Scoring the Hales

Scoring the Hales, also called The Alnwick Shrovetide Football Match, is a large-scale Shrovetide football game held annually in Alnwick, Northumberland. First recorded in 1762, it is one of the few surviving medieval football traditions. The contest is played between the parishes of St Michael and St Paul on a field called The Pastures, with goals about 400 yards apart and teams of roughly 150 players each. The game begins with a piper-led procession from the castle and a ceremonial ball throw by the Duke of Northumberland. Victory goes to the first team to score two hales.