Every last Monday in May in England, on Cooper's Hill, near the city of Gloucester, a festival called the Coopershield Cheese Race is held. Cooper's Hill Cheese-Rolling and Wake). This traditional entertainment event annually brings together hundreds of gambling people who love extreme entertainment.
Despite the idea formed in the mass consciousness of the restrained character of the people of Great Britain, cheese races confirm that among the British there are enough people ready for a vivid expression of emotions, risk, with an enviable degree of adventurism and the spirit of competition.
The tradition of holding the Cheese Race has at least a two-hundred-year history, although there is a point of view that they ran for cheese thrown from the mountain back in the 15th century. There is an opinion that there is a connection between the modern holiday and the traditional celebration of the Spring holiday by the ancestors of modern Englishmen, or it was a way for them to divide territories for grazing livestock. One way or another, as with many traditional values, the original meaning of the participants' actions was lost, and the races turned into a competition between local men for agility, courage and prowess. Today, however, women also take part in the festival…
From a local competition, the Coopershield Cheese Race turned into a national holiday, which gained fame outside England. Moreover, now tourists who want to experience the favor of fate and their own luck and dexterity can also take part in the competition.
The name of the festival indicates its historical venue as well as its content. The festival is held in Gloucestershire on Cooper's Hill, which has a very steep slope of about 200 meters.
Hundreds of people wishing to take part in the competition, as well as even more fans and spectators, come to the cheese racing venue. The large number of participants has led to the fact that the races are held in several races. Several dozen people take part in each race. Women and men compete separately.
The essence of the competition is that a head of local Gloucester cheese is launched from the top of the hill, after which the race participants rush in pursuit. The one who catches the head of cheese receives it as a reward and becomes the winner. The other two contestants who are the first to cross the finish line at the bottom of the hill receive cash prizes.
Everything seems simple, but the weight of the cheese head ranges from 3.5 to 5 kg and it accelerates due to a steep slope, sometimes to a speed of 70-110 km/h. Plus, it is necessary to take into account the large number of people who want to catch a cheese head running along this slope. Collisions, falls and injuries – is a mandatory «side effect of » cheese races, which, by the way, does not stop those who want to take part in them and compete for a head of cheese. Several ambulances are always on duty near the festival site. Rainy weather makes the competition simply extreme.
According to some reports, cheese heads have recently been replaced with plastic ones weighing 3.5-5 kg, but previously « cheese shells up to 18 kg were launched from Cooper Hill!
The injury danger of the festival has led to the fact that, starting in 2010, local authorities have been trying to ban its holding. But the increase in the number of people wishing to take part in the pursuit of cheese and risk their health clearly only indicates the popularity of this festival. And how can you ban a tradition that was not abandoned even during the Second World War!