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Newsdesk 2013
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RANELAGH HARRIERS E-NEWS # 408 13 September 2013
Editor: Steve Rowland
mailto: steverowland@ranelagh-harriers.com
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HEADLINE NEWS
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* John Ricketts wins the Thomas Cup
* Fastest times by Phil Killingley and Marie Synnott-Wells
* Marie Synnott-Wells and Martin Halvey win vets prizes on the road
* parkrun placings for Lydia Louw, Liz Kipling, Cathy Jones, Duncan
Mallison, Trevor Maguire and Paul Sinton-Hewitt
* Surrey Relays this Saturday
* Quiz Night on Saturday 26th October
ATTENTION PLEASE
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FIXTURE CARDS
Printed fixture cards for 2013/14 are now available at the clubhouse. Please
help yourself. If you won't be visiting the clubhouse in the near future and
would prefer to have a card sent to you, please reply to this e-mail. The
fixture list is also available on our website here:.
CAPTAIN'S 10k CHALLENGE
There are just over three weeks remaining in the captain's 10k challenge.
There are some great improvements, especially by the category B runners!
Current leaders are:
Category A
Peter Faull 1.21
Ian Kenton 1.07
Trevor Maguire 0.47
Category B
Lars Lundqvist 3.10
David Lawley 1.54
Simon Martin 1.40
Hannah Doyle 1.39
Category C
Alan Meaden 1.17
Annemarie Goodridge -1.24
David Meaden -2.50
SURREY ROAD RELAYS...
...take place this Saturday at 12 noon from the Wimbledon Park track.
PAGE CUP 5 miles handicap
Our second handicap race of the season is the Page Cup 5 miler in the Park
on Saturday 28th September. 3pm start, all members welcome.
QUIZ NIGHT Saturday 26th October in the clubhouse
We'll be holding a quiz night in the clubhouse after the Orion mob match on
26th October. It's £10 a head to include a supper of fish and chips (or
veggie alternative). Make up your team of four or just come along and we'll
sort out teams on the night. Start time 6.30pm.
CHRISTMAS PARTY Saturday 7th December
Our Christmas Party will take place at the Richmond Hill Hotel on Saturday
7th December starting at 7pm. It will include a three-course meal plus wine,
followed by a DJ and (optional!) dancing. The price is £45 if you book
before October 22nd, otherwise £50. To reserve your place contact Michele
Gibson micheleagibson@hotmail.com or put your name on the list at
the clubhouse. Please indicate your choice of food - see the menu at the
clubhouse or page 4 of the brochure here:.
CABBAGE PATCH 10 miles Sunday 20th October in Twickenham
The popular Cabbage Patch 10 has already attracted over 1,600 entries so if
you're planning to run you should not delay: Details:. Bear in mind,
however, that this year there is an unfortunate clash with the Surrey
Cross-Country League - the opening League fixture takes place the day
before, the men at Wimbledon and the women at Lightwater.
Thames Turbo Marathon in Richmond Park Sunday 3rd November
Simon Martin writes:
"The fifth Thames Turbo Marathon will take place in Richmond Park on Sunday
3rd November 2013. Ranelagh Harriers are invited to run in one of the three
races taking place in this free, low key and relaxed event which is by
invitation only!
1) Full Marathon: A four lap (3 equal laps and one shorter lap) race
starting at 8.00am
2) 2) Marathon Relay: Teams of between 3 and 4 runners, race starts at
8.00am
3) 3) Half Marathon: A two lap race starting at 10.00am
Race HQ on the day will be at the Thames Turbo gazebo next to the Tamsin
Trail near Broomfield Hill Wood car park. Registration will be at 7.45am. If
running the half marathon you can register up to about 9.50am. There will be
a light jog/warm up of about 2km from the race HQ to the marathon line. The
first lap will be anti-clockwise, the second clockwise, third anti-clockwise
and last lap clockwise. If you are racing in a relay team all you have to do
is tag the next runner for them to start. For the half marathon there will
be a light jog of about 1.5km to the start. The first lap is anti-clockwise
and the final lap clockwise. For all races the drinks stations are about
3.5km apart.
If you would like to sign up (to either the marathon, relay or half
marathon) please email Natarsha (Tarsha) Wendt at Thames Turbo:
tarsh007@gmail.com and don't forget to mention that you are a Ranelagh
Harrier!"
BUILDING FUND DRAW
Winners of the last draw were Hilary Saw (£100), Archie Taylor (£67) and
Martin Halvey (£33).
