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.
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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.