Cheese Rolling in Great Britain has been around for 600 years and has become a popular sport in Great Britain. The rules of the race are to chase after a roll of cheese rolling down a hill, the first person to reach the end gets to keep the cheese for themselves. The tradition is one that has been growing in number every decade and is becoming more popular with the more years it exists. The sport may not seem that important or sensible but Great Britain takes it very seriously as many participants have broken limbs and bruised many body parts just to get that cheese. “Chris Anderson, has 22 previous cheese-rolling victories, sustaining a bruised kidney, a broken wrist, and a concussion along the way.” (Kanner, 2022). Many people take this seriously and not just people from inside of Great Britain, Lampe was from North Carolina and decided to participate. She was on her way to meet some friends in Barcelona and decided to give it a shot, she ended up winning and didn’t use the cheese for a whole month.
Abby Lampe, winner of the Cheese Rolling Race in 2022.
Why would a bunch of people from Great Britain and around the world run down a 200-yard-long steep hill risking their own life just for a roll of cheese? The answer to that question is tradition. The people of Great Britain want to keep the centuries-old tradition alive and the people from other parts of the world trying this are doing so because they can, they want to experience what the people of Great Britain experience.
Cheese Rolling takes place on the last Monday in May and has successfully taken place ever since the beginning. There have been some instances in 2009 and 1999 when people tried to get the event canceled, they succeeded to a certain point as the people just held it unofficially. If you were ever wondering how to enter, it is quite easy. All that you need to do in order to enter the sport is to go to Cooper’s Hill near Gloucester, England. There doesn’t seem to be any tactic to winning the sport other than rolling so you have just as high a chance to win as a 3-time champion.
As for what the people think of their tradition, one of them says “‘When you have a landscape like this, it’s like a playground,’ says 31-year-old, four-times champion cheese chaser and genuine superwoman, Florence Early.” (Wilks, 2023). The Locals seem to love the tradition as well as it brings people from all over the world and produces a form of entertainment. The growing interest in this sport also allows the tradition to stay alive as many others are trying this sport.
Traditional sports like these are what make countries different from other countries. The fact that these people of Great Britain are allowing outsiders to participate in their tradition shows that they both want to keep the tradition alive and want others to experience it for themselves. Cheese Rolling will rightfully stay around for a very long time due to its growing interest from thousands of people around the world.
Source Page
Kanner, E. (2022, November 8). What is British cheese rolling?. The Cheese Professor. https://www.cheeseprofessor.com/blog/british-cheese-rolling
Mata, W. (2023, June 2). What is cheese rolling and what are the rules?. Evening Standard. https://www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/cheese-rolling-rules-history-gloucester-b1085296.html
Wilks, J. (2023, April 25). Customs uncovered: The cooper’s hill cheese rolling contest. Tradfolk. https://tradfolk.co/customs/coopers-hill-cheese-rolling/
Zachary le Roux - English 102 
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