate where the audiences of sports broadcasts are looking when watching baseball games on television, and to examine their gazing at advertising boards. The direction of their gaze was measured by an eye movement analysis instrument. The subjects were nine college students who do not have experience playing baseball and who watch baseball games on television frequently (effective data was obtained from five persons). The results of this study demonstrated that subjects’ gaze was more often directed at the pitcher and catcher, and they looked slightly at the advertising boards on back nets. In addition, judging from the results of the interview after measurement, subjects noticed the existence of advertisements but they did not understand the details of the advertisements. Therefore, this study suggested that current advertising boards at baseball games might not carry out the role of advertisement on television.

    The purpose of this research was to develop a swimmer-specific mental toughness inventory. In the pilot survey, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 7 Japanese individual sports Olympic medalists (4 males, 3 females) in order to identify the characteristics of elite swimmers’ mental toughness using a qualitative analysis method, the KJ method, considering higher- and lower-order structures. In the main research, a questionnaire regarding mental toughness was conducted on 254 swimmers (151 males, 103 females) who met the finishing time set by the Japan Swimming Federation with the purpose of enhancing swimmers’ competitiveness (assumed as elite swimmers in this study). The development of a swimmer-specific mental toughness inventory was attempted using a questionnaire developed by extracting swimmers’ mental toughness characteristics revealed in the pilot survey. After excluding defective answers, 194 (117 males, 77 females) samples were included in analysis. Exploratory factor analysis indicated that the inventory consisted of five factors and three items. After scrutiny of what constituted the extracted five factors, they were named the following: “Fortitude,” “Commitment to the Sport,” “Psychological Conditioning,” “Self-control,” and “Resilience.” Exploratory factor analysis was once again conducted through the maximum-likelihood method and Promax rotation and it confirmed internal validity. Conversion validity and divergent validity were examined, both of which adequately fulfilled the Goodness of Fit Index and standard path coefficient. Finally, adequate criterion-related validity was verified using correlation analysis with DIPCA.3. The factors of mental toughness in elite swimmers were similar to those in other sports. Japanese elite swimmers’ mental toughness characteristics were identified and a swimmer-specific mental toughness inventory was developed. This scale will be useful for helping coaches to understand Japanese elite swimmers’ mental toughness.

    The aim of this study was to verify the hypothesis that the inhabitants who have higher spectating intention or behavior at sporting events in their hometown hold higher place attachment.
     Through the comparison of place attachment among the inhabitants, significant differences have been found. The inhabitants who have higher spectating intention hold a higher degree of place attachment. Moreover, the inhabitants who have experience of spectating behavior hold a higher degree of place attachment than those who do not have it.
    The results of this study indicate some existence of the relationship between spectating intentions or behaviors at sporting events, and place attachment. However, the cause and effect relationship between them has not been established clearly. It is necessary to make continuous research targeted at the inhabitants.

    The greening of the schoolyard for the purpose of physical education is an issue that has largely been ignored in Japan but has finally caught the attention of education experts and the general public. The schoolyard greening project in Japan has entered the second stage of its development, which means that it is now moving from external inducement, where greening is prompted by outside influences, to the stage of internalization, "the incarnation of schoolyards turf," where schools are now taking initiatives on the project. One of the challenges faced at this stage is turf maintenance. Turf maintenance is a permanent task for schools to undertake. Thus, this study particularly focuses on the problem of maintenance, while examining various issues surrounding the schoolyard greening project by referring to previous research and by implementing a survey for the staffs of 46 elementary schools and in-depth interviews with four elementary schools in the Tokyo metropolitan area. The results revealed a distinct discourse regarding the so-called "schoolyard policy." The essence of this discourse suggests that "the regionality of the school" and the political technique of the school principal are absolutely pivotal in encouraging the autonomous maintenance of the schoolyards by schools as educational institutions. These two conditions were identified as key elements during the "incarnation of schoolyards turf " stage in this study.

