German Finger Pulling Championship Media, Communication, and Leisure: Games and Recreation By: Gabrielle Falco Pd. 1

On Sunday August, 12 th 150 men took part in the annual Alpine finger wrestling championship in the southern German town of Lenggries. Most of the competitors sported traditional Bavarian lederhosen. These competitions have guidelines governing the size of the tables to the circumference of the leather bands. They also have specified weight classes. Another strict rule is that women are not allowed to compete.

Men wearing lederhosen, participating in the finger pulling competition

It is said that, in the old days, finger pulling was a method used to settle disputes. Today it has the standing of a national sport in the Alpine region of southern Germany and neighboring Austria. It is known as Fingerhakeln -- "finger wrestling. It is taken very seriously. So seriously that a lot of the competitors prepare their fingers with hard training regimes. Some of the wrestlers crush tennis balls with their hands. Others will do pull-ups with only one finger from each hand. Some have even been known to make their digits lift weights of up to 50 kilograms.

Here, two of the sports' competitors are locked in a finger pulling training session.

During the competition, each man sits across a table from each other. They put their strongest finger (most choose their middle finger) in a leather ring. Then they pull. You win by yanking your opponent across the designated line twice, similar to tug-of-war. Pain tolerance is important. Bloody fingers and stretched ligaments are common. In the end, the team from Ammergau, in the Bavarian Alps, took home the title.

This picture shows the table the two men compete on.

1.Which finger do most men prefer to use? a)Pinky finger b)Middle finger c)Ring finger 2.How many men took part in this years competition? a)150 b)100 c)200

1.b) Their middle finger 2. a) 150 men

No Laughing Matter: Finger Pulling Championships in the Alps matter-finger-pulling-championships-in-the-alps-a html Pull My Finger: Scenes from the German Finger-Wrestling Championships scenes-from-the-german-finger-wrestling-championships/ Bavarian Machos Gather for Finger-Pulling Fest