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Topic: Kirkwall Ba game

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	GÀIDHEAL.co.uk - The Ba Game in Kirkwall
		The French game of "soule" was very like the Kirkwall Ba', according to contemporary descriptions, but died out about the turn of the century, partly due to official suppression.
		The Men's Ba' is thrown up at 13:00 at the Mercat Cross on the Kirk Green opposite the Cathedral, usually by an older Ba' stalwart, but occasionally by some public figure, with up to 200 players eagerly awaiting the chime of the bells.
		To Ba' enthusiasts the ultimate honour is to have the trophy of the game, the Ba itself, hanging in the living room window.
	www.gaidheal.co.uk /scotland/kirkwallba.htm (1011 words)

	Football - Facts, Information, and Encyclopedia Reference article
		In all football games, the winning team is the one that has the most points or goals when a specified length of time has elapsed.
		The earliest evidence that games resembling football were being played at English public schools — attended by boys from the upper, upper-middle and professional classes — comes from the Vulgaria by William Horman in 1519.
		Some favoured a game in which the ball could be carried (as at Rugby, Marlborough and Cheltenham), whilst others preferred a game where kicking and dribbling the ball was promoted (as at Eton, Harrow, Westminster and Charterhouse).
	www.startsurfing.com /encyclopedia/f/o/o/Football.html (5903 words)

	Orkneyjar - The Kirkwall Ba' Game
		The Uppie goal is to touch the ba' against a wall in the south end of the town, while the Doonies have the unenviable task of getting the ba' into the water of Kirkwall Bay, to the north.
		Throughout the game, numerous tactics are used to achieve the goal.
		The annual Ba' games were an ideal opportunity to resurrect the age old rivalry between the men of the Laverock (Uppies) and the men of the Burgh (Doonies).
	www.orkneyjar.com /tradition/bagame (935 words)

	Uppies and Doonies - the Ba' Game in Kirkwall, Orkney
		Despite strong rearguard action from the Doonies, the scrum reached Mackieson's corner before 16:00 and the Ba' was won by Uppie Stewart Sclater.
		This traditional game of mass football is played in the streets of the town between the Uppies and the Doonies.
		The 2007 Mens' New Year game was the 60th to be covered by Charles Tait.
	www.bagame.com /main.html (326 words)

	Ba game - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
		Medieval ball game played in Scotland, perhaps most notably in Orkney, around Christmas and New Year.
		Ba' game legal threat fears BBC news article from 9th May, 2001)
		This page was last modified 01:24, 24 May 2006.
	en.wikipedia.org /wiki/Ba_game (60 words)

	The Orcadian Online Archive - Ba Leather
		The leather in question is charged at an expensive rate (approximately £400 for 6.5 foot by 2.5 foot, which provides enough leather for around eight ba's) because it has to be thick to make sure the ba's are not stretched and do not burst while they are being made and during the actual game itself.
		The minimum thickness of leather to make a ba' is around three and a half millimetres, although ba's are usually made with leather about four or five millimetres thick.
		Ba' maker Mr George Drever, of Ingale, Kirkwall, said he was very happy with the deal struck with Brevitt Rieker and the quality of the leather supplied by Clayton of Chesterfield.
	www.orcadian.co.uk /archive/baleather.htm (354 words)

	BBC News \| SCOTLAND \| Ba' game legal threat fears
		The Kirkwall Ba' game has been played on the streets of the town for hundreds of years.
		Ba' is a very physical sport and people do get hurt, there have been numerous people with broken bones and fl eyes
		Locals say that without the financial backing from the council the game would stop because players would be unable to pay for the damages.
	news.bbc.co.uk /1/hi/scotland/1320785.stm (532 words)

	The Orcadian Features - Norihisa will introduce Japan to culture of Ba'
		A fascination for the Kirkwall Ba' game has drawn a Japanese professor thousands of miles across the globe for his third visit to the county - giving him another chance to watch the traditional game in action.
		His report on the Duns Ba’ game played in the Borders was recently published in a Japanese magazine and he has also written a booklet about the Ba’ and the Ashbourne game.
		I think the Kirkwall Ba’ game should be introduced to the Japanese as a surviving folk football in Britain,” he said.
	www.orcadian.co.uk /features/articles/bajapan.htm (627 words)