    Recently, the carry-over of physical fitness or physical activity from childhood to adulthood has been actively discussed. However, the carry-over effect of participation in organized sports is not well understood, despite the fact that organized sports participation has a number of positive effects on physical, mental, and social aspects. Therefore, the purpose of the present study was to clarify the association of organized sports participation during school age with organized sports participation and sports volunteer participation in adulthood. The data was secondarily obtained from “nationwide questionnaire research for promotion of sports activities according to the life stage” conducted by the National Recreation Association of Japan. This research was conducted with 1,200 Japanese adults (612 males and 588 females) who were 20-39 years old. Path Analysis was conducted with respect to each sex. Regarding association of organized sports participation in school-age with organized sports participation in adulthood, participation in elementary school was related to that of junior high school, participation in junior high school was related to that of high school and adulthood, and participation in high school was related to that of adulthood in males. By contrast, in females, participation in elementary school was related to that of junior high and high school, participation in junior high school was related to that of high school and adulthood, and participation in high school was related to that of adulthood. With respect to association of organized sports participation in school-age with sports volunteer participation in adulthood, only organized sports participation in high school was affected in males, and only organized sports participation in junior high school was affected in females. There is a possibility that participation in organized youth sports has a carry-over effect for adult sports involvement. In order to promote organized sports participation and sports volunteer participation in adulthood, enhancing organized sports participation in school-age would be valuables.

    The aim of our investigation was to clarify the achievement situation and features regarding the experiences and results of players who take active parts in the highest ranked football leagues in Japan, Europe, and South American countries.
    The average age of players in J-League changed, showing an upward trend, and recorded a peak in the 2014 season (26.85 years), and was higher by 3.80 years than that of Dutch league, which had the lowest value. And in the generation category, the age composition ratio of J-League players showed the lowest values: U 17 (0.57%), U 20 (9.28%) and U 23 (15.34%). And regarding the appearance fraction ratio by age, J-League players also showed the lowest values: U 17 (0.02%), U 20 (3.43%) and U 23 (14.01%). Their U 30 value (78.94%) was near the lowest value－that of Italian league, and their O 31 value (21.06%) was next to the peak－that of Italian league.
    In other words, J-League showed lower levels of achievement by young players and a higher average age, in comparison to the leagues in other countries.
    One of the factor became clear was that the player production fostered by the "Japan Original System," in which players become professionals after playing at university, is an increasing tendency. Furthermore, other countries such as Germany value the appearance chances of the young generation players and strengthen the upbringing of young players in their own leagues. Thus Japanese players’ experience is behind the age schedule in comparison to other countries and this is having an influence on the clubs and the league, and on competitions with other Asian area teams, and on international matches.

    In this paper, we proposed a new method to identify trajectories and bound positions of a table tennis ball on the table. Our method used audio and visual signals obtained by a microphone and camera placed on the ceiling of the gymnasium. The ball was extracted from the images obtained by the camera. Our method used the fact that the shape of the ball was almost circular in the image, and we developed a rapid method to extract the ball by using image moment. Then the trajectory of the ball on the table was estimated by connecting the successive ball positions. The bound time was estimated by band-pass filtering in which pass-frequency corresponds to the resonant frequency of the ball diameter. The bound position was calculated by interpolating the position at the bound time. Our method was simple, and the computational time was less than the video frame interval. We conducted an experiment to examine the ball bound time on the table from a practice game. The experimental result showed that 98.9% of bounds can be extracted with a precision of 94.4%. The improvement of sound detection accuracy remained to be solved, in order to reduce the miss and over-detection of the bound. Furthermore, we made a manuscript for training regarding the bound position and ball speed on the table based on the obtained data. We could make document contents quickly and objectively.

