The first in a series of “Tokyo 2020 ideathon” events has been held, pitting Japanese college and university students against each other in a competition of ideas designed to address various challenges related to preparations for, and the hosting of, the Tokyo 2020 Games.

The event brought together 33 students from around Japan to brainstorm ways in which spectators can enjoy watching wheelchair basketball.

Participants were divided into 10 teams, jotting down their ideas on paper slips, arranging these on whiteboards and then giving shape to those ideas using models and other techniques.

The winning team's proposal was to provide goggle-style headsets to enable spectators to experience through virtual reality the sensation of playing the sport.

“Our idea was to make it easy for people to experience the sport and understand its appeal in confined spaces like railway stations," said said one of the winners of the grand prize Shota Iwamasa of Yamaguchi University.

"We never imagined we would win the Grand Prize.”

Reflecting the theme of making the Paralympics a success through technology, the event was sponsored by the Tokyo 2020 Ideathon Executive Committee, which is comprised of representatives of Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation, Fujitsu, Japan Airlines, Mitsubishi Electric Corporation, The Yomiuri Shimbun and the Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee.

“The teams came up with some great ideas despite the small amount of time available," added Japanese Paralympic Committee President Yasushi Yamawaki.

"We would really like to try out some of them.”