Dwarf-tossing, also called midget-tossing, is a pub/bar attraction in which people with dwarfism, wearing special padded clothing or Velcro costumes, are thrown onto mattresses or at Velcro-coated walls.
Participants compete to throw a dwarf (who already agreed to the show, mostly professionals) to the farthest side of the room as the farthest pitch wins the game and gets a trophy.
A related formerly practiced activity was dwarf-bowling, in which a person with dwarfism was placed on a skateboard and used as a bowling ball.
In some clubs, you can pay as little as $10 dollar to watch the show and pay an additional $5 to be among the contestants.
Dwarf Tossing was started in Australia as a form of pub entertainment in the early 1980s.
Other countries like Canada, Australia, USA also joined in the unusual sport for amusement.
The act however has been greatly criticised over the years and there were calls to ban it.
In 2003, Canada introduced the Dwarf Tossing Ban Act but the bill didn’t get past the second stage of passing. The bill died at the close of the 37th Legislature.
The bill proposed a fine of not more than $5,000, imprisonment of not more than six months, or both.
The bill was hastily advanced in response to a dwarf-tossing contest that was held at Leopard’s Lounge in Windsor, Ontario, with a dwarf nicknamed “Tripod”.
In France, after several attempts and considerable reasons, dwarf-tossing is totally not prohibited. However, it is up to individual authorities to make specific decisions regarding prohibition.
In the United States Of America, Robert and Angela Van Etten, Florida members of the Little People of America, convinced the state’s legislators in 1989 to make dwarf-tossing illegal.
A measure banning dwarf-tossing was passed by a wide margin. New York later followed suit.
In 2001, Dave Flood, who appeared on the MJ Morning Show as “Dave the Dwarf,” filed a lawsuit seeking to overturn the 1989 law allowing the state to fine or revoke the liquor license of a bar that allows dwarf-tossing. The pastime was popular in some Florida bars in the late 1980s.
In October 2011, Ritch Workman, a Republican member of the Florida House of Representatives, introduced legislation that would overturn the ban on dwarf-tossing, claiming such a ban to be an “unnecessary burden on the freedom and liberties of people” and “an example of Big Brother government”.
Although not a personal advocate of the activity, Workman stated “if a little person wants to make a fool out of themselves for money, they should have the same right to do so as any average-sized person”.
