在相扑比赛因幕后操控而深陷危机时，一项新的全民运动“挖洞比赛”正在日本兴起。上周日，200多支参赛队伍和1000多名观众齐聚东京郊外的一个露营地，参加一年一度的全国挖洞比赛，获胜的队伍将获得“金锹奖”。据主办方透露，参赛队伍中除了妇女队和儿童队以外，有不少队伍都是由道路维护人员以及天然气公司工人等专业挖掘人士组成的。该比赛中，参赛队伍在30分钟内挖洞越深得分就越高；同时，如果挖出的洞够创意而且参赛队员着装够创新也将获得一定的分数奖励。今年的队挖洞深度为3.26米，他们获得了10万日元的奖金。比赛结束后，露营地的工作人员会将所有的洞都填平，等待来年的比赛选手再挖掘。
More than 1,000 avid fans descended on a camping site on the outskirts of Tokyo on Sunday, with more than 200 teams competing in the Japan All-National Hole Digging Competition。
With sumo in crisis over allegations of rigged bouts, a new national sport might just be emerging in Japan: competitive hole-digging。
More than 1,000 avid fans descended on a camping site on the outskirts of Tokyo on Sunday, with more than 200 teams competing in the Japan All-National Hole Digging Competition. At stake was the much-coveted Golden Shovel award。
The majority of the teams taking part in the 11th annual event were made up of professional hole-diggers, such as road maintenance crews and gas company employees, organisers told Reuters, although there were a number of all-female teams and squads of school children。
Competitors were given 30 minutes to dig as deep a hole as possible, although extra points were also awarded for "the most creative hole" and the most original costume worn by the diggers。
All shovels were measured to make sure they met width regulations, while the other rules of the sport included the penalty of disqualification for any team that tried to put earth back into a competitor's hole。
The winning team managed to reach a depth of 3.26 metres (10 feet 8 inches) in the allotted time, taking home the first prize of Y100,000 (￡753) and the Golden Shovel。
The competition began as a way of bringing day-trippers to the Narita Dream Dairy Farm, which operates the camp site, during the winter season。
Once the winners had been awarded their prizes, staff of the farm filled the holes back in to return it to a camping ground and levelled the area for next year's contest。
