Snowball fights have gone professional in Japan.
In Hokkaido’s Toya area locals have perfected the art of patting clumps of snow together and lobbing them at unsuspecting passersby. In fact, there are now rules. The annual Yukigassen or Snow Competition takes place 23 – 24 February, 2008 and is billed as the “ultimate ecological sport”, according to organizers.
The rules are simple – throw snowballs at the opposing team and take their flag. However, organizers add: “It also takes wisdom to make instant decisions and conceive intuitive tactics required for a high level of competition, which is the fascinating aspect of this sport.”
The sport has now found followers in Finland and Norway where professional competitions are also held. In Japan, 150 teams that have won their way through the preliminaries around the nation will be congregating to the Yukigassen Championships. This year commemorates the 20th anniversary of the competition – and because it is the site for the Hokkaido Lake Toya Summit, the American Embassy has put together a team and is participating. “It is the wish of the towns people of Soubetsu, Toya, that one day Yukigassen will become an Olympic sport and comrades around the world will throw friendly snowballs at each other,” say the organizers.