Kirkwall Ba game

The Kirkwall Ba Game (also spelled ba') is one of the main annual events held in the town of Kirkwall, in Orkney, Scotland. It is one of a number of Ba Games played in the streets of towns around Scotland; these are examples of traditional football games which are still played in towns in the United Kingdom and worldwide. Games are played twice a year, normally on Christmas Day and New Year's Day.

Played in the Royal Burgh of Kirkwall, the two sides are the Uppies and the Doonies, or more correctly, "Up-the-Gates" and "Doon-the-Gates" from Norn gata (path or road), although it is also common in Scots. The tradition belongs to Kirkwall and the surrounding area of St Ola, and has always been played by men from those two areas since before records began. In the past 50 years, mainly due to improved transport, the game's popularity has grown to include players from all areas of Orkney, including some of the outer isles. This has not met with universal approval from those associated with the game as its sheer size is becoming a problem from a safety perspective.

Scant information is available about the early history but some form of mass football appears to have been practised throughout Scotland and England for at least three centuries. Records from 1797 indicate that "Football is the principal diversion of the common people, which they practise with great dexterity". There is speculation that the game in Kirkwall may have its roots in folklore based on the tale of Sigurd and the Orkneyinga saga.

The Boys Ba', as the name suggests, is restricted to those aged 15 years and below. There is no restriction on the lower age limit and small boys of sometimes as young as 5 years old can be seen around the edges, making their first tentative steps into the game. The Boys Ba' is thrown up from the Merket Cross on the Kirk Green on front of St Magnus Cathedral at 10.00, the start time recently having been moved from 10.30 due to the Boys Ba' having a tendency to last longer. The Boys game, like the Men's, has grown in size and popularity in recent years and the number of boys participating can number over 100.

The Boys Ba' has been known to last as little as 4 minutes (New Years Day 1985) or as long as 5 hours (Christmas Day 2007). It can be very fluid, with its outcome often decided by a "break" whereby one of the faster boys manages to break free of the scrum and runs with the Ba, making valuable ground, sometimes making it all the way to his team's goal, thereby ending the game. Boy's Ba winners, in the sense of the individual boy who is awarded the Ba' after the game as his personal property, will normally be boys playing in their final games prior to turning 16 years old, although there are occasions in history where a younger boy has managed to make off home with it, thereby claiming the Ba as his, despite having further years left to play in the boys game. Nowadays this is generally frowned upon, the conventional wisdom being that younger boys will have other chances to win a Ba, whereas the 15‑year‑olds will not.

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