Английская Википедия:Cooper's Hill Cheese-Rolling and Wake

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Файл:A view down Cooper's Hill.jpg

A view down Cooper's Hill, from the start point of the race to the finish (where the dog-walkers are). The face of the hill itself is concave, and hence cannot be seen from this angle. The bottom posts are signs from the local council requesting that, to avoid soil erosion, people do not walk on the face of the hill. The posts are removed for the annual event.

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. Participants race down the Шаблон:Convert long hill chasing a wheel of Double Gloucester cheese. The event has a long tradition, held by the people of the local village of Brockworth, but now people from all over the world take part. The Guardian called it a "world-famous event", with winners coming from Canada, Belgium, Egypt, Australia, New Zealand and the United States.

The most recent event was held on 29 May 2023.

For 2024 the event takes place on May 27 and normally takes place on the last Monday in May.

Format

From the top of the hill, a Шаблон:Convert round of Double Gloucester cheese is sent rolling down the hill, which is Шаблон:Convert long. Competitors then start racing down the hill after the cheese. The first person over the finish line at the bottom of the hill wins the cheese. The competitors aim to catch the cheese; however, it has around a one-second head start and can reach speeds up to Шаблон:Convert, enough to knock over and injure a spectator. Multiple races are held during the day, with separate events for men and women.

In the 2013 competition, a foam replica replaced the cheese for safety reasons.

History

Файл:CheeseRolling.jpg

A race on 27 May 2013

This ceremony originally took place each Whit Monday, but was later moved to the Spring Bank Holiday. The first written evidence of cheese rolling is found in a message written to the Gloucester town crier in 1826; even then it was apparent that the event was an old tradition, and it is believed to be at least six hundred years old.

Two possible origins have been proposed for the ceremony. First, it may have evolved from a requirement for maintaining grazing rights on the common. Second, there may be pagan origins for the custom of rolling objects down the hill. It is thought that bundles of burning brushwood were rolled down the hill to represent the birth of the New Year after winter. Connected with this belief is the traditional scattering of buns, biscuits and sweets at the top of the hill by the Master of Ceremonies. This is said to be a fertility rite to encourage the fruits of harvest.

In 1982, a team of students from the University of Bristol filmed the 31 May event using film cameras, with one camera overcranked to produce slow motion.

In 1993, fifteen people were injured, four of them seriously injured, chasing cheeses down the hill with its one-in-three gradient (18.4 degrees).

In 2009, it was cancelled due to concerns over health and safety. In 2010, a group of journalists and local residents threw a smaller version, keeping in with tradition, to keep grazing rights. In 2011, Candis Phillips and Sara Stevens bought and dressed four cheeses, and so the revival of this famous old tradition continued.

The 2011 event took place without management, due to safety concerns over the number of people visiting the event, resulting in the 'Save the Cheese Roll' campaign. Despite the cancellation and lack of paramedics, around 500 people showed up in 2011 to hold some spontaneous races; no major injuries were reported.

The event is traditional and takes its name from the steep hill on which it occurs. Until recent years, it was managed in a quasi-official manner by nominated locals, but since 2010 the event has taken place without any management.

The cheese-rolling event was cancelled in 2020 and 2021 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The cheese-rolling event returned on Sunday 5 June 2022, ending a two-year absence. The spring bank holiday was moved to June 2, followed by an additional bank holiday, to create a four-day jubilee weekend in celebration of Elizabeth II's 70 years of reign.

Cheese

Файл:CheeseMaster (cropped).jpg

Undated photo of the master of ceremonies holding the cheese

The cheese currently used in the event is Шаблон:Convert Double Gloucester, a hard cheese traditionally made in a circular shape. Each is protected for the rolling by a wooden casing round the side, and is decorated with ribbons at the start of the race. Formerly, three cheeses were presented by parishioners, and the cheeses were usually rolled by them. A collection is usually made now to purchase them, as well as sweets, and also to provide prize money.

