At the Super Fun Days Out base in Hampshire we are still covered in a blanket of snow. If like us you have made the most of this, you have probably built a snowman, sledded down a nearby hill and thrown snowballs at your closest mates. For those of us in the U.K, the snow day is a magical thing, a rare opportunity to take advantage of piles of white stuff.
But in colder countries that get snow more regularly and routinely a snowball fighting is organised and competitive. Began in Japan, Yukigassen roughly translates as “snow battle.” Started in 1989, in Sobetsu, Hokkaido – Japan, Yukigassen regularly attracts up to 150 teams, and over 28,000 spectators. The sport is so popular that there are now tournaments in Finland, Sweden, Norway, Canada and the USA and more surprisingly, Australia.
What does it involve?
Two teams of 7 compete with a last one standing way of determining the winner. Unlike dodgeball, each competitor must be hit 3 times (women-5 times) to be eliminated. Each team is provided with 90 snowballs each. As you will see from the video below, competitors regularly wear team costumes, with teams of mafia, pirates and samurai common! The snow itself is pre prepared so as to provide the ultimate snow balls for fighting. In the words of the official website, the “snowballs….. are made with a specifically designed octopus dumpling-style snowball maker.” Barriers are provided for competitors to hide behind, but various strategies are employed with the aim of victory. Note the under-arm lob technique in the video below
How do I get involved?
Tournaments in Europe vary from year to year. But if you want to be at the place where it all began. The 23rd annual Showa-Shinzan International Yukigassen Festival will be on the 26th and 27th February 2011! If you want to hold your own competition or just find out more about this wonderful sport visit the official site.
Check out the video below, for a typical Yukigassen contest!
“For anyone who hasn’t ventured across the ‘pond’ to Whistler, it is located on Canada’s west coast, some 2 hours drive north of Vancouver. It is blessed with an above average snowfall of over 10 meters each year, in part, because of it’s proximity to the coast and mountain ranges. Surprising to some, but it is actually a rainforest area or ‘wetland’ depending on where in the valley you find yourself. This is even more surprising at times when you realise that during the Whistler summers, the land can be extremely dry and arid and as recent as this year, we experienced some forest fires in the region.
“Get ready for the British Ski + Board Show 2009 at the NEC Birmingham. Whether you’re looking for the thrills and spills of spectacular freestyle aerial displays, or hunting for some amazing deals on ski holidays, checking out the latest ski and board kit, learning about survival in the most extreme of conditions, looking to learn some new techniques on the practice slope, or simply looking for a fun day out – we’re sure you’ll find it all at this year’s British Ski + Board Show.”
“After 15 successful years in Zurich, the guys responsible for Freestyle.CH decided to put on not one but two action sports extravaganzas for 2009. In addition to the well-known one that went down at the end of September, they brought the love to Berlin too.
