Supporting practice environment and health
Former judo player Tomoe Ueno will build a judo hall in Toma-cho, where his home is located, in March. Mr. Ueno, who was active as a player, teaches judo in the town after her retirement. She decided to build a judo hall for the purpose of creating a new training environment and a place to live for boarders who accept her at home. It also has a sports gym, aiming to develop as a place to support the health of the townspeople in addition to teaching judo. (Asahikawa branch office, Kenta Nakamura reporter)
Tomoe Ueno (left) and three boarding house students who will build a new judo hall
Mr. Ueno is from Asahikawa City and won the Asian Judo Championships in 2009. She attracted attention as the “3 sisters of Ueno” along with her eldest daughter, Masae, who won the gold medal at the 2004 Beijing Olympics in Athens, and June, the second daughter of the 2012 London Olympics bronze medal.
After retiring from active duty, worked for the Maritime Self-Defense Force for several years. Since 2018, he has been teaching at the judo school “Kitajukai Dojo”, which his parents taught and taught himself, and has taught juku students in towns and Asahikawa city.
While traveling all the way at judo competitions, I saw many instructors and local players who were not blessed with a training environment. She is currently accepting three junior high school students at home as boarding house students, thinking that she should not waste her will and talent.
The number of players who want guidance by word of mouth has increased, and they have come to think of a boarding house to replace their home. In addition, the Toma Sports Center, which is the practice area, was closed due to a new coronavirus infection. Based on the experience that it was difficult to practice as before, we considered securing a practice place and decided to build a new judo hall. We started crowdfunding in July 2009 and raised construction costs.
The judo hall will be set up on the premises of the house. The scale is W structure, one-story building, total 146 m², and is scheduled to be completed at the end of March. It was constructed by Anpo Construction and designed by Igarashi Architects.
Since there are few sports facilities in the town and it is necessary to go to Asahikawa City, a sports gym is set up to create an environment where the townspeople can move. It is planned to be operated by Ueno, a limited liability company launched in 2009.
Mr. Ueno is also involved in after-school care and exercise classes in the town. She said, “I hope it will be a space where elementary and junior high school students can easily drop in and exercise and study.” In addition to practicing judo, she wants to provide it as a place for children to learn and for the health of the townspeople. In the future, he will add a second floor and say he wants to accept more boarders.
