Rules aimed to keep all the players safe

EACH year the Ashbourne Royal Shrovetide Committee updates a list of dos and don’ts, which are aimed at ensuring people and property are kept safe.

Here is the latest list of stipulations issued by the committee for 2022:

DOS

1. Follow the requests of marshals, police and any medical personnel at all times. 2. Respect property at all times. The game is not an excuse to enter private property. 3. If “back off ” is shouted from the hug, allow time for players to regain their feet.

4. Act safely at all times, as spectators and players.

5. Park safely and sensibly, avoiding all areas clearly marked as “play zones”.

DON’TS

1. Don’t play in churchyards, the cemetery or places of worship, construction sites, memorial grounds, the hospital or doctors’ surgery, or the allotments off Watery Lane. 2. Do not use any form of motor transport to carry the ball. 3. Do not drop litter, particularly glass bottles. Please dispose of them responsibly. 4. Do not use vehicles to race to the goal. This is dangerous. 5. Do not bring pushchairs on to Shaw Croft car park for the turning-up.

PLAY

Areas of no play are well defined.

If a ball enters an area of no play, the game must stop and the ball will be thrown back into play.

If a ball cannot be found for more than two hours, the committee will stop the game and the ball will have to be turned up from the point it was last played.

There are “back-up goals” at both mills in the event of very bad weather.

The committee will make the decision to use these alternative goals instead of the millstones in the event of very high or dangerous water levels.