
PRESS RELEASE – Thirteen-year-old GianCarlo Abril thoroughly enjoyed a rare opportunity to play in a mini-futsal tournament with visiting students from Japan at the University of Guam Fieldhouse and hopes to participate in future exchanges.
“It was a great event to interact with people from different cultures who play the same sport,” said Abril, an incoming freshman at Father Duenas Memorial School. “We don’t have many opportunities to play futsal, so this was a great experience for me, and for others on the team. I’d love to participate in future events like this one.”
Abril was one of a handful of Guam’s U14 and U16 national team training squad members who competed against visiting students from Japan’s Wasegaku High School system during their annual excursion to Guam.
A total of 158 students from 11 different campuses were represented in this year’s event, according to Mike Iwanaka, H.I.S. Guest Relations/Group Manager, who assisted with coordinating the event with UOG. The event also included a mini basketball tournament, as well as cultural demonstrations by organizations including Hurao Academy. In addition to learning about Guam’s culture and people, the visiting students also coordinated 11 stations featuring different aspects of Japanese culture to showcase to attendees at the event. Stations included a judo demonstration, bamboo helicopters, newspaper sword fighting, group jump rope, and others.
“This is the second year we’ve partnered with H.I.S. to provide these activities for this particular group of students from Japan through our English Adventure Program,” said Russell Ocampo, UOG Outreach Coordinator. “Each year, through the English Adventure Program, part of the larger Professional and International Programs (PIP), we play host to more than 5,000 visiting from places like Japan, Korea, and Russia. The visiting students learn English through the program, while also participating in cultural activities.

Guam’s Ryo Suzuki looks for an opportunity to shoot during a mini futsal tournament with visiting students from Wasegaku High School of Japan at the UOG Fieldhouse. (courtesy photo)
“Particularly with Guam Football Association, we eventually would like to coordinate activities through the English Adventure Program with visiting school or professional teams that also want to learn English and participate in cultural activities while here in Guam. The program allows for one-day events like this one with Wasegaku High School to others that span six weeks,” Ocampo added.
The Wasegaku High School students ranged from 17 to 18 years old. The school offers students a non-traditional learning environment, allowing the students to complete their studies with mostly online courses, Iwanaka said.
“This is a great opportunity for the students to socialize with each other since they don’t normally see each other often in school and also to interact with people here in Guam,” Iwanaka said. “It also gives them a chance to showcase their culture, while also learning about Guam’s culture. For the sports portion of the day, we chose soccer and basketball, since those are fairly common in Japan.
“This is one of many visiting groups we coordinate with as part of our long-term goal of expanding our overall groups market,” Iwanaka added.
At the end of the day, Guam’s youth national training squad members won their matches against the visitors, including the final match. On behalf of GFA, youth administrator Robby De Guzman participated in a gift exchange with the visitors, and also presented a KIA FIFA World Cup promotional soccer ball to the visiting group.
PHOTO GALLERY:


GPS Sports Calendar
February 2023
- SU
- MO
- TU
- WE
- TH
- FR
- SA
Events for January
1st
ISA GIRLS SOCCER
ISA BOYS BASKETBALL
Events for February
2nd
ISA BASEBALL LEAGUE
ISA TRACK & FIELD MEET
IIAAG BEACH VOLLEYBALL
IIAAG TENNIS LEAGUE
Events for February
3rd
ISA TRACK & FIELD MEET
IIAAG BEACH VOLLEYBALL
IIAAG BOYS BASKETBALL
ISA GIRLS SOCCER
TRITONS BASEBALL INVITATIONAL PLAYOFFS
Events for February
4th
ISA BASEBALL LEAGUE
IIAAG BEACH VOLLEYBALL
Events for February
6th
IIAAG BEACH VOLLEYBALL
ISA GIRLS SOCCER
IIAAG BOYS BASKETBALL
ISA BOYS BASKETBALL
Events for February
7th
ISA BASEBALL LEAGUE
IIAAG BEACH VOLLEYBALL
IIAAG TENNIS LEAGUE
IIAAG BOYS BASKETBALL
Events for February
8th
ISA GIRLS SOCCER
ISA BOYS BASKETBALL
Events for February
9th
ISA BASEBALL LEAGUE
ISA TRACK & FIELD MEET
IIAAG BEACH VOLLEYBALL
IIAAG TENNIS LEAGUE
Events for February
10th
ISA GIRLS SOCCER
ISA TRACK & FIELD MEET
IIAAG BEACH VOLLEYBALL
IIAAG BOYS BASKETBALL
TRITONS BASEBALL INVITATIONAL FINALS
Events for February
11th
Events for February
13th
IIAAG BEACH VOLLEYBALL PLAYOFFS
ISA GIRLS SOCCER
ISA BOYS BASKETBALL
IIAAG BOYS BASKETBALL
Events for February
14th
IIAAG BEACH VOLLEYBALL PLAYOFFS
ISA BASEBALL LEAGUE
IIAAG TENNIS LEAGUE
IIAAG BOYS BASKETBALL
Events for February
15th
IIAAG BEACH VOLLEYBALL PLAYOFFS
ISA BOYS BASKETBALL
ISA GIRLS SOCCER
Events for February
16th
ISA BASEBALL LEAGUE
ISA TRACK & FIELD MEET
IIAAG TENNIS LEAGUE
IIAAG BEACH VOLLEYBALL PLAYOFFS
Events for February
17th
ISA TRACK & FIELD MEET
IIAAG BOYS BASKETBALL
ISA GIRLS SOCCER
Events for February
18th
World Athletics Cross Country Championships
ISA BASEBALL LEAGUE
Events for February
19th
SPRINT TRIATHLON, PACIFIC GAMES QUALIFIER
MONSTER ENERGY MOTOCROSS ROUND 2
Events for February
20th
IIAAG BEACH VOLLEYBALL PLAYOFFS
ISA GIRLS SOCCER
ISA BOYS BASKETBALL
Events for February
21st
IIAAG BEACH VOLLEYBALL PLAYOFFS
ISA BASEBALL LEAGUE
IIAAG TENNIS LEAGUE
IIAAG BOYS BASKETBALL
Events for February
22nd
IIAAG BEACH VOLLEYBALL PLAYOFFS
ISA GIRLS SOCCER
ISA BOYS BASKETBALL
Events for February
23rd
IIAAG BEACH VOLLEYBALL PLAYOFFS
ISA BASEBALL LEAGUE
IIAAG TENNIS LEAGUE
Events for February
24th
ISA GIRLS SOCCER
IIAAG BOYS BASKETBALL QUARTERFINALS
Events for February
24th
Events for February
25th
Events for February
27th
IIAAG BEACH VOLLEYBALL PLAYOFFS
ISA BOYS BASKETBALL SEMIFINALS
ISA GIRLS SOCCER SEMIFINALS
Events for February
28th
IIAAG BEACH VOLLEYBALL FINALS
ISA BASEBALL LEAGUE SEMIFINALS
IIAAG TENNIS LEAGUE
IIAAG BOYS BASKETBALL SEMIFINALS

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