British traditional sports you didn’t know existed

Sports have been around since ancient times and people loved betting on them ever since. Today, you can use a Unibet promotional code 2018 to make your bets online. There are dozens sports played only in specific parts of the UK, thus not getting enough coverage even though they are fun and entertaining. You could think of them as part of local heritage. Let’s explore some of the most interesting folk sports from rural UK.

Cooper’s Hill Cheese Rolling competition

This event is annually held in Gloucester, England, on the Spring Bank Holiday. The event is actually known around the world and gathers international competitors. The Cheese Rolling contest enjoys worldwide acknowledgement unlike many other traditional British sports. Until 2010, nominated locals took care of organizing this event but since then it’s basically taking place spontaneously without any management.

What’s actually happening is that a Double Gloucester cheese weighing 9 pounds is sent rolling down the hill and people start racing after it. The first to cross the finish line gets to keep the cheese.

You should know that the 1 second head start is enough for the cheese to reach speeds up to 70 miles per hour thus making this event a quite dangerous one. For that reason, since 2013, they are no longer using real cheese, as it was replaced by a foam replica to address safety concerns. Nonetheless, the winner does get a real 9-pound Double Gloucester cheese roll.

Aunt Sally

This traditional English sport is mainly played in Oxfordshire and surrounding counties as early as the 17th century, but under a different name. The current term comes from a low-life character named Black Sall that appeared in Life of London by Pierce Egan in the 19th century.

The game basically consists in having players throw sticks or battens at a mould that represents an old woman head. There are 2 teams consisting in 8 players each. The purpose is to knock the head off without hitting the metal spike on which it is placed. If you hit the spike first, the score does not count. It’s a quite rudimentary game and yet enjoyed by many people.

Bog snorkeling

This sport consists in going through a water filled trench made of a peat bog. Bog snorkeling began in 1976 in Wales, precisely in Llanwrtyd Wells. There’s actually a World Bog Snorkelling Championship that takes place every year since 1985 on the August Bank Holiday in the town where it all began. Australia, Ireland and Sweden also organize bog snorkeling competitions or a version of the sport, such as mountain bike bog snorkeling.

Competitors must complete 2 consecutive lengths and the winner is the one who does it in the shortest amount of time. You can’t use conventional swimming strokes and you have to rely only on the flippers you will be wearing. Contestants are also given a snorkel and a wetsuit, the latter not being mandatory but often worn. The current record is hold by Paddy Lambe who finished 2 lengths in 1 minute and 19 seconds in September 2016.