My Encounter with Minor Sports That Changed Office Life

Hello, everyone. I'm Makoto Okumura, Break Time Designer for the Office Sport Project.

"Officepo," which involves enjoying exercise in the office during breaks like lunch, effectively utilizes break time to refresh both mind and body, while also improving work efficiency. We also prioritize ease of participation, so we offer fun programs that require no changing and can be joined with just your body.

Japanese Athletes at the World's Top Level: Not Just Baseball and Tennis

At Officepo, we regularly invite instructors to lead activities like "Hirameki Kick," which incorporates yoga and Kikusaise. However, an encounter with a certain individual sparked a new goal: "creating opportunities for minor sport athletes to meet the general public."

That person is Kazumi Iwata, who serves as the representative for both Athlete Yell, an online support group for athletes, and Sports Gain, an organization connecting companies with minor sport athletes.

It's no exaggeration to say that Office Po exists today precisely because we heard about the current situation of minor sport athletes from Ms. Iwata and realized the importance of supporting them.

"I immediately hit it off with Mr. Okumura during our conversation and decided to collaborate with Office Po. Minor sports might sound distant, but take Sport Stacking, for example—a sport where athletes compete to stack and unstack plastic cups in specific patterns as fast as possible. The world champion is Japanese. There are several other sports where Japanese athletes reign at the world's top level, yet this fact isn't widely known," (Ms. Iwata)

Hearing this fact, coupled with the revelation that these world-class athletes often work part-time jobs to make ends meet, I was astonished. It made me think, "Introducing major programs like yoga is great, but isn't there a special kind of excitement, anticipation, and enjoyment precisely because these are lesser-known sports?"

Of course, it's difficult to implement any sport directly in an office setting, so arrangements are necessary to make it work as a program. However, if we can make it happen, it would allow Office to expand its program offerings while also creating opportunities for people to learn about minor sports.

Minor sports are precisely where interaction with fans matters

Mr. Iwata deliberately ventures into sports where monetization is difficult to support the athletes. I was deeply moved by that spirit.

"Other companies connect athletes with businesses, but since their ties often stem from advertising deals, most only handle major sports. Even Olympic athletes from minor sports sometimes retire without knowing how to solve their financial problems. I want to change that.

To receive financial support from companies, you need to demonstrate sponsorship benefits. Simply asking 'Please sponsor me' won't get companies' attention, so we start by working together to figure out how to spark their interest.

Furthermore, to secure sponsors, athletes must also focus on building a fanbase. This is where OfficeP serves as a platform for meeting new fans. In fact, we've had cases where participants in 'Hirameki Kick' expressed interest in watching matches, and we believe OfficeP can help gain fans." (Mr. Iwata)

The creation of "Officepolin," the office version of trampolining, is also thanks to Mr. Iwata. Without meeting him, I likely wouldn't have arrived at the keyword "minor sports." Officepolin can bring smiles to both the employees of participating companies and the minor sport athletes serving as instructors. I truly believe that's what Officepolin is all about.

We tried Office-P at Dentsu Inc. too

This time, with the cooperation of Sports Gain, we held "Office-P Walking" led by walking instructor NANAKO.

Actually, NANAKO mentioned, "I usually teach walking to women aspiring to be models, so this is my first time teaching men." However, she also shared this perspective:

"I think men especially should learn proper walking. For instance, when stepping onto a stage for a presentation, striding confidently onto the podium instantly projects an image of a capable man. Also, the people I find myself instinctively watching on the street are those with good posture. I think some women can relate to that. If men learn proper walking, they'll appear more competent at work and also make a positive impression on women." (NANAKO)

The program lasted 30 minutes. NANAKO told participants, "I want you to experience how knowing the correct way to walk can change your perspective." First, everyone stood against the wall to check their posture. Standing straight is surprisingly harder than you might think. Next, using the straight lines of the floor tiles, they practiced walking straight while focusing on their foot placement. After the basic lesson, the instructor emphasized, "Walking confidently, cutting through the wind, is also important." So, to upbeat music, everyone walked together, channeling their inner model and treating the conference room like a runway.

Looking at the participants' expressions after the program, it was striking how many wore refreshing smiles.

Hearing their feedback revealed new discoveries through walking: "It was a great change of pace. I learned just how much difference consciously focusing on your walking makes," and "I used to walk looking down, but from today I want to walk looking straight ahead. It feels completely different." NANAKO also seemed to sense the impact of "Office Po Walking."

"Both men and women seemed to enjoy themselves, so I had a great time too. Seeing their expressions completely change from start to finish—that's the greatest appeal of walking lessons. It was wonderful that everyone experienced that today," (NANAKO)