The purpose of this study is to analyze historically the relationship between the establishment of the ski supply system and the diffusion of skiing in Fukui Prefecture. The historical documents examined in this paper include newspapers and ″Urigenbo″, which is a price list written by the Kikukawa Ski Manufacturing Company. People who could ski represente only a small part of the entire population of Fukui Prefecture in the Taisho Era, because there was no supply system for skiing equipment. The demand for skis increased as the spread of skiing in Fukui was promoted by education associations and other groups. The Kikukawa Ski Manufacturing Company began to manufacture skis in the autumn of the last year of the Taisho Era. Kikukawa Ski supported the promotion of the spread of skiing from the side of the supply system for skiing equipment. Eight ski grounds were set up in Fukui Pref, by the 8th year of the Showa Era. In addition, ski clubs were established at each ski ground and people in those areas made use of the new infrastructure. The shops for selling Kikukawa's skis started up in places surrounding these ski grounds. Prior to the establishment of ski retailers, the conditions for the diffusion of skiing did not exist in Fukui, due to the lack of a supply system. Once Kikukawa began to supply skis, and through the activities of education associations, finally, skiing was able to spread in Fukui by the 8th year of the Showa Era.

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The purpose of this study is to clarify the relationship between the sporting goods industry and sports athletic organizations in the postwar recovery period in Japan, from the view point of the system of officially recognized sporting equipment. The items of the trade paper "Nihon Undogu Sinpo" from 1948-1956 were used as historical materials for this study.The conclusions of this study are as follows: 1. The relationship between the sporting goods industry and sports athletic organizations in the postwar period was to work in close cooperation. Both had problems of getting good sporting equipment and financial guarantees. 2. The system of officially recognized sporting equipment was developed to remedy these two problems. Table tennis is a good example of this, but the case of volleyball shows a conflict among the sporting goods industries. 3. Unity among three sporting goods industry organizations was achieved in about 1953. This unity began to demand a fair system of officially recognized sporting equipment for the development of sports, with the raising of official recognition fees for volleyball. 4. This Unity influenced the revision of amateur regulations in 1957.

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The purpose of this study is to clarify the recovery process of the sporting goods retailers in postwar Japan. The process is examined through an analysis of thesporting goods trade newspaper 'Nihon Undogu Shipo'. The results of this study are summarised as follows: 1) When the wartime rationing organization of sporting goods was abolished in May, 1948 and the new one was set up, the change was appraised as the first step to free business. At the same time, owing to the enactment of the Antitrust Act, the restrictions of the new participation in retail were mitigated. 2) The idea of the so-called three strata structure of maker-wholesaler-retailer, which was later formed, had already been established in the same period. The energy to form the strata came from the political activities that demanded the deregulation of the supply of sporting goods and the abolishment of the commodity tax on sporting goods. As the result of these activities, the regulation was gradually abolished by 1956 and the tax was also reduced on a step-by-step basis. The cause of deregulating the sporting goods business was not only the increase of supply but also the difficulty of the planned rationing system. 3) The retailers' cooperative associations had not been so active until they intended to protect their 'right to trade' by facing the threat of department stores and co-op stores around 1954-1955. As most of the retailers were small retail merchants, they sometimes lacked the knowledge of how to train an efficient staff of business. But by 1953 it was emphasized that clerks shouldered the management of their stores and therefore the business policy had to be brought home to them.

