Hundreds take part in Japan’s annual snowball fight tournament

ABC NEWS (Australia)

Snowball fights are a novelty in Australia. But in Japan, it's a serious sport, with major tournaments and big prizes.  It's become so popular, organisers are now trying to expand their international following.

Transcript

00:00High in the hills, there's a battle brewing.

00:17This is the world of competitive snowball fights.

00:22This is the birthplace of the snowball fight and teams from all over the country gather

00:26here, so it's considered a holy place.

00:30There's nothing soft about this sport.

00:36It's fun to hit other people with snowballs, but it's frustrating when you get hit.

00:40You can't help but get hooked.

00:43This tournament began in 1989, intended to revitalise the local town.

00:50It evolved into a major event with over a thousand competitors and a comparable crowd

00:56size.

00:58There's now even an international snowball fight federation with 13 member nations,

01:03including Australia.

01:04I first came across snowball fights by chance on the internet and I've been doing it for

01:10over 20 years now.

01:11Never been to a snowball fight?

01:14No worries.

01:15The rules are simple.

01:16You try to hit your opponents with the allotted snowballs.

01:20The baseball pitch is popular.

01:23So too is the sneaky lob.

01:26After a couple of rounds, whichever team has lost the least number of players wins.

01:32Alternatively, you can capture the flag.

01:44And if there's no winner, it's time for a penalty shootout.

01:53It's a great sport for relieving stress.

01:58I throw all my daily stress away with it.

02:02Make no mistake.

02:04It is a contact sport.

02:06These snowballs have been packed very firmly.

02:09It feels like a cricket ball.

02:12And I'm told they leave quite the bruise.

02:15It hurts.

02:17I play it while enduring the pain.

02:23And after months of training, it comes down to one moment.

02:27A nail biting grand final.

02:32There were so many tough matches.

02:42They were all strong teams.

02:43I feel relieved that it's finally over.

02:48Now that's a cool sport.

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