For a split second, Saturday, it looked like a Japanese team would win the Canadian Rockies Snow Battle, securing itself a spot in the World Championships this winter.
The team, Itte Q, was made up of seven a-list Japanese celebrities who travelled to Jasper to film footage for a television show.
The team, whose players had never before played the sport, worked its way up the ranks, all the way into the final match of the day.
It was there that the agile Japanese snowball throwers faced off against the Canadian Snowbattlers.
The Battlers have won all three snow battles held in Jasper, and last February represented the country in the World Championships in Japan.
In the final match of the tournament, Saturday afternoon, it took the Canadian boys all three periods to oust their opponents, ensuring they would again represent the country in Japan next year.
The Canadian team, which has now started fundraising for the cost of travel and accommodation for the championships, might find itself some sudden fame when it arrives in Japan, as footage of its match against Itte Q will air on Nippon TV Jan. 5, 2014.
The program it will appear on, loosely translated to Quest to the End of the World, is exceptionally popular in Japan, reaching 18 million viewers.
The television network chose to come to Jasper last weekend because of the snow battle鈥攁 sport that originated in Japan during the 1980s.
The sport, which is called Yukigassen in Japan, is like a cross between dodgeball and capture the flag.
Tourism Jasper has hosted the Canadian Rockies Snow Battle three times since 2012 and each year it has grown with popularity.
Nicole Veerman
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