The Japanese snowball fight game vying to be an Olympic sport

Sobetsu, Hokkaido –

At the foot of an active volcano in Hokkaido, shouts ring out, competitors size each other up and snowballs whistle through the air in a very serious game of yukigassen — a sport with Olympic dreams.

The competition that took place over the weekend is held every year in Sobetsu, a town on the main northern island of Hokkaido, where this game — essentially a snowball fight — became a sport 37 years ago.

On the field, brute strength isn’t enough. Japan’s yukigassen federation emphasizes the “mental challenge” posed by the game, in which players on both teams pelt their opponents while taking cover behind shelters.