Follow Ranelagh on Facebook.
WHAT'S COMING
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More details of the following from the men's Captains ( e-mail Phil, Duncan
or Trevor ranelagh.men@gmail.com or the women's Captains
( e-mail Estelle, Becky or Phil ranelagh.women@gmail.com )
Saturday 14th September Surrey Road Relays at Wimbledon Park. 12 noon
start.
Sunday 15th September MABAC 5 miles at Lightwater Country Park. 11am
start. Details:.
Saturday 21st September Women's South of England Road Relays at
Aldershot. 3.55pm start
Sunday 22nd September Men's South of England Road Relays at Aldershot.
Vets race starts at 12.30pm, senior race at 2.30pm.
Saturday 28th September Page Cup 5 miles handicap in Richmond Park. 3pm
start.
Saturday 12th October Surrey Vets Championships in Richmond Park.
Women over 35 and men over 60 6km at 2.30pm, men 40-59 10km at 3pm.
parkruns every Saturday at 9am
Bushy Park Diana Fountain car park
Richmond Park Richmond Gate
Wimbledon Common Windmill car park
Banstead Woods Car park off B2219 Park Lane, Chipstead
Bedfont Lakes Bedfont Lakes Country Park, Ashford,
Middlesex
Kingston The Hawker Centre
Old Deer Park Pools in the Park on the A316
Crane Park Near the Hospital Bridge Roundabout
on the A316 in Twickenham
Other venues, more details and registration at www.parkrun.com
2km junior parkruns for under 14s take place on the first Sunday of each
month from Bushy Park's Teddington Gate (11am start) and from Savill Garden
car park, Windsor Great Park (9.30am start).
WHAT'S HAPPENED
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OPENING RUN and THOMAS CUP 3.85 miles Handicap Saturday 7th September in
Richmond Park
The Opening Run of our 133rd season attracted a relatively small field of
just over 50 for the Thomas Cup handicap race. It saw two firsts: the race
was the debut handicap framed by the new incumbent of the least popular
position in the club, that of Handicapper. Angus Cater has taken on the
difficult role, made a good start and we wish him the best of luck in
upcoming events! The other innovation was a change to our course. The Park
Manager requested that we completely avoid the skylark breeding area near
the Pen Ponds and so there was a change to the route between the back of
Spanker's Hill and the Ponds. According to our stats guru Ken Powley the new
course measures 3.85 miles, 0.06 of a mile shorter than the previous
version. But it does feature a very tough new hill!
As usual there were a number of people taking part as guests: members have
to complete three club events before being eligible for handicaps. Most of
the guests finished well up the field, including Katie Walton and Jenny
Rogal who were second and third across the line. But there was no mistaking
the winner. John Ricketts slipped under the Handicapper's radar and was
almost two minutes clear at the end. Eugenio Carmo took the official second
place, having just passed three more guests in the shape of Polly White,
Euan Sinclair and Leanne Grice. Marie Synnott-Wells was next in as the
official third placer.
Fastest time (and new course record!) went to Phil Killingley on 21.53,
followed by Ian Kenton on 22.51 and Mark Herbert on 23.18. Marie
Synnott-Wells collected her umpteenth fastest woman's time medal with 27.02,
ahead of Sandra Prosser on 28.08 and Polly White on 28.18. A special mention
too for 8 year-old Lydia Louw who completed the course in a very impressive
29.53.
The opportunity was taken after the race to catch up with a few
presentations, including the President's Prize which this year was awarded
jointly to Colin Brett and Simon Martin for their amazing efforts in the
gruelling 200km+ Marathon des Sables earlier this year.
RUN THROUGH BUSHY PARK HALF MARATHON Sunday 25th August
Marie Synnott-Wells was third woman in and first over 45.
1 R McLeod (Tipton) 1:13.12 (chip time 1:13.07)
6 Nick Twomey 1:20.12 (1:20.11)
12 Nick Wright 1:25.15 (1:25.12)
16 R Cassidy (unatt) 1:26.43 (1:26.36 - 1st woman)
19 Paul Nicoll 1:27.07 (1:27.06)
53 Marie Synnott-Wells 1:35.09 (1:35.05)
149 Heather Martingell 1:56.39 (1:56.22)
LONGFORD MARATHON Sunday 25th August
Martin Halvey won the M50 category.
