Dutch Paralympians joined the “wave of international support for Tokyo 2016” while at a four-day training camp in Japan preparing for the Beijing Paralympics.
The Dutch Women’s Paralympic Sitting Volleyball Team and the Women’s National Wheelchair Basketball Team chose Amity Maishima in Osaka, which, according to a press release, is a state-of-the-art sports facility for people with disabilities, as their training camps.
It’s one of the many world-class facilities in Japan that provide the highest levels of accessibility, said the press release.
Petra Westerhof, Dutch Women’s Paralympic Sitting Volleyball Team member said, “training in truly world-class sporting facilities has been amazing. Following this experience I have no doubt that Tokyo 2016 will be successful in its bid to host the Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games. The hospitality of the Japanese people during our stay has been critical to our preparation and the bid’s plan to integrate the Games around Tokyo’s beautiful and historic centre is something which I think is great”, she said.
Dr. Ichiro Kono, Chairman and CEO of Tokyo 2016 said he was delighted to have hosted members of the Dutch Paralympic team, adding, “barrier-free public transport laws came into force in 2006 and by 2016 all the train stations in Tokyo will be adopting a universal design. Even now the percentage of stations with textured paving blocks is as high as 96 per cent”.
