And The Winner By Knock-out

Coopers Hill in Brockworth, Gloucestershire, is the scene of a quintessentially British sport ....

Race Location

.... where every year (Covid restrictions not withstanding) hundreds of contestants chase a 7lb (3kg) Double Gloucester cheese down the nearly vertical hill.

The cheese-rolling race down the 200-yard (183m) hill is thought to date back about 600 years, but the health and safety brigade have been trying to get it banned, claiming that it puts an unnecessary strain on the emergency services.They also say the same thing about Guy Fawkes night (both ambulances and fire brigade). 

This year the police and fire services said they will no longer staff the race until organisers come up with a 'safety plan', which is obviously impossible for this kind of event (but the organisers might try the St John's Ambulance service), and I often think that they wont rest until everything that makes us unique is banned.

As you might expect there is a chance of injury, and usually there are a number of sprained ankles, bruised elbows and black eyes etc. For instance this year six people were taken to hospital by ambulance, but competitors knew the emergency services would not be immediately on hand to help them if they got into difficulty.

But even so, hundreds will take part, and usually this includes a smattering of foreigners from across Europe and elsewhere, all endeavouring to race their cheese to the bottom, while remaining relatively harm free themselves.

In May 2023, the contestants in the women's race included 19 year old Canadian Delaney Irving, and her friend Julia Gilmour after they decided at the last minute to enter. "I am a cheese fan and I have never had this kind before so I am interested to try it," Ms Irving later said.

Delaney Irving, who won, did so despite rolling across the finish line unconscious. She didn’t realize she won the race until she later woke up in a medical tent.

The Flying Delaney Irving

 

She had tripped and banged her head, but oddly her now flying motion, meant she overtook her only rival for the lead, and bounced over the winners line, shortly after her cheese did the same. Asked if she had had any tactics before going into the race, Ms Irving said her goal had been to roll if she felt herself falling rather than try and catch herself.

"I thought if I tried to catch myself I would probably break a wrist, so I thought 'just try to roll down that hill'," she said. "That was my only thought going into the race and it seemed to work out."

Delaney Irving - Proud Winner Of A Cheese Wheel

Ironically the winner gets a cheese and the cachet of being the champion. "It is very foggy, there are some pictures of me right after the race holding up the cheese but I don't really have any recollection of that," she said. The Canadian customs officer had seen her victory on the news, and waived the wheel of Double Gloucester through.