Tetbury Woolsack Races
Encyclopedia
The Tetbury Woolsack Races are held on the Whitsun
Bank Holiday Monday. Hundreds of people line up along Gumstool Hill (an extremely steep street) in the centre of Tetbury
, Gloucestershire
to watch the teams. Each competitor must carry a full woolsack on his / her back and race either up, down or up and down the hill. It is exhausting work and perhaps accounts for the vast quantities of beer and cider consumed in the local establishments.
The races take place between two public house
s, the Royal Oak (the bottom of the hill) and the Crown (at the top). People can take part either as individuals or as part of a team. The individuals race up the hill, the teams (with 4 members swapping places at each end of the course) race up and down the hill twice.
The men race with a 60 lb woolsack, ladies have 30 lb. There are also youth races where boys ages 16–18 races with a 30 lb sack and a children's class. The weight of the children's woolsack isn't specified but it's probably about the same as a pillow.
Most competitors come from local rugby
teams or the British Army
; many of the course records are held by Tetbury Rugby Club.
There are also appearances by the Norfolk Mountain Rescue Team, and a group who do the race on unicycle
s.
Whitsun
Whitsun is the name used in the UK for the Christian festival of Pentecost, the seventh Sunday after Easter, which commemorates the descent of the Holy Spirit upon Christ's disciples...
Bank Holiday Monday. Hundreds of people line up along Gumstool Hill (an extremely steep street) in the centre of Tetbury
Tetbury
Tetbury is a town and civil parish within the Cotswold district of Gloucestershire, England. It lies on the site of an ancient hill fort, on which an Anglo-Saxon monastery was founded, probably by Ine of Wessex, in 681. The population of the parish was 5,250 in the 2001 census.In the Middle Ages,...
, Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn, and the entire Forest of Dean....
to watch the teams. Each competitor must carry a full woolsack on his / her back and race either up, down or up and down the hill. It is exhausting work and perhaps accounts for the vast quantities of beer and cider consumed in the local establishments.
The races take place between two public house
Public house
A public house, informally known as a pub, is a drinking establishment fundamental to the culture of Britain, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. There are approximately 53,500 public houses in the United Kingdom. This number has been declining every year, so that nearly half of the smaller...
s, the Royal Oak (the bottom of the hill) and the Crown (at the top). People can take part either as individuals or as part of a team. The individuals race up the hill, the teams (with 4 members swapping places at each end of the course) race up and down the hill twice.
The men race with a 60 lb woolsack, ladies have 30 lb. There are also youth races where boys ages 16–18 races with a 30 lb sack and a children's class. The weight of the children's woolsack isn't specified but it's probably about the same as a pillow.
Most competitors come from local rugby
Rugby football
Rugby football is a style of football named after Rugby School in the United Kingdom. It is seen most prominently in two current sports, rugby league and rugby union.-History:...
teams or the British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
; many of the course records are held by Tetbury Rugby Club.
There are also appearances by the Norfolk Mountain Rescue Team, and a group who do the race on unicycle
Unicycle
A unicycle is a human-powered, single-track vehicle with one wheel. Unicycles resemble bicycles, but are less complex.-History:One theory of the advent of the unicycle stems from the popularity of the penny-farthing during the late 19th century...
s.