You are currently in 3-2/Sports  

Although originally created by the townspeople of Sobetsucho, Japan, to attract tourists, organized snowball fighting has developed into an intense international competition. Around 150 teams train and pass preliminary competitions in order to reach the Snowball Fight World Championships. After countless battles and narrow escapes from speeding snowballs, one team emerges as champion of the Showa Shinzan International Yukigassen.

 

In 1987, a group of young citizens from Sobetsucho, concerned about the lack of tourism to their town, decided to host some kind of winter competition in their town to attract tourists. They finally struck upon the idea of an organized snowball fighting competition, and so they set to work writing the rules. Although the competition began in relative obscurity, it has now become a prized goal for many.

 

In Yukigassen organized snowball fighting, two teams, each having seven players, compete on a playing field 40 meters long and 10 meters wide. Each team receives 90 standardized snowballs with which to attack the opposing team. Players protect themselves from flying snowballs by hiding behind walls 1 meter high while trying to hit opposing players or capture their flag. After three minutes of play, the team that has either captured the opposing team’s flag or has the most members left untouched by snowballs wins.

 

At its outset, Yukigassen players had few strategies or plans. They simply relied upon their aim to beat opponents. However, players now have developed complex strategies for attack. One common tactic is the lob and fastball combination. While one team member lobs a ball over the shelter of an opposing player, thus distracting him, a fellow team member pitches a fastball at the same opponent, hoping to catch him off guard.

 

Furthermore, as the sport has gained popularity, practice has become more strenuous for its players. Teams practice several hours every day for most of the year in order to prepare for the Yukigassen competition. The sport demands so much time of its serious competitors that they cannot continue the sport after marriage. The new responsibilities as husband and head of the household replace the old commitment to Yukigassen.

 

Thus, although novices to Yukigassen might laugh at the idea of organized snowball fighting, its competitors take the sport extremely seriously. Yukigassen players train all year long for one event: the Showa Shinzan International Yukigassen, and they deem such a prize well worth the effort that they put into it.

 

Print       E-mail      

Huge Success for Rutgers Despite Unsuccessful Attempt at Perfection "Not Tomorrow": The Work of the Dikembe Mutombo Foundation, Inc. What Puts Football Above Other Sports? Is a Bigger and More Athletic NFL Better?