    Previous research has suggested that deeper awareness of self and others shown by injured athletes promoted acceptance of their sports injury, which contributed to rehabilitation adherence. However, many of these studies have provided only limited information, because they have relied on case studies. Therefore, more objective data provided by psychological questionnaires are required for generalizing their results. Moreover, a scale for assessing acceptance of sports injuries and adherence to rehabilitation has been developed, and its reliability and validity has been demonstrated. However, a questionnaire assessing the awareness of injured athletes has not been available. This study was designed to develop a scale for assessing the awareness of injured athletes’ and it investigates its reliability and validity. Participants were university athletes (N = 343, 195 men and 148 women) who had sustained sports injuries preventing their participation in competitions for over a month, and could remember the circumstances of their injury in detail. They responded to questionnaires by recalling the middle period when they could not compete. Results of exploratory factor analysis using the main factor method and promax rotation indicated a two-factor structure: “Development of self-understanding (α=.765) and “Expanding and deepening subjective considerations (α=.760). Furthermore, the reliability of the entire questionnaire was sufficiently high (α=.838) and the high correlation of the scale with the Rehabilitation Adherence Scale indicated its validity. Moreover, confirmatory factor analysis demonstrated statistically significant results (GFI=.961, AGFI=.937, CFI=.962, RMSEA=.055). It is suggested that in the future, quantitative research on relationships between awareness and acceptance of sports injury, as well as adherence to rehabilitation should be conducted by using this questionnaire. It is hoped that the accumulation of such data will help deepen our understanding of injured athletes, as well as assist in developing methods for providing psychological support for such athletes.

     In recent years, universities have established numerous classes and courses related to sports management and sports business, leading to the realization of an environment that nurtures sports talent. On the other hand, there are concerns that employment opportunities for students having studied the fields mentioned above, especially at universities in rural areas, are insufficient and that a gap is being formed between the content taught at universities and skills required by the sports industry. On conducting a survey in a prefecture, we found that small-scale organizations with less than 50 employees accounted for more than 80% of all the sports-related organizations and companies. There is a slight upward trend in the employment demand for new graduates fresh out of college. However, there is not an upward trend for hiring new graduates and mid-career workers who have only high school diplomas. In the sports industry in the prefecture the employment environment seems rather harsh when taking into account the recent trend that the number of new recruits has been increasing in private companies throughout the country. In addition, when hiring new graduates, the sports-related organizations in the prefecture have looked for general things like a bright and cheerful personality and good communication skills as a part of the factors it considered to be the properties of sports, and there was little demand for sports-specific knowledge. It seems that companies require people who are well versed in basic business customs and business skills, rather than those with specialized knowledge of sports. Accordingly, there is a need for universities to augment employment opportunities by building connections proactively with sports-related organizations that are conducting business development and make students more competitive by training them in general business customs and business skills. Further, the sports-related companies and organizations within the prefecture need to close the gap between the educational environment and industry.

    Considering the benefits of participating in school-based extracurricular sports activities (SBECSA), providing active SBECSA is important. However, heavy burden on teachers in coaching and management of SBECSA has been reported. Additionally, appropriate allowance and role allotment have not been discussed enough. It is necessary to understand the quality and quantity of task-related burdens in coaching and managing SBECSA to promote discussion. Therefore, the purpose of the study was to quantify the temporal, psychological, and economic burdens on teachers in coaching and management of SBECSA. The present study used a mixed-methods approach. Firstly, a semi-structured interview was conducted to clarify the contents of tasks about coaching and management of SBECSA. Participants were 12 teachers who work in junior high school or high school. All interview data was recorded and transcribed verbatim. Through the recording process, 26 contents of SBECSA tasks were grouped. Secondly, a self-completed questionnaire survey was conducted. 200 junior high schools and 200 high schools were recruited. Seventy-three schools agreed to cooperate in the study, and 361 SBECSA teachers answered the questionnaire. Question items were as follows: yearly hours taken for each of the 26 tasks, psychological burdens to do each of the 26 tasks, and yearly expenditure for coaching and management of SBECSA. As results, exact temporal burden for each of the 26 tasks was examined. On average, SBECSA teachers were spending approximately 1,400 hours a year for coaching and management. Regarding psychological burden, there were some tasks which were highly perceived although the temporal burdens were comparatively low. SBECSA teachers were payed approximately 136,000 yen a year to coach and manage SBECSA. In conclusion, SBECSA teachers assumed various tasks for management other than direct coaching. Contents of tasks would affect psychological burden as well as temporal length. Additionally, heavy individual payment for coaching and management of SBECSA was revealed. Increasing support for SBECSA coaching and management is necessary to decrease teachers’ burden and promote youth sports.