在相撲比賽因幕后操控而深陷危機時，一項新的全民運動“挖洞比賽”正在日本興起。上周日，200多支參賽隊伍和1000多名觀眾齊聚東京郊外的一個露營地，參加一年一度的全國挖洞比賽，獲勝的隊伍將獲得“金鍬獎”。據主辦方透露，參賽隊伍中除了婦女隊和兒童隊以外，有不少隊伍都是由道路維護人員以及天然氣公司工人等專業挖掘人士組成的。該比賽中，參賽隊伍在30分鐘內挖洞越深得分就越高；同時，如果挖出的洞夠創意而且參賽隊員著裝夠創新也將獲得一定的分數獎勵。今年的冠軍隊挖洞深度為3.26米，他們獲得了10萬日元的獎金。比賽結束后，露營地的工作人員會將所有的洞都填平，等待來年的比賽選手再挖掘。

?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.

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(Agencies)

（中國日報網英語點津 Helen 編輯）