1 F Sittuk (Kenya) 2:22.36 (chip time 2:22.34)
5 P Curley (Ireland) 2:44.25 (2:44.22 - 1st woman)
11 Martin Halvey 3:00.33 (3:00.29)
RICHMOND RIVER RUN 10km Sunday 1st September
1 V Lio (unatt) 37.03 (chip time 37.00)
30 A Shaw (unatt) 43.19 (42.45 - 1st woman)
105 Rachael Holmes 49.01 (48.31)
BUSHY PARK 10km Sunday 1st September
1 J Mohamed (N&EB) 34.35 (chip time 34.33)
19 A Levene (AFD) 38.44 (38.41 - 1st woman)
166 Annemarie Goodridge 61.54 (61.41)
KINGFIELD CANTER 2.85 miles handicap Wednesday 4th September at Woking
1 M Vaughan (Woking) 25.31 (actual time 23.01)
7 Sonia Rowland 26.45 (21.00)
12 Louise Piears 27.01 (21.46)
23 Steve Rowland 30.11 (26.11)
VETERANS AC 10,000m TRACK CHAMPIONSHIPS Wednesday 4th September at Kingston
Race 1
1 B Reynolds (TVH) 34:17.3
5 Paul Doyle 37:21.9
Race 3
1 V Carter (Serp) 38:56.3
6 Alan Davidson 47:48.3
MAGIC MILE Thursday 5th September at Barn Elms
Rick Jenner reports:
"On Thursday 5th September, twenty runners raced the iconic mile distance on
the Barn Elms track in Barnes. It was one of 111 events taking place all
over the country as part of Marathon Talk's Magic Mile, which encourages
runners to do something different over the summer and add a little speed to
their running. No-one challenged Roger Bannister's time but everyone enjoyed
blasting out a fast pace over the 1,609 metres. It was also great to run on
a track, a novel and overdue experience for many.
In heat 1 men's captain Phil Killingley stormed to victory in 4:50, with
another four Ranelagh Harriers also breaking 5 minutes. In heat 2 Dave
Lawley led for much of the way, only to be overtaken on the final lap with
Lars Lundqvist sprinting away to win in 5:10. All eight runners finished in
under 6 minutes. In the final heat everyone broke 7 minutes, led by Gwen
McCormack who just broke 6 minutes with a perfectly paced four and a bit
laps.
Marathon Talk is the UK's number one running podcast, presented each week by
Martin Yelling and Tom Williams. For more about Marathon Talk and the Magic
Mile go to www.marathontalk.com."
Ranelagh speed order
1 Phil Killingley 4.50
2 Jackson Creegan 4.51
3 Ian Kenton 4.56
4 Ted Mockett 4.58
5 Nick Twomey 4.59
6 Lars Lundqvist 5.10
7 Rick Jenner 5.15
8 David Lawley 5.20
9 Vaughan Ramsay 5.26
10 Matthew Copp 5.41
11 Bruce McLaren 5.45
12 Gwen McCormack 5.59
13 John Scally 6.06
14 Heather Martingell 6.45
15 Hannah Doyle 6.50
MIDDLESEX 10km Saturday 7th September at Victoria Park
Carl Selya-Hammer ran a big PB.
1 M Aadan (TVH) 30.34
28 Carl Selya-Hammer 34.28
49 K Webster (Lon H) 35.53 (1st woman)
DINGLE MARATHON Saturday 7th September in Kerry, Ireland
Martin Halvey writes:
"It was a tough race, very undulating, but I think one could learn from it
and hope to improve for the next outing. Knowledge in this case would be
valuable. My chip time was 3:01.25. I don't understand the difference
between the two times as I was almost under the start point but was given a
gun time of 3:02.03. It doesn't matter as I at least completed the run.
Thankful for small mercies."
The results don't show age groups but it's probably reasonable to assume
that Martin was well up if not first in the M50 category.
1 E Sugrue (Ireland) 2:44.02 (chip time 2:43.25)
9 Martin Halvey 3:02.03 (3:01.25)
28 A Shinners (Ireland) 3:19.38 (3:18.04 - 1st woman)
ERIDGE PARK 10m TRAIL CHALLENGE Sunday 8th September at Tunbridge Wells
Mark Herbert writes on Facebook:
"Eridge 10 is one mean X country race. Mud, hills and a tough surface to run
on. It's all worth it come the finish...homemade cakes and a cask beer."
