When Chi Lee of the S Events was looking for a new activity for the corporate team building market, little did he imagine his search would end up with him being crowned a UK champion.
Stumbling across the Japanese augmented reality (AR) sport HADO online, the Hove-based planner kicked off a series of events that would see him whisked off to Tokyo to represent the UK in the World Championships.
“It feels pretty awesome to be able to say I’m a UK champion,” he laughs.
His journey began last summer with a desire to give the corporate team building sector a shot in the arm.
“The range of corporate team building activities currently on offer is rather tired and same-old”, he says. “It's difficult to get enthusiastic about yet another scavenger hunt, escape room, paintball, laser-tag session or three-legged race.
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Chi Lee (far left) and the rest of the team[/caption]
“I wanted to find something more unique. I came across HADO and thought ‘Wow, this is amazing’.”
Technosports
HADO combines AR technology with motion sensors, smartphones and traditional team sports to create a new genre dubbed Technosports. Players generate energy-balls out of thin air and launch them across a field of play in a totally immersive real-life arena environment against another team.
“It started in Japan around three years ago and just took off,” says Lee. “The guy who invented it, when he was a child his dream was to build something that enabled a human to release an energy ball, like in the computer game Streetfighter.
“I contacted the creators and asked them how I could get it to the UK. They put me in touch with the right people and I went up to Birmingham to try it out – and I fell in love with it.”
Using the equipment sent over from Japan, Lee started running pop-up events around Brighton in August for people to try out the sport, as well as starting up a HADO team based in the city. The four-strong team, IDK, were one of 72 teams to compete in the qualifying rounds which eventually left with 12 qualified team that travelled to Birmingham in October 2019 to take part in the UK championships. IDK made their way to the final, where they beat an RAF team to be crowned UK champions.
Treated like VIPs
“It was absolutely amazing to win!” says Lee. "They were a strong team but in the end, we worked together combining a mix of agility and strategy to defeat our opponent."
And the victory saw Lee and the rest of his IDK teammates invited to compete in the World Championship.
“We went to Tokyo in December, they paid for us to go – we were treated like VIP sports stars! It was one of those moments I won’t ever forget. There were other teams out there from all over the world.”
[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vw4tTF5u0l4[/embed]
Each HADO match lasts 80 seconds and allows children and adults to compete alongside one another.
“It incentivises young people to become more active and allows you to get physical, as opposed to esports, where you’re just sat on your chair competing with online players. It’s really transportable as well, it may look complicated but we can get it set up in 30-40 minutes,” says Lee. "As well as offering HADO as a team building activity, we are collaborating with charity organisation and educational institution to encourage young people to become more active."
And as for defending that UK title? Well, we’ll see.
“Last year was a level playing field, everybody was new to it,” says Lee “The European championships are coming up in France and we’d love to host the UK championships in Brighton – there’s a lot of things happening.
“It’s a unique sport and a unique concept. It has massive potential as the place where sport and technology come together.”
M&IT editor Paul Harvey is a journalist with more than 15 years of experience. He began his career in the local press, working for various titles across the north. Since joining M&IT in 2013, he has become a trusted and respected voice in the sector, championing event professionals and reporting on all aspects of the events industry for the brand.
