June 13,1999. Town Sports Festival in Ogunicho,Niigata Prefecture. In our town, it is a rule to hold the Town Sports Festival on the second Sunday in June. This is its 36th year. Everyone from nursery school kids to those who are more then 70 years old take part in the festival. They are divided into three groups and play games in three different grounds. The community versus community matches are the most popular and exciting. The cheering gets quite heated. The games are not a race against the clock but games to improve physical strength or just for recreation. The 'Catching the Stick' and 'Skipping Races' are the most exciting of all.

[Cathing the Stick] Stick which are officially approved by the Committee to Promote the Challenge Games are used. Eight people catch two sticks from the next person as quickly as posible to the shouts of 'ton, ton, pa'. They compete for the number of their catches. In the past, the record of Ogunicho was once in the Guiness Book of World Records. The highest score was 88 catches this year.

[Skipping Races] The community competition for our town's best record takes place with the Skipping Races. People who Swing the rope require more physical strength than the jumpers.