Subscribe | UPI Odd Newsletter Subscribe HOLLYWOOD, Fla., Feb. 8 (UPI) -- Ten men, one as old as 58, spent their weekend wrestling big alligators in Florida, organizers of the first major gator wrestling contest in decades said. The Seminole Okalee Indian Village Alligator Wrestling Competition was winding up Sunday at the Hard Rock Casino in Hollywood with the wrestlers chasing a top prize of $3,000. It was the first-ever contest in the Sunshine State open to non-Indians, The Miami Herald reported. Advertisement The contestants either are, or once were, professional gator wrestlers at Florida gator farms or Indian villages. In the competition, an alligator as big as 8 feet long gets tossed into 7 feet of water and a man dives in to get it. The contest is part of the first Seminole Okalee Indian Festival, an art, music and culture fair. The newspaper noted gator wrestling rules are few. "I don't want to see no hitting the alligator, no jabbing the alligator,'' said competition judge Paul Simmons, himself a veteran wrestler. "Don't disrespect the alligator.'' Bleeding too much could get a wrestler disqualified. Contestants had to sign a waiver, acknowledging that alligator wrestling is very dangerous and can result in serious injury or even death. Advertisement
