June 4, 2016
Dozens of gravediggers worked to bury their competition yesterday at a national contest in Debrecen, Hungary, plot 37A. The winning team goes to a tournament coming up in November at Trencin, Slovakia against Poland, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic.
Eighteen two-men teams used shovels, rakes and axes to dig their way six feet under in the public cemetery. The graves were judged on neatness and compliance with regulation size: 200 cm long, 80 cm wide and 160 cm deep (7 feet by 2 feet 7 inches by 5 feet).
The local team, perhaps enjoying home advantage, finished first. They finished in less than a half hour. Stragglers took almost an hour.
News Coverage:
Gravediggers Try to Bury Competition in National Contest in Hungary — ABC News
Dig for victory [exclamation point removed] Hungarian grave diggers compete to be the best — Reuters