1 J Rendall (Ton) 62.50
11 D McDermot (Ton) 70.58 (1st woman)
14 Mark Herbert 73.32
235 Mike White 105.07
BACCHUS HALF MARATHON Sunday 8th September at Denbies Vineyard, Dorking
John Scally reports:
"On Sunday, Anna (aka Wonder Woman) and I (Superman) donned our superhero
costumes, left the kids with Super Grandparents and headed up to Denbies
Vineyard for the Bacchus Half. Neither Anna or I had done the race before,
although Wonder Woman had some knowledge of a Surrey League course being a
bit hilly there.
It's a late starter, the marathon starts at 11, and the half at 12. That was
OK with me because I tend not to drink wine whilst running before noon these
days and the course had six or seven water and wine stations where you could
sample Denbies' finest en-route, which may explain the spread of finish
times from 1:21 to 5 hours. About 70% of the field were in fancy dress -
this is the UK's answer to Medoc. We met Kirsty who was claiming to have
come as an athlete (Ranelagh vest) and Heather dressed in a tutu, plus some
non-Ranelagh friends who upon seeing we were running that morning, just
decided to turn up and enter also in full fancy dress costume!?! (Everyone
has a batgirl costume just lying about don't they?).
WW and I were aiming to run about 8.30 minute miles, then stop for drinks,
so we edged around the posse of toga-toting Greeks and a group of
suspiciously butch looking old ladies to get a better start position, I
found it is hard to inconspicuously move forward through a crowd when you
keep catching your cape on people. Bang on noon we were off. Like a speeding
bullet(ish).
The course winds around the vineyards and out onto the road for a bit before
hitting tracks and trails in the countryside around Dorking. We superheroes
went out a little fast in the first few miles but stopped briefly at each
bar/water station for a tipple and re-hydration. The course is beautiful,
after a short while you get into the country and the views are amazing, It's
a little bumpy for a bit, and some of the tracks are a bit slippy and muddy,
and then there is a climb around seven miles that's like kryptonite to the
legs, it's steady and goes on for about two miles up to Ranmore Common.
At mile 11 Superman was flagging a bit, but thankfully the course flattened
and I was able to keep up with Wonder Woman. The last mile is a long descent
back into the vineyard (reverse of the Box Hill leg of the Green Belt Relay
I was informed) with a flatter last quarter mile to the finish. We finished
at 1:56:57.
Wonder Woman had a better constitution than Superman and tried all the
wines, I managed about four before the stomach complained and I stuck to
just water. We were both pleased to finish in under 2 hours, and it's one
race we will definitely do again and would recommend for anyone looking for
a decent hilly fun course. Really well organised race, plenty of everything
you need, and a t-shirt, medal and yummy pork-roll to finish with a glass of
wine included in the race fee."
1 G Till (DMV) 1:21.04 (chip time 1:21.04)
29 C Biever (Barnes) 1:40.24 (1:40.20 - 1st woman)
131 John Scally 1:57.26 (1:56.57)
132 Anna Scally 1:57.26 (1:56.57)
232 Heather Martingell 2:09.24 (2:07.38)
308 Kirsty Bangham 2:18.29 (2:17.57)
MAIDENHEAD HALF MARATHON Sunday 8th September
1 T Haughian (WSEH) 1:11.50 (chip time 1:11.49)
22 A Gounelas (Eton M) 1:20.14 (1:20.11 - 1st woman)
106 Lars Lundqvist 1:26.29 (1:26.25)
151 Colin Brett 1:28.48 (1:28.39)
240 Simon Martin 1:32.45 (1:32.39)
1229 Paul Martingell 2:04.30 (2:03.04)
ALICE HOLT FOREST 10km Sunday 8th September at Farnham
1 J Manning (Denmead) 34.09
15 L Locks (Hart) 38.27 (1st woman)
240 Alan Meaden 59.26
294 David Meaden 68.14
RICHMOND PARK parkrun 5km Saturday 31st August
1 R Carol (Clapham) 17.17
6 Peter Faull 18.50
17 S Weiland (Sheen) 19.31 (1st woman)
39 Alberto Esguevillas 21.06
43 Eugenio Carmo 21.17
56 Chris Read 21.56
78 Amrut Sharma 23.09
79 Chris Parsons 23.12
81 Polly White 23.24
124 Michael Sikora 25.07
178 Rob Kitchen 27.37
200 Val Lowman 28.28
220 Peter Lowman 29.15
252 Andrew Brown 31.05
258 Deepa Sharma 31.32
274 Bronwen Northmore 32.52
299 Pat Hewlett 42.33
300 Bev Ali 42.33
301 Philippa Metherell 46.13
CRANE PARK parkrun 5km Saturday 31st August
Duncan Mallison stepped up to first place this week.