Since 1988, the cheese has been supplied by local cheesemaker Diana Smart and her son Rod from their Churcham farm, although Diana Smart has now retired. In May 2013, a police inspector warned the 86-year-old Smart that she could be held responsible for injuries. Chief Superintendent Nigel Avron of Gloucestershire Constabulary also made these comments: "If you are an organiser in some way or some capacity you could potentially be held liable for something that took place at that event". In recent years, organisers of the event have felt compelled to use a lightweight foam version for safety reasons. In the second race of 2013, Australian Caleb Stalder managed to catch the fake cheese and claim victory despite being some way behind the leaders.

Injuries

Due to the steepness and uneven surface of Cooper's Hill, there are usually several injuries each year. A first aid service is provided by the local St John Ambulance (Gloucester, Cheltenham and Stroud Divisions) at the bottom of the hill. Members of the local rugby club and Young Farmers volunteer their services by acting as 'catchers' for any participants who lose their balance and also are on hand to carry down any casualties requiring first aid who do not reach the bottom. A number of ambulance vehicles attend the event since there is invariably at least one and often several injuries requiring hospital treatment.

Cooper's Hill Cheese Rolling has been summarised by a previous participant as "twenty young men chasing a cheese off a cliff and tumbling 200 yards to the bottom, where they are scraped up by paramedics and packed off to hospital". This quotation was reported in The Sydney Morning Herald newspaper of 13 November 2008 in an article titled "Return to Edam" (a pun on Australian soap opera Return to Eden). The same article reports one Scottish competitor prodding another in the ribs at the top of the hill, quizzing him if his "travel insurance cover[s] this"? 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".

Canadian competitor Delaney Irving won the ladies race in 2023, despite finishing unconscious, and only learning of her victory in the medical enclosure.

