The Yomiuri Shimbun As Japan’s Paralympic team seeks to perform well at future Winter Games, it faces the important task of producing visually impaired athletes with strong skills and overcoming the shortage of guide skiers for such athletes.
The national Paralympic team is seeking to finish in the top five in the gold medal rankings at the 2022 Winter Paralympics. To that end, the Japan Sports Association for the Disabled is trying to increase the number of guide skiers who ski ahead of the athletes to give them directions. Japan sent no visually impaired athletes to the Sochi Winter Paralympic Games.
Kazuto Takamura, 31, who is nearly completely blind, works at the Iwate Prefectural Morioka Visual Needs Education School. He started cross-country skiing in 2012 and won the Japan Para Championships in 2013. However, since his guide skier retired, he can only practice short distances that are just enough for him to check the snow conditions when he asks his wife to take him to ski runs.
“I’m aiming to participate in the Pyeongchang Games [in 2018], but there’s not enough time if I can only practice at this pace,” Takamura said.
Guide skiers’ commands are a lifeline for blind skiers. In cross-country skiing, for example, a guide may instruct a skier to slow down by saying a long “haai” or inform the skier of a hill by saying a short “hai” multiple times.
In Alpine skiing, in which skiers travel down steep slopes, a small mistake in direction can cause a fall, as skiers can reach speeds of up to 100 kph.
Although there are no licenses or qualifications to be a guide skier, such a person must be able to ski at the same pace while keeping an eye on the skier. A trusting relationship is essential.
However, the Japan association of cross-country skiing for those with impairments could only secure one guide skier this season.
“Only a few occupations, such as schoolteachers, allow enough time for guide skiers to practice during the winter,” a guide skier for a Paralympic gold medalist said.
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