Exchange with Slovakia
New Information
We received a video message from Michaela Balcová (won gold in Rio 2016 Paralympics) representing the Slovak Boccia team.
The goal in boccia is to throw red or blue balls and get them as close to the jack (a white target ball) as possible, and each player/team can also knock their opponents’balls away from it. Slovakia has one of the best boccia teams in the world.
Don’t miss the chance to hear about Michaela’s memories of Gifu including the training camp she went to and also how she feels about the competition in her sport!
The video and other video messages from the Slovak Paralympic team can be viewed here (Gifu City Official YouTube Channel):
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【2】Gifu City Official YouTube Channel Message from Michaela Balcová（外部リンク）
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【1】Gifu City Official YouTube Channel Message from the Paralympic Team（外部リンク）
Qualifying Status
Olympics
【Table Tennis】Qualified
| Event | Athletes | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Men's sigles | Wang Yang | Round 3 |
| Women's singles | Barbora Balážová | Round 2 |
| Mixed doubles | Ľubomír Pištej | Round of 16 |
| Barbora Balážová |
【Karate】not qualified
Paralympics
【Table Tennis】Qualified
| Event | Class | Athletes | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Men's singles | TT2 | Martin Ludrovský | Quarter-final |
| Ján Riapoš | Round of 16 | ||
| TT4 | Boris Trávníček | Quater-final | |
| Peter Mihálik | Group league | ||
| Women's singles | Alena Kánová | Silver | |
| Men's team | TT1-2 | Martin Ludrovský | Bronze |
| Ján Riapoš | |||
| TT4-5 | Boris Trávníček | Bronze | |
| Peter Mihálik |
【Boccia】Qualified
| Event | Class | Athletes | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mixed indivisual | BC1 | Tomáš Král | Pool stage |
| BC2 | Róbert Mezík | Quater-final | |
| Rastislav Kurilák | Pool stage | ||
| BC4 | Samuel Andrejčík | Gold | |
| Martin Strehárský | Pool stage | ||
| Michaela Balcová | Quater-final | ||
| Mixed team | BC1-2 | Tomáš Král | Pool stage |
| Róbert Mezík | |||
| Rastislav Kurilák | |||
| Kristína Kudláčová | |||
| Mixed Pairs | BC4 | Samuel Andrejčík | Gold |
| Michaela Balcová | |||
| Martin Strehárský |
*This information is current as of September 5, so there may be information that has changed since then.
Host Town Registration
Gifu City was registered as a host town to Slovakia on December 9, 2016. The catalyst of this relationship was a suggestion from the Japanese Embassy in Slovakia based in Bratislava, Slovakia’s capital city, for a sister city relationship with Gifu City.
Now, going towards the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games, we will hold exchanges with Slovakia in a variety of areas including sports and culture, as the Host Town with Nobunaga’s Hospitality.
On December 17, 2019, Gifu City used their exchange between Paralympians from both countries to enter into an All-inclusive Society Host Town Relationship with Slovakia.
Exchange Plan
About Slovakia
- Area: about 49,000km2
- Population: about 5,440,000
- Capital: Bratislava
(area about 368km2, population about 430,000) - Time Difference: -8 hrs
(Daylight Savings -7 hrs)
Slovakia is a land-bound country in middle Europe. The capital, Bratislava, faces the Danube River, and shares borders with Hungary and Austria. Once the capital of the Kingdom of Hungary, Bratislava is a city of history and old architecture.
Bratislava Castle sits on a hill overlooking the Danube River and the city. The townscape of Bratislava is very similar to that of Gifu City.
Exchange with Slovakia
July 2017 Visiting Slovakia
A delegation led by the Mayor made their first visit to the Capital of Slovakia, Bratislava. The delegation met with the Slovak Olympic Committee President, Slovak Paralympic Committee President, and Table Tennis Association President about pre-Olympic and Paralympic training camps in Gifu City, as well as meeting the Vice-Mayor of Bratislava as a first step in host town exchanges.
July 2018 Gifu City Promotion in Slovakia
A booth was opened at the Japanese Summer Festival (NATSUMATSURI, sponsored by the Japan Embassy in Slovakia), a festival of Japanese Culture, in Slovakia’s capital of Bratislava.
In addition to displaying traditional crafts such as Gifu lanterns and paper umbrellas, there was a display and tasting of ayugashi (sweet pastries) and Japanese sake. 2,500 Bratislava citizens attended the event, and the Gifu City booth was a great success.
