The annual Atherstone Ball Game took place in Warwickshire this afternoon (Tuesday 25 Feb 2020). The Pancake Day tradition saw hundreds of eager competitors battling to gain control of an oversized ball. Sadly, the event was halted early after a medical emergency involving one of the stewards. His condition, at present, is still unknown.
The match, which always takes place on Shrove Tuesday, dates back to medieval times and the two main rules are that are not allowed to anyone, and that whoever holds the ball when time is up is declared the winner. The game honours a match played between Leicestershire and Warwickshire in 1199, when teams used a bag of gold as a ball. Shops in the town are boarded up in preparation for its staging, while local children are allowed to leave school early on that day. The two-hour game is played in the town's main street. In 2019, the game was labelled in the media as "the most brutal sport on Earth."
