There are many sports that are played when it’s cold out that you are probably familiar with. But there may be some that make you say, “That’s a sport?”
Yukigassen
OMG, it’s snowing outside! Let’s have a snowball fight. Ever heard of Yukigassen? It’s a professional snowball fight with 7 players per team. It originated in Sōbetsu, Hokkaido, Japan, in 1988. The name Yukigassen means “Snow Battle.” Liam Green says “Yeah, I would compete in Yukigassen, I feel like it would be fun to throw snowballs at people.” You win by either eliminating all players on the other team by hitting them with a snowball, capturing the flag of the other team, or having more players remaining when the time runs out. Each set is 3 minutes. You can also win by winning 2 of the 3 sets.
Snow Polo
Snow polo is a version of the original polo; however it’s played on snow or ice. It involves horses, riders, clubs, and a polo ball. It sticks to the original rules of polo, but the horses wear special shoes, something like cleats to make sure they don’t get hurt or slip on the ice. According to topendsports.com, “The sport originated in Europe several decades ago. It is considered as an extreme and in certain contexts a crazy sport as well.” Snow polo has the same playing size as regular polo. It is played with a slightly bigger ball, and it’s a little more colorful. Sara Dresser says, “Snow polo would be interesting to watch because not that many people play it.” Most teams will consist of 4 horses and their riders. But some tournaments, like the one in Aspen, only have 3 per team. There are many tournaments for snow polo, like the Snow Polo World Cup in St. Moritz, Aspen World Snow Polo Championship, and Kitzbühel Snow Polo World Cup.
Skijoring
Dogs, horses, or even a motor vehicle, you choose! Skijoring consists of being pulled on skis behind one of these in different categories. Skijoring was starting to become popular in the 19th and 20th centuries with horse-pulled events becoming more popular in areas in and around Europe. Around 1914, it was introduced in other places like North America and it became a popular activity that many enjoyed. Jayda Bartee says, “I would be pulled behind a dog/wolf because I think it would be really cool and I like snow dogs.” The competition sport has been constantly growing. The most common version is equine skijoring, a race in which a horse and rider pull a person on skis through a complicated course that includes jumps, gates, and rings. The skier, rider, and horse must complete a clean run with the fastest time to take home the trophy.
A different version of Skijoring is being pulled behind a dog. But you can’t just take your dog from home and get pulled behind a rope and expect to win. These dogs go through intense training, learn how to pull their skier, and learn many commands to help them navigate through the course. Sometimes depending on the race, the skier can be pulled behind multiple dogs. The dogs or dog will wear a special fitted harness because a regular collar might hurt them. The dog is connected to the skier by tying a bungee-cord from its harness to the skier’s waist belt.
The last way of skijoring is behind a vehicle. Some of the vehicles that have been seen used for skijoring are cars, ATV’s/Side by sides, snow models, and tracked vehicles. This can be very dangerous because the speeds can reach over 100 mph! Having the correct gear is very important to make sure the competitors don’t get injured. The skier is attached to the vehicle by a rope similar to the one used for wakeboarding or water skiing. The skier and driver must have good team work to make sure they make it to the finish and hopefully win! Before the race day, the team will spend months practicing different courses and doing speed trials to ensure they are prepared for the competition. Skijoring is a very thrilling sport that many world wide tune into watching.
Shovel Racing
Shovel racing? Like the thing you dig with? Surprisingly yes, the shovel you dig with. Shovel racing originated in the 1970s in New Mexico. The race consists of riding down a snowy slope on a snow shovel. Competitors will sit on the scoop part of the shovel and put the handle between their legs. Then they will use their arms and legs to steer the shovel down the slope. Myelle Wittbold says, “I would be interested in competing because it looks very fun and I like regular sledding, so I feel like I would like this too.”
To prepare, the riders will have special shovels and wax the bottom to make sure their shovels can beat the others. The sport gained its popularity in 1997 when it featured in the Winter X Games. The most known shovel racing competition is based in Angel Fire, New Mexico, but it was not going on from 2005 and 2010. Soon after, the competition was banned because people were using modified sleds that were soon banned.
