World Rowing takes part in the inaugural Virtual Sports Forum in Tokyo 2024

On 14 November 2023, World Rowing and the Japan Sport Council (JSC) signed a Memorandum of Understanding, joining forces to cooperate on an international joint research project on Virtual Sports and Virtual Rowing.

Part of the MoU between World Rowing and JSC includes exchange programs and visits by representatives of both organizations, as well as presenting case studies at international conferences. As one of the initiatives of the MoU, the World Rowing executive leadership, including President Jean-Christophe Rolland, Executive Director Vincent Gaillard and Chair of the Indoor Rowing Commission, Filip Ljubicic, visited Japan a few days ago.

On 19 March, JSC / Japan High Performance Sport Center (HPSC) successfully hosted the Virtual Sports Forum at the Japan Sport Olympic Square in Tokyo, in close collaboration with World Rowing as well as other overseas network and partners, including Sport Singapore, Queensland University of Technology and Konami Digital Entertainment. The forum was part of a Japan Sport Agency commissioned project including research on the international trends of Esports and Virtual Sports.

Under the theme “Exploring the Potential of Virtual Sports”, the aim of the forum was to promote the understanding of virtual sports, its current status and international trends, by sharing information and introducing examples from various perspectives. Participants included the Japanese Olympic Committee and Paralympic Committee, national sport federations, domestic sport organizations, and organizers of upcoming major sports events in Japan participated at the forum, and the forum served as a valuable opportunity to obtain knowledge and share information about virtual sports among the domestic stakeholders in sport.

The forum opened with a promotion movie on World Rowing and JSC’s international joint research in Virtual Sports, followed by an address by Koji Murofushi, Commissioner of the Japan Sports Agency. Kit McConnell, Sports Director of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), also participated to congratulate the Forum as the one of the legacies of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games, and to share the IOC’s latest discussions on Virtual Sports through an online presentation. 

The Virtual Sports Forum program consisted of three parts; International Trends, Overseas initiatives and Game Publisher Strategies, and a panel discussion with the speakers sharing their outlook and key findings on the potential for virtual sports from their own unique positions. Jean-Christophe Rolland, President of World Rowing, gave the keynote speech and shared World Rowing’s initiatives towards virtual sports, its future strategy and direction. He detailed how Indoor Rowing is fast-developing and moving towards “Virtual and Connected Rowing”  with respect to the Olympic movement.

The following day, World Rowing and JSC were invited as speakers at the symposium organised by Japan Rowing Association. The opportunity successfully delivered the importance of promoting Virtual Sports and initiating the international joint research initiatives in the topic to the Japanese rowing community. Later on, World Rowing executive leadership toured the facilities of the HPSC and the Japan Institute of Sports Science, and interacted with respective researchers at the Institute. World Rowing and JSC also discussed about future directions the MoU will take, and developed a concrete action plan for international joint research, confirming that they would use the upcoming SportAccord convention in Birmingham, in April 2024, and the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games this summer to further foster their collaboration.

Jean-Christophe Rolland, President of World Rowing said : “Virtual sports have a huge potential, and with new technology, we are able to connect more people to sport. Virtual Sport is about physical sport and physical activity, and it enables people to connect and compete wherever they are, and to exercise a sport whist being connected.  The Virtual Sports Forum was a great success, and I hope the audience learned about Virtual Sports and the potential for its future. I give my gratitude and thanks to JSC, and I look forward to working with JSC to ensure the best for the future of Virtual Sports.”

Takeshi Kukidome, Vice President of Japan Sport Council, HPSC High Performance Director/JISS Director General, added : “To keep up with the fast-paced progress of virtual sports and its surroundings, JSC will strengthen its efforts to gather information about virtual sports and its up-to-date trends by collaborating with its international network and actively engaging in a wide range of activities. Furthermore, together with World Rowing, we would like to promote international joint research in the field of virtual sports and apply those results not only to improve areas of sport in High Performance, but also to improve Life Performance within society.”

Copy and photos thanks to JSC