Pillow Fight League
Encyclopedia
Pillow fight
A pillow fight is a common game mostly played by young children in which they engage in mock physical conflict, utilizing pillows as weapons....
s. The tongue in cheek women's sport is hosted in a fighting arena, much like a boxing or wrestling match. The League was founded by PFL Commissioner Stacey P. Case, and Honorary PFL Commissioner Craig Daniels in February 2004. The formal league launched at a Canadian goth bar called The Vatikan in downtown Toronto. Events since then have been hosted in both Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
, Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
and New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, but the primary seat of the League remains in Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
, Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
. Fighter Abbie Roadkill, originally of British descent, recently speculated about a similar event in the United Kingdom.
Fights within the League now feature either two or three girls, the latter referred to as a damage à trois, and a codified set of rules. Fighters frequently incur cuts, scrapes and bruises. There have also been more serious injuries, including concussions, black eyes, lost teeth, split lips, torn muscles, and bruised kidneys.
The League grew out of a pair of live events held by performers from Canadian burlesque
Burlesque
Burlesque is a literary, dramatic or musical work intended to cause laughter by caricaturing the manner or spirit of serious works, or by ludicrous treatment of their subjects...
troupe “Skin Tight Outta Sight” at a performance of Mr. Case's band (named for tijuana bibles) at New Year's Eve 2004 and 2005. The latter featured the first instance of live tryouts for members of the audience. The events that followed in 2006 at the Vatikan launched the new League-sponsored series of events primarily focused around the pillow fighting bouts. A potential moneymaker for its founders, the League saw television rights snapped up in 2007 by reality television
Reality television
Reality television is a genre of television programming that presents purportedly unscripted dramatic or humorous situations, documents actual events, and usually features ordinary people instead of professional actors, sometimes in a contest or other situation where a prize is awarded...
and sitcom producers Eddie October (executive producer of Tommy Lee Goes to College
Tommy Lee Goes to College
Tommy Lee Goes to College is an NBC reality television show that began broadcasting on Tuesday, August 16, 2005 and on VH1 on Friday, August 19, 2005. It features Mötley Crüe drummer Tommy Lee attending the University of Nebraska and attempting to fit in...
and The Roseanne Show
The Roseanne Show
The Roseanne Show is a syndicated talk show hosted by American actress Roseanne Barr following the end of her long-running sitcom. The show featured Roseanne interviewing a mixture of quirky guests along with Roseanne's signature style of brassy, in-your-face, domestic goddess comedy.The Roseanne...
) and Al Berman (executive producer of The Biggest Loser
The Biggest Loser
The Biggest Loser is an American reality game show that debuted on NBC October 19, 2004. The show features obese people competing to win a cash prize by losing the highest percentage of weight relative to their initial weight....
and Survivor
Survivor (U.S. TV series)
Survivor is an American version of the Survivor reality television game show, itself derived from the Swedish television series Expedition Robinson originally created in 1997 by Charlie Parsons. The series premiered on May 31, 2000 on CBS...
).
Rules
- Women Fighters Only. No Exceptions.
- Fights have a five minute time limit and are won via pinfall, surrender, or referee stoppage. If a fight ends at the time limit with no winner, a winner is declared by a three-judge committee.
- Punching, leg drops, clotheslines, submission holds, and other moves are allowed as long as a pillow is used to execute the attack.
- Preventing an opponents' pillow strike by holding her pillow results in a warning from the referee. Judges may choose to include these warnings as part of their judging criteria if a fight goes the distance.
- No eye-gouging, biting, scratching, hair pulling, or low blows.
- No rude, lewd, or suggestive behavior.
- Loading a pillow with a foreign object such as a brick is strictly forbidden.