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In running of artificial tracks, the optimum cushioning characteristics of running shoes depend on the hardness of track materials. In this study, the cushioning characteristics of running shoes were investigated by conducting mechanical tests and by analyzing runners' sensory evaluations of shoes used on artificial tracks. These tests and evaluations provide information on how the optimum sole cushioning of running shoes was affected by the hardness of artificial tracks and how the mechanical properties correlated with the sensory evaluations of distance runners. Drop weight impact tests were carried out on 4 types of running shoe soles which had 4 different hardness of EVA, and with 4 types of artificial tracks which had 4 different materials and constructions. Running shoes and artificial tracks were evaluated by energy absorption and average Young's modulus which were typical parameters given by the force and deformation relationships derived from mechanical tests. At the same time, evaluations of shoes were carried out by 4 distance runners who wore 4 different shoes on 4 different stadiums. Shoes' evaluations were based on whole evaluation, cushioning, and stability. Data acquisitions of sensory evaluations and after processing were conducted based on Scheffe's method. The results of this study are as follows; (1) Scheffe's method is effective for assessing runners' sensory evaluations of shoes, (2) Runners' sensory evaluations seem to be based on shoe sole hardness, that is, average Young's modulus, (3) In the case of running on a hard surface, runners' favorite average Young's modulus is about 70kN/m shoe sole, and (4) In the case of deformable surfaces, runners' favorite shoe sole hardness varies slightly from 70kN/m, depending on the materials and the constructions of artificial tracks.

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The purpose of this study was to analyze the characteristics of female spectators at J.League (the Japanese Professional Soccer League) games and to develop some marketing strategies focused on female spectators. Data were collected by a self-administrated questionnaire during J. League games at five different stadiums between Aug. 29 and Sep. 29, 1998. Using proportionate sampling methods stratified by gender and age, researchers collected a total of 2, 016 responses. The survey response rate was 99.2 %. Based on some significant gender related differences in spectating behavior, spectators' backgrounds related to soccer and social-psychological variables, the current study suggested that marketing strategies focused on female spectators would be effective. Furthermore, the current study made several marketing recommendations based on these various gender related differences.

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The purpose of this study is to examine parental expectations at the Junior Sports School of the Nagoya Grampus Eight (Grampus Junior Class) and the Junior Sports Clubs (Shonendan). The formation process and structure of the organizations are different in the Grampus Youth and Meiwa Junior-Sports Clubs. From this viewpoint this study pays attention to a comparison of the different organizations. The Grampus Junior Class substructure regards sports schools as a part of enterprise. Also, Grampus has provided a service of high quality for club members to obtain profit. On the other hand, Meiwa Junior Sports Clubs are a voluntary organization. An organization system isn't established and it has been supported by earnest leaders. The data were obtained through questionnaires distributed to 642 parents (336 from Meiwa Junior Sports Clubs, and 306 from Grampus Youth). The main results are as follows: 1) In the case of Grampus Youth, it is an intelligence network of shared territorial bonding. In the case of Meiwa Junior Sports Clubs, the network is based on family relations. 2) Grampus' parents had expectations about the value that is inherent in exercise itself. 3) Compared to the Meiwa Junior Sport Club, Grampus' parents have more expectation of their children's technical improvement in sports. 4) Most parents gave negative responses in regard to expectations of providing a future in sports or study. 5) Parents of the Grampus Junior Class and Meiwa Junior Sports Clubs did not expect the sports schools to provide an external society. 5) Meiwa Junior Sports Clubs want to get understanding from parents by guiding the social development of their children at sports school.

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The purpose of this study was to evaluate the skills in making contact with the ground during running among long distance runners. The pressure distribution on the plantar surface was measured by F-SCAN system to evaluate and measure foot contact style. At the same time, ground reaction forces were measured, and the leg motion of runners was videotaped by a high-speed video camera. Measurements were performed under the feet of three skilled and two unskilled long distance runners on three various conditions of shoes (training shoes, marathon shoes, bare feet) and speed (jogging, 5000m race pace, last spurt pace in 5000m race). The following remarks were obtained; (1) For skilled runners, as running speed increased, the point of contact with the ground and the pressure distribution pattern varied in any condition of shoes. On the other hand, among unskilled runners, even if running speed increased, similar variation to that of skilled runners was not found, except for the case of bare feet. (2) In all of the subjects, as the values of pressure generally became greater, the shoe soles were thinner. (3) In all of the subjects, as the values of pressure increased the ground reaction forces tended to increase. In the case of wearing shoes, as running speed rose, the pressure distribution on the plantar surface became greater at the first peak in the ground reaction forces. (4) Among skilled runners, as the shoes became thiner, the time of the foot contact decreased. (5) Among skilled rnners as running speed increased, although the moved distance of the center of pressure in longitudinal direction decreased, the movement in crosswise direction tended to increase. Finally, the relative load analysis from pressure distribution measurements provided additional information about behavior in contact with the ground among long distance runners.

