Amatuer Sumo has been gaining momentum over the past couple of years, and has been getting more media coverage. The difference between amatuer Sumo and professional Sumo is that it's kind of a "condensed" version of Sumo. There aren't as many rituals before the match, and the action is a lot quicker. Amatuer Sumo has many participants from many countries, and they have many competitons all over the world. There are teams from all over Europe, all over North and South America, Africa, and Asia. Some ways that Amatuer Sumo differs from professional Sumo is that they usually wrestle on a mat, instead of a clay Dohyo (Ring). They also lack the traditional Oicho-mage (Topknot) that all professional rikishi have to have. They also wear canvas or cotton mawashi (belts) during tournaments, unlike the professionals who wear mawashi made of silk.
In Japan, Amatuer Sumo is practiced at all age levels. There are elementary Sumo clubs, Junior High and Senior High Sumo Clubs, Corporate Sumo clubs, and Collegiate Sumo clubs. When it comes to collegiate Sumo, it's a lot like it is w/ American Football. If a wrestler has a outstanding career in collegiate sports, they will be able to skip the first 3 divisons in Sumo and enter at the bottom of the Makushita rank. Many successful wrestlers have entered this way, like Dejima, Miyabiyama, Wajima, and Musoyama.

 

A Junior High Sumo Club

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(Many of the pictures in this section are property of the Czech Sumo Union and the European Sumo Union. They were digitized by ShiroiKuma.)