Boxing Day traditions plus handy guide
Popular tradition endures in South Bay
Two of Scarborough’s longstanding traditions will take place in South Bay on Boxing Day morning.
Two of Scarborough’s bestloved and most long-standing Christmas traditions will be taking place in South Bay on Boxing Day.
The Comic Football Match and Crazy Raft Race draw thousands of spectators every year, with this year’s event on Monday December 26 set to be no exception.
The fun starts at 10am, members of the fishermen and firemen’s football teams will meet next to Lloyds TSB in Newborough from 10am.
They will walk down to South Bay accompanied by live music from the Comic Band.
Then at 10.30am Scarborough’s mayor, Cllr Simon Green, will kick off the football match.
The firemen taking part are not firemen as we know them today – the tradition began with fishermen playing against the men who stoked the fires on board fishing vessels.
The annual match is thought to date back to 1893.
It will be followed by the raft race at 12.30pm, which takes place in the harbour.
The race is organised by Scarborough Sub Aqua Club and sponsored by the South Bay Traders Association.
During the morning and into the afternoon there will also be a mile of pennies stretching from the lifeboat house all the way along the seafront.
All the money raised from the pennies and collection buckets will go towards providing food vouchers for people in need who live in the Old Town area. The event normally attracts around 12 teams and around 2,000 spectators who line the harbour and piers. One of the traditions is that people taking part pelt their opponents with eggs and flour at the start of the race. Participants can be family groups, friends, colleagues or sports teams - anyone can take part. Many people choose to wear fancy dress and have a team theme.