Yukigassen!

Yukigassen is a snowball fighting-competition from Japan. Today there are annual tournaments in Sobetsu, Hokkaidō in Japan, Kemijärvi in Finland, Vardø in Norway, Mount Buller, Victoria in Australia, Luleå in Sweden, and Saskatoon, Saskatchewan in Canada. There are several other North American tournaments as well, including:

• The 2011 US Nationals Championship was held in Anchorage, Alaska.  They will host the championship again in March 2012.
• The 2011 Canadian National Championship was held in Edmonton, Alberta.  Their event website is www.snowbattle.ca and great pictures can be found at their Flickr page. Edmonton will again host the championship in March 2012.
• There will be a new tournament in Shippagan, New Brunswick in February 2012
• There will be a new tournament in Jasper, Alberta in January 2012

Yukigassen?

The word Yukigassen consists of the Japanese words yuki (snow) and kassen (battle). Hence Yukigassen means snow(ball) battle.

“Snowballs, the Sole Weapon of the Matches, Are Made with a Specifically Designed Octopus Dumpling-Style Snowball Maker.”

from the official Yukigassen Web site

How It’s Played

The game is played between two teams with seven players each. It is played on a court with certain measurements, and the winner is determined through rules made by the Japan Yukigassen Federation.[1] It is similar to capture the flag; players are eliminated when hit with snowballs. Players wear hockey helmets with face shields, and a set number of snowballs (90) are made in advance.

OMG! Sooooo close!

Learn more at Yukigassen USA (www.yukigassenusa.com ) and Yukigassen Canada (www.yukigassencanada.com)