July 2018 Slovak Karate Union Athletes and Coaches Visit Gifu
Athletes and coaches from the Slovak Karate Union visited Gifu City for the first time.
Along with visiting and practicing in city facilities such as the Gifu City Taiiku Rooms, they conducted various exchanges with citizens, including school lunch at Gifu Chuo Junior High School and kata performance at the Citizens Karate Tournament.
August 2018 Slovak Paralympic Committee Delegation Visits Gifu
A 2-member delegation from the Slovak Paralympic Committee visited Gifu City to look at locations.
In preparation for a potential training camp in Gifu City for athletes of the Paralympic sports of table tennis and boccia, the delegates visited various city facilities such as Moegi no Sato Multipurpose Gymnasium. They also viewed the 1300-year-old tradition of Ukai – Cormorant Fishing on the Nagara River.
October 2018 Visit to Slovakia
A Gifu City delegation led by the Mayor visited Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia, and met with the presidents of the Table Tennis Association, Karate Union and Paralympic Committee to sign memorandums of understanding on setting up training camps in Gifu City leading up to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics.
March 2019 Slovak Paralympic Athletes Visit Gifu
Gifu City invited Paralympic athletes from Slovakia to participate in the Slovakia Festival in Gifu, a citizen exchange event. The athletes also visited Soden and Uzura Elementary schools and played boccia with the students.
June 2019 Athletes and a Coach from the Slovak Table Tennis Association Visit Gifu City
Athletes and a coach of the Slovak Table Tennis Association visited Gifu for the first time. Training camps were held at the Moegi no Sato Multipurpose Gymnasium with the table tennis teams from Juroku Bank, the Aichi Institute of Technology, and Asahi University in order to prepare the Slovak athletes for the ITTF World Tour Platinum Japan Open in Hokkaido.
They also played some table tennis with members of the table tennis club of their support school, Seizan Junior High School, who had come to watch them train.
July 2019 Gifu City Promotion in Slovakia
Gifu City opened a booth in the Japanese Summer Festival (NATSUMATSURI) that was held in Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia (held by the Embassy of Japan in Slovakia) for the second year in a row.
On top of displaying traditional handicrafts such as Gifu paper lanturns and Gifu Japanese umbrellas, the booth also had specialty goods such as ayugashi (sweet pastries) and Japanese sake for visitors to taste test.
1300 people from in and around Bratislava attended the festival, and Gifu City’s booth was busier than the previous year with many stopping by.
August 2019 A Coach and Athletes from the Slovak Karate Union Visit Gifu City
Athletes and a coach of the Slovak Karate Union visited Gifu to attend a training camp in preparation for the Karate 1 Premium League Tournament in Tokyo that was held to determine if athletes qualified for the Olympics.
Athletic rooms within Gifu City were used as the venue for the training camp, and the Slovak athletes practiced along with athletes from the Seino Transport and Chubu Gakuin University karate teams.
The athletes and their coach had a courtesy call with the mayor, and afterwards they went on a cormorant fishing viewing. They also went on a talk show on Slovakia Day during Host Town Week 2019 and visited one of their support schools, Gifu Chuo Junior High, to deepen their exchanges with the citizens of Gifu.
September 2019 Slovak Paralympic Athletic Teams Visit Gifu City
The Slovak Paralympic boccia and table tennis teams visited Gifu City to attend training camps. The dishes served at their evening welcome banquet used ingredients cultivated in Gifu City such as edamame and sweetfish.
The athletes had exchanges with athletes from Japan’s Paralympic table tennis team, and they visited two of their host town support schools, Uzura and Shokaku Elementary schools, where they played boccia and table tennis with the students.
Lastly, the athletes attended a joint practice held with Asahi University and the Gifu Boccia Association in the Gifu Prefecture Welfare Yuai Arena where students from Soden Elementary, one of their support schools, came to watch them play.
November 2020 A video message from the Slovak Paralympic team
Gifu City received a video message from the Slovak Paralympic team. The head of the team, Ján Riapoš (won gold for table tennis at the London 2012 Paralympics), Michaela Balcová (won gold in boccia at the Rio 2016 Paralympics), Richard Csejtey (won silver in table tennis at the London 2012 Paralympics), and other athletes that have visited Gifu make an appearance, so make sure to check it out!
The video can be viewed here (Gifu City Official YouTube Channel):
