This article was machine-translated from the Japanese version.
I also participated as a staff member this year.
Day 1
Assembled at Yokohama Sanbo Hall at 9 AM. Completed various preparations such as receiving T-shirts and name tags, then held the morning meeting.
After that, finished the rehearsal test, and as the reception team, checked the area near the entrance and confirmed the procedure and notes for accepting contestants and coaches.
Since it was the same venue as last year and I was also on the reception team last year, it went particularly smoothly for me personally.
After confirming, we prepared balloons, had lunch, and waited until the admission time.
Admission started at 1 PM. Since staff needed to speak to participants in English, it was initially a bit cumbersome, but the wording gradually became optimized and there were no particular difficulties in the latter half.
However, one point of reflection was that since we confirmed the notes for today and tomorrow all at once, the contents got mixed up in my head, and I sometimes mistakenly applied tomorrow’s notes to today.
Also, I realized that it was fine to give directions quite roughly.
(Example: Instead of saying “This aisle is for exit only and cannot be used, so please use the other aisle over there,” simply saying “This aisle is for exit only” was enough — people would move to the other aisle on their own.)
After all teams had entered, we distributed balloons and printed materials during the rehearsal and patrolled the venue.
Regarding the distribution of printed materials, measures to prevent misdelivery were strengthened starting this year, with a double-check of the target team being conducted by two people.
In the end, no misdelivery occurred even once, and if it doesn’t happen tomorrow either, it may prove to be quite effective.
After the rehearsal, we watched the team introductions and merit award (?) presentations, then handled cloakroom duty for the contestants exiting.
Since everyone exited at once and the aisles around the cloakroom were narrow, the flow of foot traffic stalled due to people waiting to pick up their belongings.
After the exit, we reorganized the entrance area for tomorrow, confirmed the acceptance procedure again, and disbanded around 6 PM.
Ate and drank in Chinatown, went to bed around 11:30 PM.
Day 2
Woke up around 5:30 AM, so I killed time writing my Day 1 report.
Had breakfast at the hotel, then assembled at the venue at 7:45 AM.
Confirmed notes for the reception area and prepared posted notices, then waited for the venue to open.
After opening, I carried out the reception team duties as on Day 1. No particular troubles.
After all teams had completed reception, I joined the balloon and printed material distribution & venue patrol team.
Unlike Day 1, there was no initial submission rush, so it was relatively easy.
One issue was that when printing 4 or more pages, the print content would shift and part of the code would become unreadable — a problem on the printer side — which required checking with the contestants each time whether the output was acceptable.
Fortunately, there weren’t many teams that printed 4 or more pages, so it didn’t cause much delay, but I’d like them to use a different printer starting next year.
After the contest ended, we quickly carried out the teardown, and after the work was done, I joined the contestants’ ranking announcement.
As is the case every year, my legs were completely done in from walking too much by this time, so I sat on the hall floor to watch. (Very uncivilized behavior)
After that, since I had absolutely no confidence I could keep standing for the buffet, I spent the time sitting in the back area.
When the timing seemed right, I snuck a few bread rolls and ate them.
After the contestants exited, we cleaned up inside the venue and completed the teardown.