	GlobalGophers \| GREAT BRITAIN \| Orkney's Ba
		The game has few rules; players are divided into two teams with the aim of each team to get the medicine ball to a set “goal”.
		The “Ba’” or ball is thrown in the air and the two sides thrash it out - sometimes for hours.
		The Doonies aim is to reach Kirkwall Bay and the Ba’ must touch the sea water.
	www.globalgophers.com /UKcalendar/ba.htm (377 words)

	What to "See and Do" in Kirkwall, Orkney
		The building was given to the inhabitants of Kirkwall in 1486 by King James III of Scotland.
		In Kirkwall, every year at both Christmas and New Year a game is played that involves nearly all of the men and boys of the town.
		There are no social rules to the game and if you look, you will see that all doors and windows in the town have holes at either side so that boards can be fixed to them for protection.
	www.scotland-index.co.uk /islands/orkney/kirkwall/in_kirkwall.htm (688 words)

	More ups than downs in Orkney’s street football clash - [Sunday Herald]
		Around 300 men took to the narrow streets of Kirkwall, tussling and mauling for possession of the ba’ – a cork-filled leather ball – desperate to get it to either the north side or south side of town.
		The object of the game, apart from avoiding injury, is for those who are playing “ up the gates” (Uppies) to get the ba’ to touch a wall at the south end.
		Kirkwall’s airport is at the Up side of town, and Paterson, being a Doonie, thought it safest to enter the island through the port.
	www.sundayherald.com /39078 (713 words)

	About Us
		The Ba is thrown from the merkat cross onto the middle of
		games it was considered to be far to rough.
		Kirkwall Ba is the only game that has survived.
	www.walterhaywood.com /about_us.html (1005 words)

	scottish heritage - genealogy scotland - clans - scottish associations - historical attractions (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-13)
		There are no rules in the ba' and although it tends to be rough and tumble there is an air of courtesy among the players who have to heave and push for hours on end to bring the game to a conclusion, which often doesn't happen until early evening.
		The exact origins of the ba' are unclear but it is thought to have evolved from early Yule celebrations and is the only mass football game left of the many which were once held across Scotland and England.
		It is known the ba' has been played in Orkney since at least the mid 17th century but the style of the game has changed over the years and originally it was kicked and rarely handled whereas in the modern game it is picked up and carried.
	www.scotlandonline.com /heritage/main_feature.cfm?feature_id=96&site_id=15&feature_cat_id=6 (1079 words)

	Scotland Guide - Traditions and Culture - Ba' game, Orkney
		The idea of the "game" is that the men of the town are either "Uppies" or "Doonies" and fight over a cork filled leather ball.
		The origins of the Ba' are uncertain but it may stem from the tradition of the old year fighting the New.
		The people of Kirkwall were so outraged that they kicked the severed head through the streets in anger - hence the legendary (but historically untrue) origin of the Ba'.
	www.siliconglen.com /Scotland/12_18.html (667 words)

	February Customs
		The Shrove Tuesday Ball Game at Ashbourne is one of the most famous ball games, though there are others which claim a longer history, such as the one at Atherstone in Warwickshire.
		The Ashbourne game takes place between the Up'ards and Down'ards and starts at 2 o'clock in the afternoon, when a specially prepared ball - slightly larger than a football and filled with cork - is thrown in by a visiting guest of honour.
		The ba' game developed with much smaller balls, made of leather and stuffed with straw and decorated with ribbons.
	www.geocities.com /SoHo/Square/7289/feb.html (871 words)

	directopedia : Directory : Sports : Gaelic : Football
		When the term "foot ball" originated, it referred to a wide variety of games in medieval Europe, which were played on foot — that is, by peasants — as opposed to the games played by horse-riding aristocrats.
		By the 1820s, a game known as Ballown was being played at the College of New Jersey (later known as Princeton University) and Old Division Football was being played at Dartmouth College, New Hampshire.
		This is also often considered to be the first US game of college football, in the sense of a game between colleges (although the eventual form of American football would come from rugby, not soccer).
	www.directopedia.org /directory/Sports-Gaelic/Football.shtml (6342 words)

