Members of the Australian women's softball team departed
The 23 "Aussie Spirit" players and five staff will arrive in
All team members, who have received coronavirus vaccinations, will be under strict restrictions while in
The team members will be required to undergo daily PCR testing and be prevented from interacting with the general public, with all sleeping, dining and meeting rooms confined to a single floor in their hotel.
The players and staff will only be allowed to leave the hotel to travel to and from training facilities.
At a press conference at
"They will be extremely limited what they'll be able to do every day, and that's going to take them another sacrifice but it's a sacrifice they're up for," he said.
"These athletes know that it's only because of these rules and regulations in place that the opportunities to compete in the games is possible," he added.
"We know that we've got one goal in mind (to win a medal) and everyone's on board, and we're so strong as a unit at the moment," she said. "I know that any sort of difficulties we're going to face, we're going to face them together."
The team will be in training in Ota for over a month, during which time they will play a number of matches against clubs from the Japanese professional softball league.
They will then move into the Olympic village on
"We understand that the Australian women's softball team will play against the Japanese team in the first round match, and we hope they will thoroughly adjust their conditions in Ota and give their best performance in the actual games," Kato added.
Ota Mayor
"I am excited (to host the camp). I appreciate they come (to the city) at such an opportunity."
The team camped in the city in 2018 and had exchanges with local people through school visits and other events, according to the city.
However, to prevent the spread of infections, the team members will not meet locals directly this time and online exchange events are being planned.
Aussie Spirit was among the teams competing at the 1996 Atlanta Games when softball made its debut and has taken home one silver and three bronze medals.
==Kyodo
© Kyodo News International, Inc., source