Results

Winners of the Cooper's Hill Cheese-Rolling & Wake

Year	Race 1	Race 2	Race 3 (Women's race)	Race 4	Race 5 (from 2006)	Notes/Reference
1985	Steven Gyde	Steven Gyde	Leticia Burns	Costas Logothetis
1986	Steven Brain	Steven Brain	Leticia Burns	Steven Gyde
1987	Steven Brain	Steve Gyde	Rebecca Haines	Steven Brain
1988	Steve Gyde	Steve Gyde	Rebecca Haines	Steven Brain
1989	Paul Andres	Lawrence Farlow	Kathleen Underwood	Julian Pritchard
1990	Steven Brain	Steve Gyde	Jacqueline McGinn	Steven Brain
1991	Steve Gyde	Steve Gyde	Christie Sweeney	Steve Gyde
1992	Terry Sawczuk	Stuart Heggs	-	Rob Preece	Star Royles
1993	Rob Preece	Rob Preece	-	Jamie Barnes	Andrew Deveson
1994	Rob Preece	Andrew Deveson	-	Star Royles	Craig Carter
1995	Steven Brain	Jonathan Smith	Claire Carter	Darren Yates
1996	Steven Brain	Harry Hancy	Marie Andow	John Shelton
1997	Steven Brain	Steven Brain	Tina Rimmer	Craig Carter
1998	Peter Astman	—	Amelia Hardwick	—	2 races abandoned for safety, due to 33 injuries the previous year
1999	Steven Brain	Steven Brain	Helen Thorpe	Steven Brain
2000	Steven Brain	Steven Brain	Kirby Shepherd	Craig Brown
2001	Event abandoned due to foot-and-mouth disease; however, a single cheese was still rolled down the hill to maintain tradition.
2002	Simon Fowler	Craig Brown	Saskia Thomas	Jack Williams	Event took place on Tuesday due to Queen's Jubilee celebrations
2003	Event abandoned due to volunteer safety team being diverted to Algeria following their earthquake; a solitary cheese was rolled by the committee a few days later to retain tradition.
2004	Шаблон:Flagicon Padam Shreer	Шаблон:Flagicon Marc Ellis	Шаблон:Flagicon Dionne Carter	Aaron Walden	Race 1 winner was a British Army soldier from the Gurkhas. Race 2 winner was former New Zealand All Black Marc Ellis.
2005	Jason Crowther	Chris Anderson	Шаблон:Flagicon Dionne Carter	Aaron Walden	Images and references by BBC.
2006	Jason Crowther	Craig Fairley	Шаблон:Flagicon Dionne Carter	Chris Anderson	Andrew Brewin	A fifth race added due to an increase in competitors
2007	Jason Crowther	Aaron Walden	Шаблон:Flagicon Jemima Bullock	Alan Morris	Chris Anderson
2008	Chris Anderson	Peter Mackenzie-Shaw	Flo Early	Craig Fairley	Шаблон:Flagicon Wade Sansom
2009	Chris Anderson	Шаблон:Flagicon Scott Bevan	Шаблон:Flagicon Michelle Kokiri-Gisbon	Chris Anderson	Шаблон:Flagicon Josh Geitz
2010	Chris Anderson	Craig Fairley	Tanya Silverman	Chris Anderson	—
2011	Chris Anderson	Chris Anderson	Jo Guest	Chris Anderson	—
2012	Chris Anderson	Chris Anderson	Lucy Townsend	Craig Fairley	—
2013	Шаблон:Flagicon Kenny Rackers	Шаблон:Flagicon Keleb Stalder	Lucy Townsend	Ryan Fairley	Шаблон:Flagicon Tomoaki Tanaka
2014	Joshua Shepherd	Ryan Fairley	Lucy Townsend	Sheldon Ronald	—
2015	Chris Anderson	Ryan Fairley	Keavy Morgan	Chris Anderson	—
2016	Chris Anderson	Chris Anderson	Flo Early	Ryan Fairley	—
2017	Chris Anderson	Chris Anderson	Keavy Morgan	Chris Anderson	Roni Aloe
2018	Chris Anderson	Christopher Parperis	Flo Early	Chris Anderson	Chris Anderson sets a new all-time record of 22 race wins
2019	Max McDougall	Ryan Fairley	Flo Early	Шаблон:Flagicon Mark Kitt	Trent Unsworth	Flo Early sets ladies all-time record of 4 wins
2020	Event cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic. Cheese still rolled to maintain tradition.
2021	Event cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic. Cheese still rolled to maintain tradition.
2022	Chris Anderson	Jamie Evans	Шаблон:Flagicon Abby Lampe	Шаблон:Flagicon Robbe Gabriels (joint winner)	Шаблон:Flagicon Amr El Shourbagy (joint winner)	Chris Anderson new all-time record 23 race wins
2023	Matt Crolla	Шаблон:Flagicon Cooper Cummings	Шаблон:Flagicon Delaney Irving	Шаблон:Flagicon Ryoya Minami	-

Multiple winners

Men's race

• Chris Anderson 23
• Steve Gyde 21
• Steven Brain 18
• Izzy (Islwyn) John 13
• Ryan Fairley 5
• Hugh Atkinson 5
• Rob Preece 4
• Craig Fairley 4
• Aaron Walden 3
• Jason Crowther 3
• Star Royles 2
• Andrew Deveson 2
• Craig Carter 2
• Craig Brown 2

Ladies' race

• Flo Early 4 (2008, 2016, 2018, 2019)
• Rosemary Cooke 3 (1953, 1955, 1956)
• Amanda Turner 3 (1981, 1982, 1983)
• Dionne Carter Шаблон:Flagicon 3 (2004, 2005, 2006)
• Lucy Townsend 3 (2012, 2013, 2014)
• Leticia Burns 2 (1985, 1986)
• Rebecca Haines 2 (1987, 1988)
• Keavy Morgan 2 (2015, 2017)

Similar events

Файл:Chester Cheese Rolling Competition 2008 in Chester, England.jpg

Cheese-rolling in Chester in 2008

An annual cheese-rolling event has taken place in Chester since about 2002, to promote the town's food and drink festival. The rolling takes place on the flat down an obstacle course.