	Ba' - Game of the Orkney Islands (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-13)
		Welcome to the ancient game of Ba' - the roughest and toughest game on earth.
		Ba' is played in the town of Kirkwall which is on one of the Orkney Islands in Scotland.
		The two teams are the Uppies (who live on the north side of the town) and the Doonies (who live on the south side.) The game is played twice a year - on Christmas Day and New Year's Day starting at 1 PM.
	www.kidzworld.com /site/p740.htm (271 words)

	Independent Online Edition > UK (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-13)
		What is known is that the form of street football that makes up the Kirkwall Ba' has probably been played in Britain for hundreds of years, consisting of a largely unstructured pushing and shoving match in which the hands are actually used more than the feet to convey the ball to a specific destination.
		Similar games are still played in 10 or so UK towns, and all involve various sections of the community, often hundreds strong, competing against one another in roads, alleys and lanes.
		The Hand Ba' game in this Scottish Borders town is rumoured to have originally been played with the heads of English raiders - they now use a less messy leather ball tied with ribbons.
	travel.independent.co.uk /uk/article340524.ece (1719 words)

	Happy New Year (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-13)
		The aim of the game is to get the ball into the "goal" – the Uppies aiming to get the ball up against a wall in the south of the town and the Doonies hoping to put the ball into the harbour at the north.
		When one team finally manages to reach their goal the ba’ - a cork dust filled leather ball specially hand crafted for each game – is awarded to a player from the winning side and takes pride of place in their home.
		Its known the ba’ has been played in Orkney since at least the mid 17th century but the style of the game has changed over the years and originally it was kicked and rarely handled whereas in the modern game it is picked up and carried.
	www.new-year.co.uk /orkney.html (653 words)

	Discover the Wisdom of Mankind on Football (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-13)
		Many of the modern games have their origins in England, but many peoples around the world have played games which involved kicking and/or carrying a ball since ancient times.
		Football-like games predate recorded history in all parts of the world, though the earliest forms of football are not known.
		The earliest evidence that games resembling football were being played at English public schools andmdash; attended by boys from the upper, upper-middle and professional classes andmdash; comes from the Vulgaria by William Horman in 1519.
	www.blinkbits.com /blinks/football (6756 words)

	Charles Tait website main frame
		There are many photographs of the winter solstice event, and related reappearances of the sun behind the Hoy Hills as well as of other Neolithic monuments in Orkney.
		Kirkwall's traditional game of street football between the Uppies and the Doonies is played every Christmas and New Year's Day.
		We are covering the games as usual this season, and a full selection of images are now online.
	www.users.zetnet.co.uk /charles-tait/main.html (760 words)

	Untitled Document (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-13)
		One such place was Kirkwall in Orkney, where a uniquely evolved version of street football, looking like a massive, steaming rugby scrum to the coastal observer and known simply as "the Ba", continues to be played by hundreds of devotees each Christmas and New Year's Day.
		The result is The Kirkwall Ba' Between The Water And The Wall, a detailed study of the origins of mass football and a fascinating history of the game as played in Orkney.
		A highly entertaining, informative read, you don't have to be a Ba' enthusiast to enjoy this rich mixture of social history, folklore, humour, and a century of evocative photography.
	www.scotsmagazine.com /bookRevContent1.asp?ID=123 (301 words)

	soc.culture.scottish FAQ - allanswers.org
		Halloween parties often consisted of various games, for instance 'Dooking fur aiples' where the children had to bite apples floating in a basin of water, once they had one by the teeth they could retreive and obtain it.
		For younger children a more modern game is 'Forkin fur aiples', an easier task, where the children stood on a chair and held a fork handle in their teeth, taking aim, they would release it into the basin of apples and water and retreive and keep any apple they so skewered.
		Another game was 'treacle scones' where children had to eat a scone covered in treacle hanging on a piece of string.
	www.allanswers.org /travel/cultures/scottish/scottish-faq-16.htm (4798 words)

