Go Native 70 Posted March 1, 2010 Share Posted March 1, 2010 Most of the worlds eyes may currently be turned to the Olympics for some international standard winter sports but today in Hokkaido all eyes were glued to the riveting action at the Showa Shinzan International Yukigassen (snow battle). I was lucky enough to be there and see the action live. The MIT snow battle club in pre match strategy discussions Not sure where their teams were hiding but plenty of international flags at this prestigious international event! The weapons of choice for the upcoming battle. Even the refs need protection in this potentially deadly sport. The shake off may seem friendly enough but behind those visors their steely eyes told a different story. Couldn't ask for a more dramatic backdrop to the battle with smoke pouring from the volcanic vents of this still active volacano. And once the battle commenced competitors started dropping like flies and if you weren't careful there was also some collateral damage amongst the spectators from wayward icy projectiles. The faceoff at the two closest barricades was riveting to watch. In the end it was the team with the more stylish uniforms and cuter girls that managed to bludgeon more of the opposition as you'd expect. There's more photos of the victors bathing in the blood of the vanquished but they're probably not suitable for this forum. Unfortunately our baby girl was obviously distressed and possibly scarred for life so we had to depart before the mens final. Oh well there's always next year... Link to post Share on other sites
SKI 15 Posted March 1, 2010 Share Posted March 1, 2010 Nice report. Link to post Share on other sites
BagOfCrisps 24 Posted March 2, 2010 Share Posted March 2, 2010 Volcano as backdrop is well cool. Were those snowballs as perfectly formed as they looked! Link to post Share on other sites
Tubby Beaver 209 Posted March 2, 2010 Share Posted March 2, 2010 a teacher I work with did this last year at somewhere in Niigata or Nagano I think Link to post Share on other sites
muikabochi 208 Posted March 2, 2010 Share Posted March 2, 2010 There's a 'famous' one in Koide, about 20 minutes to the north of here. Link to post Share on other sites
Tubby Beaver 209 Posted March 2, 2010 Share Posted March 2, 2010 think it may have been that one Link to post Share on other sites
pie-eater 207 Posted March 3, 2010 Share Posted March 3, 2010 They look like they are made to exact specifications Link to post Share on other sites
grungy-gonads 54 Posted March 3, 2010 Share Posted March 3, 2010 Imperfect ones will be abandoned. Link to post Share on other sites
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