1 Duncan Mallison 19.02
7 Kevin Kearey 21.09
20 Tom Kearey 23.24
23 A Cope-Balchin (Eal E) 24.01 (1st woman)
30 Chris Brook 24.22
45 Heather Martingell 26.27
53 Emily Kearey 28.01
64 Josie Kearey 30.04
65 Ann Kearey 30.08
70 Tanya Allen 31.09
75 Deirdre Inman 33.05
78 Waldron Slaughter 37.12
79 Lexi Slaughter 37.13
OSTERLEY parkrun 5km Saturday 31st August
This was the inaugural Osterley parkrun so the usual suspects were out in
force to sample its delights. Liz Kipling was leading woman.
1 J Finnigan (WSEH) 16.42
8 Jack Moran 18.30
9 Mark Herbert 18.41
16 Liz Kipling 19.17 (1st woman)
19 David Lawley 19.49
26 Niall O'Connor 20.25
34 Bruce McLaren 21.09
47 Alex Fordham 21.52
55 Rob Curtis 22.10
98 Peter Fordham 24.34
129 Kirsty Bangham 26.27
135 Mike White 26.49
140 Becky Hall 26.54
180 Lynne Barber 28.53
199 Tony Clark 30.59
201 Christine David 31.17
217 Rachel Allen 32.48
237 Phil Aiken 34.32
244 Stacey Barber 35.51
258 Tamsin Burland 45.32
BUSHY PARK parkrun 5km Saturday 31st August
1 M Trees (Belgrave) 16.13
24 James Whistler 17.49
25 F Love (Clapham) 17.52 (1st woman)
29 Marc Snaith 17.58
49 Andrew Forth 18.57
265 Ian Grange 23.02
322 Paul Sinton-Hewitt 23.40
705 Mary Hickson 28.20
994 John Hanscomb 36.19
OLD DEER PARK parkrun 5km Saturday 31st August
1 B Pugsley (unatt) 17.18
13 Steve Aikin 20.48
14 L Ryan (unatt) 20.51 (1st woman)
16 Stewart Anderson 21.47
22 Phil Roberts 23.04
26 Mel Hunter 24.05
29 Fiona Forbes 24.19
34 Luke Maguire 25.23
50 Deborah Blakemore 28.08
51 Lorna Smith 28.08
60 Paula Maguire 29.31
GDYNIA parkrun 5km Saturday 31st August
Lydia Louw topped the women's list for the second week in succession.
1 M Pawlik (Thomson R)) 18.57
32 Lydia Louw 22.42 (1st woman)
70 Arthur Louw 26.54
KINGSTON parkrun 5km Saturday 31st August
1 S Amory (Thames T) 17.56
29 B Pirkle (unatt) 22.17 (1st woman)
31 Chris Camacho 22.36
35 Tom Reay 22.55
44 Hannah Doyle 23.39
49 Alan Davidson 23.53
84 Janet Turnes 28.48
WALTHAMSTOW parkrun 5km Saturday 31st August
Cathy Jones was the leading woman.
1 P Brown (E London) 18.01
8 Cathy Jones 21.46 (1st woman)
19 Ben Shore 25.02
OTHER parkruns (Saturday 31st August)...
Bedfont Lakes: 113 Danny Hobbs 38.02
Frimley Lodge: 92 Sonia Rowland 22.48, 158 Steve Rowland 24.54
Reading: 15 Sean Paynter 19.27
Eastbourne: 87 Nigel Coombes 28.47
Finsbury: 20 Andres Arana Garcia 20.36
Curl Curl: 14 Grant Hibbert 20.50
CRANE PARK parkrun 5km Saturday 7th September
1 B Gibbons (SMR) 17.43
13 J Masters (unatt) 20.33 (1st woman)
15 Kevin Kearey 21.12
25 Tom Kearey 22.50
40 Lee Davies 24.51
41 Mark Herbert 24.51
54 Kabir Sait 26.19
63 Lynne Barber 28.06
74 Christine David 29.54
75 Josie Kearey 30.15
76 Jackie Dunkley 30.18
77 Ann Kearey 30.36
87 Deirdre Inman 33.04
88 Cindy Croucher 33.05
89 Tamsin Burland 33.11
96 Stacey Barber 34.47
100 Lexi Slaughter 35.53
101 Waldron Slaughter 35.56
RICHMOND PARK parkrun 5km Saturday 7th September
Amrut Sharma joined the parkrun 100 club.
