Tossing servers for sport: IT experts are once again seeing how far they can fling a server rack

It's that time of year again when IT experts gather around to see who can toss a server rack the furthest. It's a long-time tradition; dating back 10 years. The winners earning the respect of their fellow internet professionals and claiming the grand prize: a golden WSTC Belt.

It all takes place at CloudFest at Europa Park, Germany, which calls itself the "#1 internet infrastructure event in the world." You might think that sounds kind of dry, but to the contrary, it also includes rollercoaster rides, late-night parties, and concerts. Hey, could I join?

The World Server Throwing Championship is quite simple, really. Contestants are handed what appears to be a compact 1U server. The aim of the game is to launch it "really %&#*ing far."

"Server-throwing athletes in Men’s and Women’s divisions will show their raw power in front of a live audience of CloudFest attendees. This intense sport welcomes all genders and ability levels: the only requirement is your desire to throw a server really %&#*ing far," the website says.

The events partners include Nvidia, Acronis, Synology and Supermicro. Tough watch for them, perhaps.

In the TikTok embed below, you can see the tossing in action.

From what I can gather, there are Dutch and Spanish Server Throwing qualifiers, with the winning teams from these earning a spot in the grand final at CloudFest. They also compete against last year's winners, Bartosz “The Beast” Wojciak and Dierk “The Machine” Zienicke.

So if you find talks on IT infrastructure interesting and have a keen interest in tossing things, you might not find an event that blends these two hobbies any better than this.