Helmeted teams hurled snowballs at each other in a fierce winter showdown in northern Japan – and organisers want to see it at the Winter Olympics!

More than 1,000 players competed in this year’s Showa-Shinzan International Yukigassen in Sobetsu, Hokkaido, battling across a pitch with flags, barricades and strict rules. Teams of seven have 90 snowballs per set, which lasts three minutes, and must either capture the flag or eliminate all their opponents to win. The first to two sets wins.

First launched in 1989 to boost tourism after a volcanic eruption, the sport is now played in 13 countries.

Yuji Ano, president of the tournament’s organising committee, told AFP: “It’s the oldest winter sport in human history; long before skating or skiing, humans were already throwing snowballs at each other. That’s its biggest appeal.”