News - Germany holds competition for men with strongest fingers

Despite the threat of dislocated fingers and strained muscles, over 150 Bavarian men came together Sunday to compete in Germany’s unique national championship of “Fingerhakeln,” or finger wrestling, reports AP. The “finger wrestlers” met in a big beer tent in the small southern village of Bernbeuren. Around 1,000 visitors cheered on the all-male contestants. Finger wrestling, a well-known competitive sport in Germany’s Alpine region and neighboring Austria, originated as a way to settle disputes. In each round, two competitors sit on opposite sides of a solid table and each hooks one finger—usually the middle finger—through opposite sides of a small leather loop. As soon as a referee signals the start, a contestant tries to pull the other across the table swiftly.  The whole thing usually lasts a few seconds, and digits put out of their joints are common. The winner moves to the next round. Customarily, only men are allowed to participate in finger-wrestling competitions. At Sunday’s tournament, the youngest competitor was 15 years old and the oldest—70.