Ears Rip and Fans Wince in an Olympic Contest Where Competitors Test Pain Limits

Thousands of fans have flocked to Fairbanks, Alaska for the World Eskimo-Indian Olympics which host a variety of unique events which test stamina and pain threshold.

An Olympic Games with a difference features a brutal event that sees ears ripped and leaves fans wincing.

Thousands have flocked to Fairbanks, Alaska for the World Eskimo-Indian Olympics (WEIO), which concludes on Saturday (July 15). The annual event is a celebration of Eskimo culture, with events that mirror the punishing tasks routinely undertaken by community members dating back hundreds of years.

WEIO was launched in 1961 after two non-Native airline pilots, Bill English, and Tom Richards Sr, decided to revive local customs which they felt were in danger of being eroded.

The event has grown in the 60-plus years since and up to 3,000 spectators were expected at the Big Dipper Ice Arena to watch Native athletes from across Alaska in action this week.

They will have witnessed events like the Indian stick pull – a test of grip where competitors attempt to wrench a short, greased stick from their rival – and the Eskimo stick pull, a variation that features a longer stick and relies more on strength.

Meanwhile, the four-man carry tests how far a single competitor can carry four volunteers draped across them. But arguably the most eye-catching - and surely the most painful - discipline is the ear pull, basically a tug-of-war with your ears.

The game aims to pull the sinew off your opponent’s ear or force them to submit. Stamina and a high pain threshold are essential traits for competitors. With no categories and a minimum age of 12, it is perfectly feasible for children to go up against veteran ear pullers.

It is not the only ear-relate event. The ‘ear weight’ sees lead weights suspended from competitors' ears who then attempt to walk as far as possible.

WEIO is proving important for young people for several reasons. As well as helping young Alaskans reconnect with their roots, it is playing a role in helping people who are recovering from addiction. Statistically, Native Alaskans have some of the highest rates of drug and alcohol abuse in the United States.

"Some of the people we worked with were at risk or recovering from battling drugs and alcohol – young people, high-school-age people. We would actively recruit them to come and learn the games," WEIO board chairperson Gina Kalloch told the BBC.

"My fondest memories would be when we'd get someone who was at risk and barely spoke to you – didn't want to be there, with an attitude.

"Then they would discover there was something in their culture that they were good at, that they could practice, and could give them a lot of pride in themselves and their culture."

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