1 E Rees (Bracknell F) 17.54
36 Stephen Hurton 20.58
38 C Carter (Epsom O) 21.04 (1st woman)
52 Chris Read 21.49
53 Peter Faull 21.50
56 Alberto Esguevillas 21.54
60 Eugenio Carmo 22.29
64 Amrut Sharma 22.36
65 Phil Jackson 22.37
73 Lydia Louw 23.07
161 Arthur Louw 26.26
194 Michael Sikora 27.36
210 Peter Lowman 28.25
217 Val Lowman 28.41
239 Andrew Brown 29.51
295 Penny Merrett 33.20
317 Pat Hewlett 39.17
318 Bev Ali 39.20
BUSHY PARK parkrun 5km Saturday 7th September
1 A Jackson (Sitting) 16.04
4 E Pallant (AFD) 16.27 (1st woman)
67 David Ready 19.46
237 Adam Wright 22.28
822 Sharon Rowe 30.54
957 John Hanscomb 36.33
MARGATE parkrun 5km Saturday 7th September
Trevor Maguire took first place.
1 Trevor Maguire 19.12
10 D Widdison (unatt) 25.56 (1st woman)
24 Paula Maguire 30.20
OSTERLEY parkrun 5km Saturday 7th September
Paul Sinton-Hewitt finished second.
1 L Phair (Met Police) 19.47
2 Paul Sinton-Hewitt 20.05
12 E Gray (Strag) 22.16 (1st woman)
26 Jo Sinton-Hewitt 26.06
OTHER parkruns (Saturday 7th September)...
Bedfont Lakes: 121 Danny Hobbs 39.47
Brockwell: 5 James Whistler 18.20
Reading: 11 Sean Paynter 19.51
Dusi: 23 Lloyd Camp 25.00
Kingston: 25 Chris Camacho 21.56, 50 Tom Reay 24.13
Old Deer Park: 44 Vanessa McConkey 27.02
Southwark: 65 Phil Aiken 23.58, 74 Peter Fordham 24.34
Woodlands: 4 Jenni Kruse 23.28
FINALLY...
I'm indebted to Pete Mulholland again for this:
HIDE AND SEEK - A NEW OLYMPIC SPORT?
Prof. Yasuo Hazaki set up the Japan Hide-and-Seek Promotion Committee in
2010 and the organisation has around 1,000 members across the country and
believes Tokyo 2020 would be the perfect occasion for the Olympic community
to embrace his chosen sport.
"I would like hide-and-seek to be one of the exhibition sports in 2020 and
then it could become an official event at subsequent Olympics," Hazaki, a
professor of media studies at Josai International University, told The Daily
Telegraph.
"I want to encourage sport for all, meaning that anyone can take part,
regardless of age, gender or ability," he said. "When you watch sport now,
it's all about world-beating techniques and skills - fantastic dribbling,
running or shooting skills in football, for example. "But that's not sport
for all," he said. "Hide-and-seek is a sport that anybody can play, from
children as young as 4 years old to someone who is in their 80s."
The committee has set formal rules for competitive hide-and-seek, pitting
two teams of seven players against each other in a 10-minute match. In the
first five-minute half, one team is given two minutes to hide on a "pitch"
that measures 65ft x 65ft . The opposing team then has to locate and touch
the hiding players. In the version for children under the age of 12, the
pitch measures 55 feet x 88 feet.
One of the beauties of the sport is that it can be played pretty much
anywhere, Prof. Hazaki said, although light woodland tends to offer the best
opportunities for the hiding team. He has, however, staged competitions in
gardens and even on beaches - a sporting experience that he described as
"interesting."
Successful players generally have the ability to run very fast at the start
of the game to put some distance between themselves and the seekers. Being
able to identify a good hiding spot is obviously critical, as well as being
able to keep very still. That becomes more difficult if the pitch has a lot
of mosquitoes or other insects.
"We are trying to arrange games all across Japan so many people can play, to
see how much fun it is and that anyone can play," Prof. Hazaki said. "It may
be difficult to get hide-and-seek into the Olympics - the IOC just kicked
wrestling out, and that is a sport that has been around for a long time -
but I see Tokyo 2020 as our big chance," he said.