Cheese-rolling in popular culture

• A pub called ‘The Cheese Rollers Bar & Restaurant’ located in the neighbouring village of Shurdington is named after the event. The pub has a collection of previous cheese casings along with photos and articles about the event. It has also been used as a filming location for multiple TV programs on the event.
• The game Animal Crossing: New Horizons has a special item called Double Gloucester cheese that is only available from May 22 to May 31, the period when this event takes place.
• 1948: ‘Cheese Rolling on Cooper’s Hill’ is a painting by Charles March Gere, is part of the Museum of Gloucester Collection, and depicts a live action scene of the event.
• 1982: A short documentary film ‘Cheese Rolling Day May 31, 1982’, written and directed by James Hartzell, and filmed by University of Bristol students and friends, analyses the event happening that day.
• 1997: The cheese rolling event appears in episode 16 of the novel Mason & Dixon by author Thomas Pynchon. In the scene, Charles Mason himself is nearly struck by a large cheese-wheel rolling down the hill.
• 2005: A children's computer game from Neopets named "Cheeseroller", involves different varieties of outlandish cheeses, rolled down a 120-metre hill in under 60 seconds, negotiating obstacles on route. Points are awarded for grade of cheese difficulty and speed of descent.
• 2007: Cheese rolling appeared in the television series ER, Season 14 Episode 8, "Coming Home", where a motley bunch of cheese rolling enthusiasts (with accents of dubious accuracy) have a dispute, allowing Morris to demonstrate the Judgement of Solomon.
• 2008: Cheese rolling was prominently featured in the first episode of the UK television channel Five series: Rory & Paddy's Great British Adventure, broadcast on 13 August 2008, and was described as "the grandaddy of weird sports" by the titular Rory McGrath and Paddy McGuinness.
• 2011: Cheese rolling footage from SoGlos was used in Off the Air at the end of the series premiere episode "Animals".
• 2014: The NPR news quiz show Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me featured cheese-rolling in a 'Not My Job' segment with skier Mikaela Shiffrin.
• 2018: The contest was the subject of the BBC One programme The Great Cheese Chase. The contest was part of the German reality show Joko gegen Klaas - Das Duell um die Welt, where German former football Thorsten Legat was supposed to participate, but at the end refused to do so.
• 2019: The race was parodied in Disney Junior series Mickey and the Roadster Racers S2.E18 "Super-Charged: The Big Cheesy". Clarabelle Cow’s gift of jeweled dog collars for the queen gets stuck on the cheese wheel and Goofy and the gang chase it around London.
• 2019: Let's Roll is a short film directed by Chris Thomas about a teenage girl Antonia (Amy Bowden) attempting to emulate her brother's successes in the cheese rolling. The film was screened at BAFTA-qualifying film festivals: Norwich and Edinburgh.
• 2019: Royal Mail issue a collectable stamps edition of UK Weird and Wonderful Customs which includes Bog snorkelling at Llanwrtyd Wells, World Gurning Championship at Egremont, Up Helly Aa in Lerwick, Burning the Clocks in Brighton, 'Obby 'Oss festival in Padstow, Samhain Celtic festival (Halloween) at Derry, Horn Dance at Abbots Bromley and Cheese-Rolling at Cooper's Hill.
• 2020: Netflix released a documentary We are the Champions, covers six bizarre events and competitions from across the world, starting with Cheese-Rolling at Cooper's Hill. The Cheese-Rolling follows Flo Early in her preparations for 2019 and her attempt to win the ladies race for the fourth time, which had never been achieved before.
• 2020: Channel 4 reality show Gogglebox featured the Netflix documentary named We are the Champions, following Flo Early's historical achievement in the 2019 ladies cheese rolling race.
• 2020: The Spanish folk metal band Saurom released a song about the cheese rolling called El Queso Rodante on their album Música.
• 2023 : The folk bands The Longest Johns and El Pony Pisador wrote a song about the cheese rolling called Wheels of Glory on their album The Longest Pony.

See also

• Coopers Edge

External links

• Cheese Rolling Coopers Hill Gloucestershire facebook
• BBC Gloucestershire
• SoGlos.com videos and event preview
• Lets Roll (short film) starring Amy Bowden
• Netflix's We are the Champions Trailer