「レッツゴー キャム！」Cam, Ikuzo! Come follow Camden’s journey! March 2024

On February 3rd, I once again participated in one of the Ibunka Exchange Club events, held by MIEA (Matsudo City International Exchange Association). This time, I had a great time getting some exercise by taking part in a ping-pong tournament with the group.

For the event the games were played fairly casually, and since everyone who participated were beginners, no matter who played against who it turned into a fun, evenly-matched game. When I played ping-pong in the past I played singles matches, but at this event I got to play doubles for the first time and it made me realize that ping-pong is also a sport that can require teamwork and communication. Trying your best to win is what makes competition fun for me, but I think sports are even more enjoyable when you also have a teammate and the need to support each other. This also allows for more interaction to occur between those taking part in the sport, which worked very well for an event with the purpose of international exchange, and I think it is great that there is a group in Matsudo that organizes events so that people from all over the world can get together to enjoy sports and other activities.

A great thing about ping-pong is that not only is it fun to play, but even for beginners I think it is a very exciting sport to watch. I became interested in watching ping-pong during the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, and even though I had no previous experience watching it, I was on the edge of my seat when I watched Japan win its first ever ping-pong gold medal in the mixed doubles championship game. For those that are looking to get into watching a new sport for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, I definitely recommend ping-pong because the rules are simple and the fast movements that pro players are capable of are impressive to watch.

I think there will be more chances in the future to take part in an event and have a fun time playing a sport, so if you are between the age of 18 to 39 please consider joining the Ibunka Exchange Club for their next event! The details of the next event will be posted on MIEA’s Facebook page.

2月3日に松戸市国際交流協会（MIEA）の異文化交流クラブのイベントに参加してきました！今回のイベントではサークルの方々と一緒に卓球の大会が行われ、楽しい運動の時間となりました。

参加した皆さんが全員初心者で、和やかな雰囲気で試合を行ったため、誰が自分の相手になっても互角の勝負でした！私は以前に卓球をした時にシングルスで行ったことがあったのですが、今回は初めてダブルスの試合を経験し、卓球もチームワークとコミュニケーションが必要なスポーツであることを実感しました。競争から生まれる勝ちたい気持ちに加えて、さらに支え合うチームメートの存在があると、より楽しめるスポーツになるし、国際交流のイベントとしても交流しやすいと思います。様々な国の方とスポーツで戦い合うイベントを開催するサークルが松戸市にあって良かったと思いました。

卓球の本当に良い点は、プレイする側も見る側も初心者でも楽しめるスポーツだというところです。私はプロの試合を見る機会が全然なかったのですが、東京2020オリンピックで日本が男女ダブルスで史上初、卓球で金メダルを取った試合を見て感動しました。ルールがシンプルで、プロ選手の速い動きを見て必要とされている運動神経の良さが分かりやすいので、今年のパリ2024オリンピックをきっかけに新しいスポーツを見てみたい方に卓球をお勧めします。

またスポーツを通じてイベントが行われると思いますので、気になる方は是非18歳から39歳までの対象の「異文化交流クラブ」に参加してみてください！MIEAのFacebookで次のイベントの情報が掲載されます。