Successful reboot of high-performance sporting activities by Japanese national women’s handball team in Tokyo, 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic: An initiative by Japan Sports-Cyber Physical System (JS-CPS) of Sports Research Innovation Project (SRIP)
Abstract
Background
The COVID-19 pandemic has negatively impacted sporting activities across the world. However, practical training strategies for athletes to reduce the risk of infection during the pandemic has not been definitively studied.
Objective
The purpose of this report was to provide an overview of our challenges encountered during the reboot of high-performance sporting activities of the Japanese national handball team during the 3rd wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in Tokyo, Japan.
Methods
Twenty-nine Japanese national women’s handball players and 24 staff participated in the study. To initiate the reboot of their first training camp after COVID-19 stay-home social policy, we conducted: web-based health-monitoring, SARS-CoV-2 screening with polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test, real-time automated quantitative monitoring of social distancing on-court using video-based artificial intelligence (AI) algorithm, physical intensity evaluation with wearable heart rate (HR) and acceleration sensors, and self-reported online questionnaire.
Results
The training camp was conducted successfully with no COVID-19 infections. The web-based health monitoring and the frequent PCR testing with short turnaround times contributed remarkably in early detection of athletes’ health problems and risk screening. During handball, the AI based on-court social-distancing monitoring revealed key time-dependent spatial metrics to define player-to-player proximity. This information facilitated positive team members’ on and off-game distancing behavior. Athletes regularly achieved around 80% of maximum HR during training, indicating anticipated improvements in achieving their physical intensities. Self-reported questionnaires related to the COVID management in the training camp revealed a sense of security among the athletes allowing them to focus singularly on their training.
Conclusion
The current challenge provided us considerable know-how to create and manage a safe environment for high-performing athletes in the COVID-19 pandemic via the Japan Sports-Cyber Physical System (JS-CPS) of SRIP (Japan Sports Agency, Tokyo, Japan). This report is envisioned to provide informed decisions to coaches, trainers, policymakers from the sports federations in creating targeted, infection-free, sporting and training environments.
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