Hoop rolling

Hoop rolling, also called hoop trundling, is both a sport and a child's game where a large hoop is rolled along the ground using an object held by the player. The goal is to keep the hoop upright for as long as possible or to perform various tricks.

Hoop rolling has been played for thousands of years in Africa, Asia, and Europe. It is an ancient target game found in many different cultures. In Asia, the earliest records of hoop rolling come from Ancient China, and in Europe, from Ancient Greece.

In the West, people have used wood and metal to make hoops. Wooden hoops are often pushed with a stick about one foot long, hitting the center to move forward well. Metal hoops can be guided using a metal hook instead of being struck.

History

Hoop rolling is an old game played by people all over the world. Many ancient groups, including those in Africa and Native American tribes, enjoyed rolling hoops. The game has many different ways of playing, using different materials and rules.

In Ancient Greece, people called the hoop the "trochus." They used it in their gymnasiums and for dance and tumbling. The Greeks made hoops from bronze, iron, or copper and rolled them with a stick called the "elater." They believed it was good exercise and even young children played with hoops. The Romans also loved hoop rolling, calling it the "Greek hoop." They used a stick shaped like a key and added metal rings to their hoops that made noise to warn people nearby. In China, the game may have started over 1000 years before the common era.

Modern usage

Long ago, travelers in the early 1800s saw children playing with hoops in many parts of Europe and other places.

The game was popular among children in Tanzanian villages on the African Tanganyika plateau around the 1910s. It was also played in the Freetown area, where missionaries saw it in the 1800s. Children in Japan during the late Edo period played this game too.

In English, the sport has many names, like "hoop and stick" or "bowling hoops". In Scotland, it’s called "gird and cleek", where the gird is the hoop and the cleek is the stick.

In the west, by the late 1800s, boys up to about twelve years old enjoyed this game. Some hoops had tiny bells nailed to them, making pleasant sounds when rolled. Players often chose wooden hoops over iron ones because iron hoops could break windows or hurt people and animals.

There were many fun games to play with hoops. Besides simply rolling them, children played races and games of skill. One game called "toll" required driving the hoop between two close stones without touching them. Another was "turnpike", where players had to roll the hoop through narrowing gaps between objects.

Competitive games like "hoop battle" or "tournament" were also popular. Teams would try to knock down each other’s hoops. In some areas of England, two players would face off, and the one whose hoop stayed upright would win.

The "hoop hunt" was another exciting game where players let hoops roll down a hill, trying to roll far and then find where the hoop landed.

In England, children have played with hoops since at least the 1400s. By the late 1700s, some people in London complained that boys rolling hoops in the streets were causing trouble. Police tried to stop it, but the game remained popular.

Others defended the game as a harmless activity for children. Even in the 1800s, some writers laughed at the idea of making laws to stop children from playing.

In the Colony of Tasmania, some people blamed children rolling hoops for causing problems, but the game was still enjoyed everywhere.

Not just boys played — girls in England included hoop rolling in their physical education along with jumping rope and dumbbells. By the early 1800s, hundreds of girls could be seen rolling hoops in London parks.

In the mid-1800s, bent ash wood became the favorite material for making wooden hoops. By the early 1900s, girls in England used wooden hoops and sticks, while boys used metal ones.

Another name for hoop rolling is Gird ‘N Cleek. The World Gird ‘N Cleek championships are held every year in New Galloway, Scotland.

Americas

Many Native American tribes played an old version of hoop rolling called Chunkey. Players would roll a hoop or disc and then throw spears at it. This game was sometimes linked to gambling, with valuable prizes like horses being won or lost. Tribes such as the Arapaho, the Omaha, and the Pawnee all enjoyed this game.

Because it involved spear throwing, this game may have started before people began using bows and arrows around 500 AD. In California in the 1700s, it was known as "takersia". In Canada, Inuit players would split into groups — one rolling hoops and the other trying to throw spears through them. The Cheyenne even named two months after the game. Among the Blackfeet, children played by throwing a feathered stick through a rolling hoop. Salish and Pend d'Oreilles youth played similar games to practice skills for hunting.

European settlers in America also enjoyed hoop rolling, especially in winter. Children would roll hoops and sometimes toss them back and forth, catching them on their sticks. In the 1830s, some religious groups in Kentucky thought that acting like children — including rolling hoops — would help them reach heaven. The game was popular with both girls and boys. In an 1898 survey in Massachusetts, both girls and boys said hoop and stick was their favorite toy. In Ohio, the wood of the American elm (Ulmus americana) was especially liked for making hoops.

At Bryn Mawr College, Wellesley College, and Wheaton College, the Hoop Rolling Contest has been a spring tradition since 1895. It’s held on May Day and is only for graduating seniors.