Funerals are grave experiences — grave digging competitions, not so much. At least not in Trencin, Slovakia, where the annual International Grave Digging Championships takes place. Eleven 2-member teams from Slovakia, Poland and Hungary get down and dirty to see who can dig the best grave in the fastest time using only shovels and picks. Speaking of picks, grave digging judges are pretty picky about what makes a good grave: It has to be 5 feet deep, 6.5 feet long and 3 feet wide. First held in 2016, the championship has only been interrupted by the pandemic. Hungary’s Association of Cemetery Operators and Maintainers created it not for spectacle, but to honor a profession that usually goes unseen. Digging graves demands strength, accuracy, and mental stamina, yet the people who do it often get little acknowledgment. The contest is meant to change that — and maybe even convince a younger generation to pick up a shovel. Spectators watch as competitors shape perfectly straight walls in the earth, toss dirt with practiced efficiency, and build mounds as uniform as anything in landscaping. The contest reframes routine cemetery work as something technical and exacting, equal parts muscle and craft. The event closes with medals and trophies, symbols that mean more than the hardware itself, because they recognize skill and endurance in a profession most people never stop to consider.
