In addition, Sumo is an amateur sport, with participants in college, high school and grade school in Japan. In addition to college and school tournaments, there are also open amateur tournaments. The sport at this level is stripped of most of the ceremony. The most successful amateur wrestlers in Japan (usually college champions) can be allowed to enter professional sumo at Makushita (third division) rather than from the very bottom of the ladder. This rank is called Makushita Tsukedashi, and is currently between Makushita 15 and 16. Many of the current Makuuchi rikishi entered professional Sumo by this route. All entry by amateur athletes into the professional ranks is subject to them being young enough (23 or under) to satisfy the entry requirements.

There is also an International Sumo Federation, which encourages the sport's development worldwide, including holding international championships. A key aim of the federation is to have Sumo recognized as an Olympic sport. As such, amateur tournaments are divided into weight classes (Men: Lightweight up to 187 lb [85 kg], Middleweight up to 253 lb [115 kg], Heavyweight 253+ lb [115+ kg] and Open Weight [unrestricted entry]), and include competitions for female wrestlers (Lightweight up to 143 lb [65 kg], Middleweight up to 176 lb [80 kg], Heavyweight 176+ lb [80+ kg] and Open Weight).

Amateur Sumo clubs are gaining in popularity in the United States, with competitions regularly being held in major cities across the country. The sport has long been popular on the West Coast and in Hawai'i, where it has played a part in the festivals of the Japanese ethnic communities. Now, however, the sport has grown beyond the sphere of Japanese diaspora and athletes come from a variety of ethnic, cultural and sporting backgrounds. In the United States it is not uncommon at large street or university parties to have sumo rings set up for entertainment purposes. Generally the participants wear bulky padded suits and helmets fashioned in the shape of Japanese topknots. This is completely unrelated to the sport of amateur sumo, and largely leads to continuing the stereotype that sumo is only for large men.

Amateur sumo is particularly strong in Europe. Many athletes come to the sport from a background in judo, freestyle wrestling, or other grappling sports such as Sambo. Some Eastern European athletes have been successful enough to be scouted into professional sumo in Japan, much like their Japanese amateur counterparts. The most proficient of these to date is the Bulgarian Kotooshu, who is the highest ranking foreign wrestler who was formerly an amateur sumo athlete.