On February 6, the ‘International Snow Shoveling Championship’ was held in the city of Shibetsu in northern Hokkaido, in which teams competed to dig-out balls – of five different colors – buried in the snow. The event was held as part of the 67th Shibetsu Snow Festival, which is being held on a reduced scale due to the continued spread of the COVID-19 virus. Forty people comprising eight teams from Shibetsu and Nayoro participated in the fiercely contested competition, which took place without spectators.
　
As an event held as part of the festival, it was organized on a trial basis by modifying the traditional purely physical strength format to that of more game-oriented competition.
　
Four players from each team competed against each other, with the team digging out the most colored balls declared the winner. A total of eight players ran out with shovels in hand and returned to the goal as soon as they found a specifically colored ball. The rules of the competition allowed each female participant in a team to draw a card on which a condition that would give the team an advantage, is written, adding an element of luck to the game. The final was won by a team from Shibetsu.