Ashbourne Royal Shrovetide Football Game

Every year on Shrove Tuesday and Ash Wednesday one of the biggest football games in the world takes place in a town called Ashbourne in Derbyshire.
It is called the ‘Ashbourne Royal Shrovetide Football Game’, and it is thought to have started in the 12th Century. The game was first recorded in 1682, and has taken place every year since this time.

The game is played by two teams – the Up’Ards vs the Down’Ards.
To be a member of the Up’Ards team, you must have been born on the north side of the Henmore river.
To be a member of the Down’Ards team, you must have been born on the south side of the Henmore river.
The Henmore river is the river that runs through Ashbourne.

There are hundreds of members on each team, and the playing field is 3 miles long, 2 miles wide and Ashbourne town is right in the center.

The game starts at 2pm on Shrove Tuesday in Ashbourne town center, and continues until 10pm. If a goal is scored before 5pm, then a new ball is placed in the town center and the game starts again. If a goal is scored after 5pm, then the game ends for that day. The same schedule is repeated on Ash Wednesday.

The two goal posts are 3 miles apart. There is one goal post in the small village of Sturston, and one goal post in the village of Clifton. In order to score a goal, the ball must be tapped three times against one of the goal posts. The Up’Ards try to take the ball to the Sturston goal post, while the Down’Ards try and take the ball to the Clifton goal post.

The game looks more like rugby than football (soccer). There is lot’s of pushing, pulling, holding, and mauling. The ball can be kicked, carried, or thrown, but it’s usually passed between large groups of players on the same team.

The balls are very special because they are all handmade and take a few weeks to paint. They are made of leather and filled with pieces of cork. A ball weighs about 1.8 kg.

Rules
There are very few rules in existence. The main ones are:
– Committing murder is prohibited. Unnecessary violence is frowned upon.
– The ball may not be carried in a motorised vehicle.
– The ball may not be hidden in a bag, coat or rucksack, etc.
– Cemeteries, churchyards and the town memorial gardens are strictly out of bounds.
– Playing after 10 pm is forbidden.
– To score a goal the ball must be tapped 3 times in the area of the goal.

Recent results
2006: 1–1 Draw
2007: Up’ards win 1–0
2008: Up’ards win 2–0
2009: 1–1 Draw
2010: Down’ards win 1–0
2011: 2–2 Draw
2012: Draw
2013: Draw
2014: Up’ards win 2–0
2015: Up’ards win 1–0
2016: Draw 1-1

 

Picture reference:

The goal posts in Clifton: Adrian Roebuck at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, Link

The goal posts in Sturston: Adrian Roebuck at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, Link

The game starts: Will De Freitas. “The Royal Shrovetide Football at Ashbourne”. Feb 21, 2012. Online image. Flickr. Link

Pushing, pulling, holding, mauling: Will De Freitas. “The Royal Shrovetide Football at Ashbourne”. Feb 22, 2012. Online image. Flickr. Link

3 balls hanging in local pub: By Source (WP:NFCC#4), Fair use, Link