Latest news with #Spogomi
BBC News
a day ago
- Sport
- BBC News
Have you heard of the Litter Picking World Cup?
With England's women having won the Euro 2025 trophy, you might find yourself wondering if they could bring home the world cup in two years in the meantime there's another world cup to get excited about, and it's being held here in the UK! The Litter Picking World Cup has been taking place in Hackney in east London, after Britain won the event in Tokyo in 2023. People from 21 countries, including Japan, the United States, Australia and France, gathered in the Japanese capital to try and win the title by picking up the most litter within a certain time limit. How did the Litter Picking World Cup start? Litter picking might sound like a strange activity to win a prize for but it's actually a sport called in 2008 in Japan, it was created as a competition to encourage people to clean up public spaces but it's now become so popular it's spread around the world. In Japan it's even played in schools, and the rules are quite teams have to collect as much litter as possible within the time given, then in the next stage they have a set time to sort their litter. Teams are awarded points based on the type of litter they've picked up and its recycling category. Those taking part have said it is very fun but can be a work-out as carrying the heavy litter bags, walking from place to place and sorting through the trash afterwards, means you using a lot of different muscle groups at different times. And as a bonus, you're always helping to clean up the streets and help the environment. Would you like to give it a try? Or is there another game or activity you'd like to see a World Cup created for? Let us know in the comments below
The Guardian
3 days ago
- Sport
- The Guardian
‘The sorest my legs have ever been': hordes to descend on Hackney for litter-picking world cup
Armed with gloves, metal tongs and plastic rubbish sacks, hordes of determined litter-pickers will descend on Hackney Marshes in east London this weekend. Spogomi, a Japanese litter-picking sport, has come to the UK. Invented in 2008, it was intended as a competition to encourage people to clean up public spaces. It is now played in schools across the country as people gamify collecting rubbish. Sarah Parry, a 29-year-old doctor from Glasgow, is part of the reigning world champion team. The British team beat the Japanese in Tokyo in 2023, the last time the competition was held, when she and her two teammates managed to bag 61lbs (28kg) more rubbish than the host country. The teams have 45 minutes to collect as much litter as possible, then 20 minutes to sort their litter. Teams are awarded points based on the type of litter and its recycling category. Parry is competitive and has run 33 marathons, so when she stumbled across this sport by chance after her brother saw an advertisement for it, she got a team together and signed up to go to Japan. 'We are not avid litter-picker-uppers in our free time – it was luck, competitiveness and enthusiasm more than anything else,' she said. Parry will be in Hackney picking up litter this Sunday, but is not allowed to compete officially because the winners of the previous competition are not allowed to win in consecutive years. She is just doing it to see how much litter she can bag up. Litter-picking may sound like a peaceful pursuit, but it can be strenuous. 'It is very physically difficult,' Parry said. 'I have run 33 marathons and the sorest my legs have ever been is after winning the Spogomi World Cup two years ago. 'It's a lot of very fast walking and you are carrying a lot of awkward-shaped items and using different muscle groups, and it's heavy litter and it was very hot in Tokyo when we competed. We collected over 50kg so you have to carry that between you while power-walking through a busy urban area.' Parry said spogomi was unlike any other sport: 'It is very fun. You don't often get the chance to play sport in a busy urban area where the people around you don't know or understand what you are doing and why you are so excited to spot a glass bottle.' But more seriously, she said, it drew attention to a very important issue: the blight of litter plaguing Britain's streets. Sign up to First Edition Our morning email breaks down the key stories of the day, telling you what's happening and why it matters after newsletter promotion 'It is shocking how much there is. We realised we are walking around constantly blind to this litter problem. When you notice it, it's all you can see. I see it everywhere now, I just constantly see litter. It just opens your eyes to it.' Though the sport was conceived in Japan, she says the country has far less of a litter problem than the UK: 'The UK is so much dirtier than Japan because I guess in Japan there is a very altruistic community where people care about their environment. They have more respect in their culture than they do in the UK.' Because of this, she hopes it can become a more popular sport in the UK so people start caring more about litter. 'It's a shame it's not a more well-known sport in the UK. I am somebody who didn't pick up litter before this and it now gets me into a different mindset of how I view litter. Thats what's really nice about the sport,' Parry said. 'What spogomi does is tap into people who aren't eco-minded, turns it into a game, makes it competitive. I pick up more litter than I did before.' Parry has some pointers for the competitors this year: 'My tips would be: taking it seriously, viewing it as a sport, being competitive and pushing yourself are important. If you are dawdling around picking up litter you're not going to win. Just because it's litter-picking doesn't mean you can't push your body physically.'
