Handbag-throwing

Fifteen teams battled it out for an unusual trophy in northern Germany on Saturday - the "Golden Handbag", awarded to the winners of the annual handbag-throwing world championship. This year's event in the city of Bottrop was the fourth world championship, so the competitors have had some time to perfect their technique. A party atmosphere prevailed as the teams and judges arrived accompanied by cheerleaders. Although the participants were mainly German, they got into the spirit of representing countries from around the world by donning accessories ranging from an orange feather boa for the Netherlands to Rasta caps for Jamaica. Straining for the perfect balance of elegance and distance, participants also had to adhere to strict rules, including a handbag weight of one kilo for women and two for men. Team Austria romped to victory with a total distance thrown of 760.44 meters between the four team members.