	Boy's and Men's Ba' Games, Kirkwall
		The Boys' and Men's Ba' Games involves a team of "Uppies" (churchmen/upper town) playing the "Downies" (king's vassals/lower town).
		The boys play in the morning and the men in the afternoon, but as many as 200 players can be involved.
		The Ba' Game reflects the conflicts within the divided town at the end of the 14th century when Earl Henry St Clair controlled the castle (now no longer in existence) and the bishop the land around its base.
	www.planetware.com /kirkwall/boys-and-mens-ba-games-gb-ork-games.htm (161 words)

	It's a funny old game - Evening Times (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-13)
		The decision to abandon the game when Scotland were winning 4-1 was not a popular one and many of the 95,000 fans gathered outside Hampden in protest.
		Every Christmas and New Year's Day shopkeepers and householders of Kirkwall board up their doors and windows in preparation for the traditional ba' game.
		The game, which has been played in Orkney since the 17th century, pits the Uppies against the Doonies in a free-for-all rugby-style game.
	www.eveningtimes.co.uk /lo/features/7021340.html (903 words)

	Kirkwall Open New Year (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-13)
		Kirkwall Youth Hostel from the outsideTake a trip of a lifetime to Orkney this New Year staying in the great value, comfortable surrounds of Kirkwall Youth Hostel.
		If you are feeing brave you could join in; there is a junior 'Ba' which starts earlier, but the women’s 'Ba' had to be canceled as it got too violent...
		Kirkwall's cosy diningroomThe hostel has many small rooms including singles and twins, with the largest having 4 beds.
	www.syha.org.uk /SYHA/web/site/home/txt_Kirkwall_Open_NY.asp (357 words)

	Christmas in Orkney (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-13)
		Uppies were born on one side of Kirkwall and Doonies on the other side - as the maternity ward of the hospital is only on one side of the town, it now applies to where people live or first came into the town.
		Goals: Uppies have to touch the ball to the wall opposite the church at the south end of the main street, Doonies to dunk the ball in the harbour at the north end of the main street.
		Play: Someone is given the honour of throwing up the ba' (hand made, leather ball which gets given to the best player of the winning side once the game is over).
	www.bonus.com /contour/christawor/http@@/christmas.com/pe/1186 (428 words)

	BBC - h2g2 - Hogmanay - the Scottish New Year
		The game in its present form dates from around 1850, but there was a ba' game on the Ba' Lea long before that.
		The Ba' game begins at 1pm precisely when the leather ball is tossed into the crowd gathered at the Mercat Cross opposite the Cathedral.
		There is a boys' game at 10:30am and there is hope of resurrecting a women's game, which was played in 1945/46, just after the Second World War.
	www.bbc.co.uk /dna/ww2/A10358165 (3101 words)

	hist-games: Odd Games
		I do have a pertinent book which has some festival games (The Encylopedia of Traditional Games, Pietro Gorini) that seem to match your criteria quite well.
		And one mustn't forget the Highland Games, Scotland in which such classics as throwing the hammer, tossing the caber and sack race all go on.
		These games would be traditional > games played > at a particular time of year, during a particular holiday, holidays in > general, or as a part of a kind of cultural-pride wherein > others who weren't > part of the particular group would not be expected to join in.
	www.pbm.com /pipermail/hist-games/1999/000376.html (614 words)

	Features - Scottish Food, Traditions and Customs - Orcadian Oatmeal Soup
		Orkney Council is apparently now considering not underwriting the New Year's Day Kirkwall Ba' Game which places it's future in jeopardy.
		The Game which involves two teams, The Uppies and The Doonies, battling it out to get hold of a leather ball and running it through the streets of Kirkwall is very physical with hundreds playing on both sides.
		Until now the Game has been financially backed by Orkney Council which pays for any damage caused during the Game eg broken windows and doors, resulting from the robust play.
	www.scotsindependent.org /features/food/orcadian_soup.htm (317 words)

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