The English are well known for their absurdist sense of humour. From Monty Python to Mr. Bean to even Parliament itself, the weird and surreal come out in so many aspects of everyday life in the United Kingdom. Thus, it comes with absolutely zero surprise that amongst all the slapstick antics of John Cleese, Michael Palin, Rowan Atkinson, et al. that the English also have their own liturgy of weird, violent sports to pick from. This week’s focus takes us to Gloucestershire for a contest that’s been running since before anyone can even remember: the Cooper’s Hill Cheese-Rolling and Wake.

Historically, this event has been running for hundreds of years, though documentation appears to be somewhat spotty. According to historians, it’s believed to be rooted in an ancient pagan festival meant to promote fertility and good growth on pastures.

In the village of Brockworth, just outside of Gloucester, the cheese-rolling occurs every May on the bank holiday late in the month (typically the last Monday of the month). Since 2010, the event has not been officially run by any company or sanctioning body due to a lack of insurance, insufficient paramedics on-hand, crowds too large to adequately manage, and the decision to charge an entry fee for competitors, which resulted in some major backlash. However, the ceasing of an officially sanctioned competition (and disregarding police warnings) has resulted in a crew of volunteers stepping up to ensure the event continues on as normal. Fortunately, the event has run very smoothly in the five years since the organizing company disbanded, and hopes are high for this year’s 2016 edition, set to run on May 30th.

The rules of the competition are very simple: there’s a mass start at the top of the hill. A 9-lb. hard wheel of cheese (Double Gloucester, unique to the area) is rolled down the giant hill, and competitors race as fast as they can to be the first one down, with the winner receiving the wheel of cheese as the prize. There are races up the hill as well, which seems unbelievably brutal to think that someone could be competing in multiple events in the same day.

The result is pure carnage.

For starters, this is the hill, in question. Most of the year, it’s fenced off, to prevent any nincompoops from tumbling down; however, the fences at the top and bottom come down two weeks before the event as volunteers work to clear brush and nettles out of the way, and trample down the grass to a suitable level.

Next, considering the mass starts at the top of the hill, there’s ample opportunity for gravity to runs its course and people to push and shove their way down. Stick enough people onto a slippery slope and violence is bound to occur. Apparently there was only one broken ankle in 2015, which I guess is pretty good. But more likely than not there’s bumps, bruises, scrapes, cuts and head trauma aplenty. Fortunately, the local rugby club from Brockworth is on hand at the bottom of the hill to serve as “catchers” as competitors come ripping down.

Ultimately, the ideal situation is to beat the cheese down the hill, but considering the round wheel can reach speeds of up to 70 miles an hour, nobody’s ever done it.

The current all-star of the cheese-rolling circuit is British infantryman Chris Anderson, winner of 15 cheeses in the past 11 years and two-time winner in the 2015 event (men’s and mixed races). He’s viewed as one of the game’s all-time greatest – well, at least amongst those who are keeping track of this sort of thing.

Despite this being a uniquely British tradition, in 2013 an American by the name of Kenny Rackers ended up winning both the men’s downhill and uphill races due to Anderson being overseas on tour with his battalion. His patriotism is pretty glaringly obvious, it turns out.

Overall, it’s mayhem – take a look at some of the highlights below.

It’s pretty hard to find a sport that makes the NFL’s concussion policy sensible, but leave it to the British to be the ones to invent it! Somewhere, Dr. Bennet Omalu is cringing hard at the thought of a bunch of folks willing throwing themselves down a hill for nothing more than the glory of sport, and maybe a bit of cheese too, if they get lucky. But that, friends, is the magic of the English – the rest of the world may be completely flummoxed, but to them, it’s just as it always has been.