2024 Vancouver Basho: Amateur Sumo Exhibition

Join us on Sunday, June 9, 2024 for an amateur sumo tournament hosted by Sumo Sundays and the Powell Street Festival Society.

This inaugural event takes place ahead of the annual tournament at Powell Street Festival, offering an afternoon of family-friendly sumo in the comforts of a seated venue. Spectators will have the opportunity to watch three brackets featuring competitors of all body sizes and experiences from Vancouver and Seattle in an open-gender format. Come witness the growing and vibrant sumo scene in the Pacific Northwest! 

Related link: sumosundays.ca/basho

Thank you to Fujiya Japanese Foods and Mikado Martial Arts for making this event possible. 

About Sumo Sundays

Sumo Sundays is a monthly drop-in for folks interested in learning sumo wrestling techniques. Founded in 2022, our goal is to make a space inclusive of all bodies and experiences. This means no gendered matches and no experience to participate is necessary. Outside of our monthly drop-ins, we work with Powell Street Festival to organize the annual sumo tournament and exhibition, as well as occasional workshops and events with community organizations. Learn more at sumosundays.ca. 

Why organize this tournament? How is this different from the event at Powell Street Festival? 

For over 40 years, an annual sumo tournament and exhibition has taken place at Powell Street Festival. As the tradition has been passed on from the original Sumo Fun Club to festival organizers and now slowly to the Sumo Sundays crew, we’re constantly learning [how to workshop the event]. Due to timing, this event is limited to less than an hour and takes place outside with limited seating. However, it also draws one of the largest crowds at the festival.  

Hosting an indoor tournament will allow spectators to watch in a more comfortable environment. We’ll also be able to offer more opportunities for competitors to spar and work on formatting ideas to bring to Powell Street Festival. 

Who will be competing? Can I participate? 

At this time, competitors will be participating on an advanced registration, invitation-basis. All competitors are either regular attendees of Sumo Sundays, have participated in the Powell Street Festival or train in their local community. 

If you’re interested in competing at Powell Street Festival, this year’s exhibition will take place on Sunday, Aug. 4, 2024. Registration is free and on a first-come, first-serve basis on the day-of. More details to be released closer to the event.

To learn or practice sumo, Sumo Sundays offers monthly drop-in sessions available to the public. In July, we will be offering low-cost workshops for adults, children and teens sponsored by  Powell Street Festival.