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Windsurfing is viewed both as a competitive sport and leisure activity. It is relatively safe and easy to learn and thus appeals to a wide range of age groups. The main aims of this study are to discuss the changes in sails, and to consider the future direction of windsurfing in general as a competitive and leisure sport. In windsurfing, the ability of the sail to lift efficiently and handle well is vital. In racing, the equipment used has for the most part, been standardised, thus the principal objective or focus on racing has been to the improve the actual sailing skills of the board riders themselves. Emphasis has been placed on improving technique and board speed. Hence, because the equipment was standardised, not much change was seen for some time. Gradually, however, the actual race form of style of race itself changed, for example with races held in a number of varying conditions, such as in gale winds and light winds, and with new styles such as wave riding. These varied races and weather conditions of course demanded various types of equipment to suit specific needs, hence, quite radical innovations were made in order to maximize board speed, handling and performance. Changes in the materials used and the design of sails have been quite notable. Generally speaking, one sail is limited in its function, but changes in the panel lay-out make it possible to change sail size and shape, thus allowing more control of wind quantity in the sail The sailing, though use of a new Battem and CAM system, controls the draft, and provides more effective sail lift. The windsurfer mast once constructed of aluminum, is now constructed of carbon fiber. Next, in order to improve handling and provide stable lift, improvements were made in the trading edge by using a cutaway sail, thus improving overall board speed. Also, the material of the main sail was changed from dacron or mylar cross, to monofilm. Every year, improvement is added gradually to the various parts. However, because there is only one sheet of sail, all changes influence each other and, moreover, the improvements and changes affect the details. In the future, the equipment of windsurfing will become more compact, but generate the same lift. With this, handling and board speed are expected to improve. Also, as sail and board design are developed in accordance with identical concepts, more effective lift can be expected.

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The prime aim of this project was to determine the contents of sport industry textbooks. The academic field of sport industry comprises interdisciplinary areas such as sport management, sport engineering, sport medicine, sport law, sport history, sport environment, sport instruction theory, and others. A vital step in developing sport industry textbooks is the recognition that one is dealing with special products and a significant impact on various segments of the sport industry. The long-term goal of this project is to develop and complete a series of textbooks for sport industry studies. In order to correct the shortage of teaching materials at the college level, it is urgent to develop decent textbooks in various sub-discipline areas of the sport industry atudies. Thus, our middle-term goal is to publish an original textbook with innovative approach and to establish legitimate research methods in each subdiscipline area. It is important to realize that, in whatever segment of the sport industry people run their businesses, the most improtant asset in their organization is people. So our short-term goal is to develop an introductory textbook which is designed to motivate and nurture young students in becoming future professionals in the sport industry. As far as the contents of the textbook are concerned, there are five points proposed for meeting the short-term goal. These five points are as follow: (1) To provide optimistic yob prospective in the areas of the sport industry. (2) To help students perceive the wide range and different segments of sport businesses through various enterpreneur's examples. (3) To introduce various business strategies which help the sport industry develop its full potential. (4) To provide fundamental knowledge related to the sport industry. (5) To provide fundamental materials (information) related to the sport industry. The above mentioned points are based on social science perspectives. In the future, it will be important to discuss more viable contents of the textbooks from the perspectives of the natural sciences and liberal arts.

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The Japan Tennis Wellness Association was certified on April 19, 1999 by the Japanese Government as one of the first 14 nonprofit organizations announced by the Economic Planning Agency of Japan.Through examining the actual application and certification processes, the possibility of the development of sports in relation to the new Law to Promote Specified Nonprofit Activities was studied.

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