This entry was posted on Wednesday, May 28th, 2008 at 10:52 am and is filed under Futbol, Rugby, Soccer, Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
In the small English town of Ashbourne during 2 days a year the people divide to play a sport with the purpose of scoring the “toughest goal”. Sure kicking a ball into the net takes some skill, but even these people would say scoring in a sport such as rugby is only for the weak. Imagine thousands of people, divided by a river, with 2 days to get a ball across town with one simple rule: no murder. That is only the beginning in Royal Shrovetide Football.
The Time:
The game of Royal Shrovetide is played annually on Shrove Tuesday and Ash Wednesday in Ashbourne, which is located in Derbyshire, England. The pitch begins at 2:00 pm and lasts until 10:00 pm. If a ball is goaled before 5:00, then a new ball is released in the town centre and play continues. Otherwise, play is over for the day.
The Teams:
Through the middle of Ashbourne runs a river called the Hanmore Brook. People born north of the river are on the Up’Ards and people from the south are called Down’Ards. On opposite ends of the town are two goal posts that are located 3 miles apart. The Up’Ards attempt to score at Sturston Mill, and the Down’Ards at the Clifton Mill, each located in a river. In order to score, the team must move the ball from the town centre, to their mill, and then bang the ball on the wall 3 consecutive times.
The Game:
There is no limit to the number of players the Up or Down’Ard teams can possess. The teams (composed of thousands of people) are encouraged to stay within the confinements of Ashbourne. As a precaution all stores and shops board up their windows and all cars are parked miles away. The crowd gathers at a specially designed plinth in the middle of Town Square to begin the game. Prior to the beginning, they sing Auld Lang Syne followed by God Save the Queen. Shortly after, town (or in some cases actual royalty) figures throw the custom painted ball into the crowd. From there, the chaos begins.
The “Rules”:
The only real official rule to the game is no murder or manslaughter. But a good way to find you in a sticky situation during the game is to:
1) Carry the ball by motorized vehicle.
2) Hide the ball under your coat or in a bag.
3) Run into a cemetery, churchyard, or memorial.
Also, unnecessary roughness is heavily frowned upon, although a common occurrence during the 2 day game.
The Roll of Honor
The roll of honor is an official document, which keeps history of each scorer and the turner-up (the person who threw the ball) during each of the game. If you are a visitor wishing to score on either of the two teams, you are out of luck. Each part of town usually predetermines who will score the goals and thus keep the ball. It is usually respected members or families of the town, for they frown upon visitors getting their names placed in the Roll of Honor.
Here are a few videos of this great brute of a sport unfolding:
May 28th, 2008 at 6:08 pm
[...] for May 28th from 11:11 to 17:53 The Fan Manual » Blog Archive » The Game with One Rule: No Murder In the small English town of Ashbourne during 2 days a year the people divide to play a sport with [...]
May 28th, 2008 at 6:09 pm
yes, it’s the strange English customs once again, perhaps some Morris dancers come on as half time entertainment
May 28th, 2008 at 6:17 pm
[...] es Royal Shrovetide Football. Celebrado un martes en Shrove y el miercoles en Ash, en Ashbourn, ubicado por Derbyshire, [...]
May 28th, 2008 at 6:30 pm
[...] They call it rugby on rabies: 1,000+ players; 2 full days; played in the streets of an entire town. The purpose: to tear and claw one’s way 3 miles to perpetual glory. This is Royal Shrovetide Football.http://www.fanmanual.com/the-game-with-one-rule-no-murder/” rel=”dc:source” proper… [...]
May 28th, 2008 at 6:32 pm
Looks boring. I mean there is only one ball? Seems like most of the people will be left out. Would be better if there were mutliple balls, maybe differant kinds for differant points.
May 28th, 2008 at 6:38 pm
These people is crazy, they act like hoes fighting for my autograph. http://www.rejectionism.com
May 28th, 2008 at 8:18 pm
Must be fun to join the fray. Too bad the locals frown on a visitor scoring.
May 28th, 2008 at 8:58 pm
What customs do the yanks have? Oh wait, you left England and lost all sense of culture…
Actually I stand corrected, my friend just reminded me that you have hot dog eating competitions… what the f…
May 28th, 2008 at 9:11 pm
Thanks for providing this. I had never heard of it, and this now makes the running of the bulls look like a walk in the park.
May 28th, 2008 at 9:20 pm
Too bad foreigners can not be allowed to make the goal, it would be an incredible experience to have your name on the Roll of Honor. In my book, this is up there with Running of the bulls, this is something I want to experience before my time passes!
May 28th, 2008 at 11:27 pm
that was so awesome
May 29th, 2008 at 12:32 am
“What customs do the yanks have? Oh wait, you left England and lost all sense of culture… ”
The Spice are so refined. I wish America would follow suit
May 29th, 2008 at 7:19 am
[...] The Game with One Rule: No Murder (Story/Pics/Videos) [...]
May 29th, 2008 at 10:34 am
“What customs do the yanks have? Oh wait, you left England and lost all sense of culture… ”
And yet the Brits invented reality tv…
May 29th, 2008 at 1:36 pm
Wow! A whole town of future Darwin Award winners.
May 29th, 2008 at 1:47 pm
@Bob actually they didn’t, it was the Dutch who gave the world Big Brother, but they also gave the world Rembrandt and Johan Cruyff, so it all balances out!
June 2nd, 2008 at 5:24 pm
Best game and long unforgetful after one plays it.
June 3rd, 2008 at 7:30 pm
are you guys referring to that time we kicked your @$$ in the revolutionary war, or when we saved your @$$ is WWII and became to largest power in the world?
June 3rd, 2008 at 7:30 pm
*in
June 4th, 2008 at 5:13 pm
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June 7th, 2008 at 1:37 am
Good to be back and I thought I’d add another comment. Its an interesting topic and should be discussed.
Anyhow I enjoyed reading your post as it is relevant to today! Ill check back soon for any added comments, thanks.
It would be great to get this thread really active again!
Its also amazing what is a martial art these days with WWE and the MMA progression through Pay per View.
Maybe even American Gladiators
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June 7th, 2008 at 11:19 am
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June 11th, 2008 at 2:06 pm
Hi guys
Good review and write-up.
I really plan to get back into it this year - get in shape and perfect this art of ours.
Thanks for putting together a nice resource. Personally I just got to put in a plug and say fitness rocks
Always good to read about the activies of people.
I have trained hard in the past with running etc in thew army but I have to say combining Q10 and sparring gets the best results.
ALso with the latest in mdeical science and wholistic techniques I would not be supprised if life expectancy rose to 90+ y
June 18th, 2008 at 5:21 am
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June 21st, 2008 at 6:49 am
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June 22nd, 2008 at 4:17 pm
Hi all great information here and good thread to comment on.
Can I ask though - how did you get this picked up and into google news?
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Obviously this is a popular blog with great data so well done on your seo success..
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June 27th, 2008 at 8:00 pm
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July 5th, 2008 at 6:42 am
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July 10th, 2008 at 10:12 pm
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Can I ask though - how did you get this picked up and into google news?
Very impressive, is it something that is just up to Google or you actively created?
Obviously this is a popular blog with great data so well done on your seo success..
July 16th, 2008 at 12:07 pm
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Can I ask though - how did you get this picked up and into google news?
Very impressive, is it something that is just up to Google or you actively created?
Obviously this is a popular blog with great data so well done on your seo success..
July 26th, 2008 at 9:23 pm
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August 18th, 2008 at 7:17 am
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