In the last weekend in May each year (the Spring Bank holiday) on the top of the very steep Cooper's Hill in Gloucester England, people gather with a seven pound (~3 kg) hunk of cheese, to take part in the famous "Coopers Hill Cheese Rolling and Wake". People have got injured in the past and the cheese had to be replaced with a replica made of foam, for safety reasons, in 2013. Some say it was in the 1600s that the cobblestones in front of the Circolo Olimpio first marked the starting line of what was to become Novara’s most popular game: the giuoco della maiurchéa.Today, this cheese-rolling competition has turned into a full-fledged tournament, taking place every weekend for the three months leading to Carnival Sunday. © Amusing Planet, 2021. In 1982, a team of students from the University of Bristol filmed the 31 May event using film cameras. Some loyal competitors organized an unofficial version and thousands of spectators showed up. The competitors line up at the top of the hill, as soon as the cheese is released the race is on to catch it. The Cooper's Hill Cheese Rolling competition typically has five downhill races — four for men, and one for women. In 2010, a group of journalists and local residents threw a smaller version, in keeping with tradition, to keep grazing rights. A bunch of silly people who choose to risk personal injuries chasing after a slab of cheese making 'news'?Sorry, there are a lot more other 'amusing' things on this planet to write about methinks... Perhaps you should go elsewhere and write about them then. [4] The current supplier is local cheesemaker Diana Smart and her son Rod,[3] who have supplied the cheese since 1988. The event is traditional and takes its name from the steep hill on which it occurs. Tradition The first written evidence of Cheese Rolling was found in a message to the Gloucester Town Crier in 1826, though it is clear that the event … The notoriety of cheese rolling is widespread and its somewhat de facto tally of annual injuries has been the subject of much coverage in news and television programmes. Now Canada has developed its own traditional festival. A collection is usually made now to purchase them, as well as sweets, and also to provide prize money. In 1958, the rules were changed from a maximum of 40 competitors to 15 competitors. You don't have to catch the cheese, you just have to make it to the bottom first. Alongside reputable broadcasters such as the BBC Television reporting, the global sports magazine TV shows Gillette World Sport and Trans World Sport have both mused at the activities and the ensuing injuries for many years. It is a spectacular sight to witness the events from the top of the Cooper’s Hill as well as from its slopes. Where did cheese rolling start? That, however, did not stop thousands of people from gathering at Cooper Hill in Brockworth, Gloucester, to cheer the cheese rolling enthusiasts running or rather tumbling down the 200-meter incline, in pursuit of an 8lbs wheel of Double Gloucester cheese. The event was traditionally held by and for the people who live in the local village of Brockworth, but now people from all over the world take part. Coordinates: .mw-parser-output .geo-default,.mw-parser-output .geo-dms,.mw-parser-output .geo-dec{display:inline}.mw-parser-output .geo-nondefault,.mw-parser-output .geo-multi-punct{display:none}.mw-parser-output .longitude,.mw-parser-output .latitude{white-space:nowrap}51°49′48″N 2°09′29″W / 51.82991°N 2.15812°W / 51.82991; -2.15812, The Cooper's Hill Cheese-Rolling and Wake is an annual event held on the Spring Bank Holiday at Cooper's Hill, near Gloucester in England. Take your time. It is run by the local community of Brockworth. Gloucestershire’s Cooper’s Hill has played host to the traditional cheese rolling event since the 1800s, with thousands of spectators and daring competitors descending on Cooper’s Hill, determined to keep this world-famous tradition alive – with this year’s event set to take place on Monday 31 May 2021. The origins of cheese chasing are said to date back hundreds of years, thought to have originated either from pagan rituals welcoming the start of summer and the end of winter, or something to do with grazing, land rights. For more than two hundred years the small English village of Brockworth in Gloucestershire has played host to the Cooper's Hill Cheese Rolling and Wake. Traditionally, this game was played by the local villagers, but now people from all over the world take part. Originally, the aim was to catch the cheese, however, with its one-second head start and how quickly it gains speed, this becomes pretty difficult – and dangerous! Netflix has released a quirky six parter called We Are The Champions that celebrates the off-the-beaten path to glory and bragging rights for folks who are drawn to unusual pastimes, from eating hot chillies to styling absurd hairdos to dancing dogs.. Until recent years, it was managed in a quasi-official manner by nominated locals, but since 2010 the event has taken place spontaneously without any management. As soon as the cheese is sent rolling down the hill, contestants start running down Cooper’s Hill in the chase after round Double Gloucester cheese. Participants often end up falling and tumbling head-over-heels down the slope. Cheese fanatics wept when this year’s Cooper’s Hill Cheese-Rolling and Wake was cancelled amid COVID-19 pandemic restrictions. In the second race (2013) Australian Caleb Stalder managed to catch the fake cheese and claim victory, despite being some way behind the leaders. [10], The cheese currently used in the event is 7–9 pounds (3–4 kilograms) Double Gloucester, a hard cheese traditionally made in a circular shape. From the top of the hill, a 7–9 pounds (3–4 kilograms) round of Double Gloucester cheese is sent rolling down the hill, which is a length of 200 yards. Latest action from Cooper's Hill in Gloucestershire", "Not My Job: skier Mikaela Shiffrin gets quizzed on downhill cheese races", "Stamps: Cheese rolling, gurning and bog snorkelling on new UK stamps", "Cheese Rolling at Cooper's Hill will feature on these great new stamps", "Netflix's New Docuseries 'We Are the Champions' Explores Outrageous Competitions", "Gogglebox viewers left flabbergasted over cast's major cheese blunder", Cheese Rolling Coopers Hill Gloucestershire facebook, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Cooper%27s_Hill_Cheese-Rolling_and_Wake&oldid=999987374, Articles with unsourced statements from May 2020, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Not exactly. [11] Each is protected for the rolling by a wooden casing round the side, and is decorated with ribbons at the start of the race. And how did this start? However in reality, the cheese can never actually be caught. The English have been Cheese Rolling for centuries on Cooper’s Hill in Gloucestershire. Cheese Rolling. [15] The Australian author, Sam Vincent, "questions his sanity" as he is "crouched on the summit of a diabolical slope", alongside thirteen other competitors whilst they are "awaiting the call to start what is surely the world's most dangerous footrace".[15]. [3] The first person over the finish line at the bottom of the hill wins the cheese. Get a round-up of all our stories published during the past week delivered to your email every Saturday. Anon. A first aid service is provided by the local St John Ambulance (Gloucester, Cheltenham and Stroud Divisions) at the bottom of the hill. The competitors are aiming to catch the cheese; however, it has around a one-second head start and can reach speeds up to 70 miles per hour (110 kilometres per hour), enough to knock over and injure a spectator. At first glance, the hill doesn’t seem too steep… Debbie taking a fall like a champ! When did Cheese Rolling start? Cheese rolling has been taking place in Cooper's Hill near Gloucester since the 15th century. The competitors are aiming to catch the cheese; however, it has around a one-second head start and can reach speeds up to 70 miles per hour (110 kilometres per hour),[3] enough to knock over and injure a spectator. The winner gets to keep the cheese they've chased after! Gloucestershire’s Cooper Hill has been host to the traditional cheese rolling event since the 1800s, but health and safety concerns meant the event was officially cancelled in 2010. 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