More than 120 teams fought it on a right -hand tour in a right town in a Japanese Montainous City on Sunday, in what the local weather bureau called the coldest air this winter to wipe the country’s northern snow belt .
The 35th annual war of Snowball’s International Koid in Wonuma in the prefecture Niigata, approximately 112 miles northwest of Tokyo, was the largest event of its kind in Japan, 29-year-old Judge Takuya Kitsu said.
The teams of the five players competed in the two-minute match between the two teams in a field with a tennis court, with points for direct hits with a snow ball.
“Simply put, you make snow balls. Throw them, mark hits and (team with) most points wins,” Kitsu said.
In Japan, standardized snow fighting, known as “Sport Yukigassen”, has players in all areas with heavy smell of the country and boasts of an official body that has campaigned to get sports at the winter Olympics.
According to the rules published by the Japan Yukigassen Federation, which was not involved in organizing the Uonuma event, players are counted when they are hit by a snow ball, and a team wins after all opponents are out.
“Snowball fights are original just one game, so I like when you give a competitive side, it becomes a high-voltage sport you can enjoy,” said 26-year-old Masaki Nakakubo, who traveled from Tokyo to get part in the tournament.
“I think it’s that kind of event where you can feel again as a child,” said the friend of 28-year-old Chizuru Ofuchi.
The Uonuma is deep in the so -called “snowfall” of Japan, a region that has seen large amounts of snowfall every winter.
More than nine meters of snow had gathered in the city until Sunday, according to the Japan meteorological agency.
“When you look at it from the point of view of a premises, snow can be a trouble, it’s a hassle,” Kitsu, a Jonuma locals said.
“So we hope we can turn it into something fun starting these snow balls.”
The tournament was given 66 pounds of rice, a specialty of Uonuma.
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