Don’t miss the first annual Canadian Rockies Snow Battle this weekend, taking place at Centennial Park.

The tournament will have participants throwing and dodging snowballs while attempting to capture the opposing teams’ flag on Friday and Saturday.

Team registrations wrapped up yesterday, but Tourism Jasper is still looking for referees. The last referee clinic takes places this evening, Jan. 26, from 6 to 9 p.m. at the museum, with an outdoor component on Friday morning. So, for those people interested in participating in the event, head to the museum tonight and free your calendar for tomorrow morning, so you can become a ref.

Cheryl McGuffin, event and partnerships specialist with Tourism Jasper, said the last clinic was a great way to learn the rules of the game.

“You can read a book 15 times, but until you actually get out there and try it out and play, you don’t get it,” she said. “I read it over and over again and I kind of got it, but it comes together when you’re actually playing it, then you really get the feel for it.”

As of Monday morning, there were seven teams signed up to participate in the tournament, half of which are from out of town.

The tournament is based on a Japanese sport called Yukigassen, which means snow battle. The first Yukigassen tournament was held in Japan in the late 1980s, and by 2004, the sport became so popular that there were 190 teams and 28,000 spectators in attendance.

The sport is like a cross between dodgeball and capture the flag, with two teams of seven facing off on a 40-metre-long court. 

The object of the game is to either capture the other team’s flag, or to eliminate their team members by hitting them with snowballs. 

On the court, much like in a game of paint ball, there are three shelters per team and one shared shelter on the centre line, so participants have a place to hide and catch their breath.

There are three three-minute periods in a match. In each period, both teams get 90 snowballs, for a total of 270 snowballs per team, per match.

McGuffin said there is snow being trucked in for the field and the snowballs. The shelters will be made out of hay bails that are covered in white fabric.

Yukigassen is already being played in other Canadian cities, including Edmonton and Saskatoon, but this will be the first tournament in the Canadian Rockies.

On Friday there will be exhibition games between all of the registered teams. Then on Saturday, the tournament will begin.