The Guardian
4 days ago
- Sport
- The Guardian
‘The sorest my legs have ever been': hordes to descend on Hackney for litter-picking world cup
Armed with gloves, metal tongs and plastic rubbish sacks, hordes of determined litter-pickers will descend on Hackney Marshes in east London this weekend. Spogomi, a Japanese litter-picking sport, has come to the UK. Invented in 2008, it was intended as a competition to encourage people to clean up public spaces. It is now played in schools across the country as people gamify collecting rubbish. Sarah Parry, a 29-year-old doctor from Glasgow, is part of the reigning world champion team. The British team beat the Japanese in Tokyo in 2023, the last time the competition was held, when she and her two teammates managed to bag 61lbs (28kg) more rubbish than the host country. The teams have 45 minutes to collect as much litter as possible, then 20 minutes to sort their litter. Teams are awarded points based on the type of litter and its recycling category. Parry is competitive and has run 33 marathons, so when she stumbled across this sport by chance after her brother saw an advertisement for it, she got a team together and signed up to go to Japan. 'We are not avid litter-picker-uppers in our free time – it was luck, competitiveness and enthusiasm more than anything else,' she said. Parry will be in Hackney picking up litter this Sunday, but is not allowed to compete officially because the winners of the previous competition are not allowed to win in consecutive years. She is just doing it to see how much litter she can bag up. Litter-picking may sound like a peaceful pursuit, but it can be strenuous. 'It is very physically difficult,' Parry said. 'I have run 33 marathons and the sorest my legs have ever been is after winning the Spogomi World Cup two years ago. 'It's a lot of very fast walking and you are carrying a lot of awkward-shaped items and using different muscle groups, and it's heavy litter and it was very hot in Tokyo when we competed. We collected over 50kg so you have to carry that between you while power-walking through a busy urban area.' Parry said spogomi was unlike any other sport: 'It is very fun. You don't often get the chance to play sport in a busy urban area where the people around you don't know or understand what you are doing and why you are so excited to spot a glass bottle.' But more seriously, she said, it drew attention to a very important issue: the blight of litter plaguing Britain's streets. Sign up to First Edition Our morning email breaks down the key stories of the day, telling you what's happening and why it matters after newsletter promotion 'It is shocking how much there is. We realised we are walking around constantly blind to this litter problem. When you notice it, it's all you can see. I see it everywhere now, I just constantly see litter. It just opens your eyes to it.' Though the sport was conceived in Japan, she says the country has far less of a litter problem than the UK: 'The UK is so much dirtier than Japan because I guess in Japan there is a very altruistic community where people care about their environment. They have more respect in their culture than they do in the UK.' Because of this, she hopes it can become a more popular sport in the UK so people start caring more about litter. 'It's a shame it's not a more well-known sport in the UK. I am somebody who didn't pick up litter before this and it now gets me into a different mindset of how I view litter. Thats what's really nice about the sport,' Parry said. 'What spogomi does is tap into people who aren't eco-minded, turns it into a game, makes it competitive. I pick up more litter than I did before.' Parry has some pointers for the competitors this year: 'My tips would be: taking it seriously, viewing it as a sport, being competitive and pushing yourself are important. If you are dawdling around picking up litter you're not going to win. Just because it's litter-picking doesn't mean you can't push your body physically.'
Borneo Post
22-04-2025
- Sport
- Borneo Post
SpoGomi Borneo drive in Miri clears over 200kg of rubbish in an hour
Photo shows the top teams of SpoGomi Borneo, who stand a chance to compete in the national stage, to be held in Penang later this year. MIRI (April 22): Over 200kg of rubbish were cleared in one hour during the SpoGomi Borneo drive here last weekend. Taking place at the Piasau Boat Club here, the high-energy trash-picking competition involved 25 teams. Co-organised by the local environmental groups, the programme registered participants from all across Sarawak, Penang, Kuala Lumpur and also Brunei, and among them were students, professionals and volunteers. Spogomi, a blend of 'sport' and 'gomi' (the Japanese word for rubbish), turns environmental action into a timed competition, in which teams race to collect and sort litter quickly and accurately. Making its Borneo debut here, the event had three-members teams competing for a chance to represent Borneo at the SpoGomi World Cup 2025 Malaysia, to be staged in Penang later this year. Participants collect the trash bags prepared by the organisers for the SpoGomi Borneo drive. Among the top performers were the teams Dendro, which collected 30.62kg of trash; GJ7, with 20.91kg; and 'Winnis Liao', with 17.92kg – all of whom earned their place for the next stage of the competition. Beyond the competitive aspect, the event also fostered in the participants a sense of community and shared responsibility for the environment. 'I think such events should be held consistently, not just annually, so that people can develop greater awareness,' said Mohd Zaid Kamis, the talent and culture manager at Mercure Miri City Centre, who participated in the SpoGomi Borneo with his team. Harry Lagi, in reflecting on his first experience, said: 'I have joined clean-ups before, but a trash-picking competition is, for me, a new twist. It's a great experience, and I am thrilled to have been part of it.' Mohd Zaid (front, second right) with representatives of Mercure Miri City Centre. Each team was required to sort rubbish into specific categories, including burnables, non-burnables and cigarette butts, with penalties being imposed on those for sorting incorrectly. The rules emphasised speed, environmental literacy, and also cooperation. All waste collected was either recycled, or properly disposed of. Ronie Nicklas from Domino Academy Miri, a member of the winning team Dendro, remarked: 'It is a fun and engaging way to make environmental work exciting. I really hope this becomes a recurring event here.' (From left) Muhammad Amirul Rusdan, Harry and Christian Bryan Mareng representing i-Cats University College, in a photo-call with Ronie and Shane Bryan Sering from Domino Academy Miri. clear rubbish community lead Piasau Boat Club SpoGomi Borneo
