The Lower Dales Quoits League
Early Quoits
Quoits is related to another early pub game, the
throwing of horseshoes at a pin in the ground. Some theories have
it that Quoits developed from Horseshoe pitching as a formalised version
of the sport. Horseshoe pitching is still played today, and is
particularly popular in certain regions of the USA, the rules being
similar to those of the Northern Quoits game outlined below.
The theory espoused by the National Quoits Association is just the
opposite. A quoit in ancient times was synonymous with a discus,
and so he thinks that Quoits and discus are one and the same thing and
that Quoits was therefore one of the sports played at the first Greek
Olympiad. He also suggests that the Greeks passed on Quoits, a weapon
of war, to the Romans who also brought the game to Britain and that the
origins may go back even further to the Minoan empire c.2000B.C. where
the boy king of Knossos apparently used the discus/quoit to cull
escaping slaves. Horseshoe pitching in this case came about as a
poor-man's version of Quoits using left-over horseshoes instead of the
real thing.
Whatever the origin, the game was certainly being
played in England early in the second millennium in roughly the form
known today wherein metal rings are thrown up and down a pitch with
target pins at either end embedded in areas of soft clay. It seems
to have been associated with agricultural and working class people, in
particular with the mining industry. Quoits of this era generally
were made from poor-quality left over metal from mine forges and this is
why main areas of quoit playing seem to have centred on mining
communities.
The Long game has a long pedigree and has its stake
flush to the clay, which presents an interesting dilemma for historians
- did the other versions of quoits where the pin sticks prominently out
of the ground derive from it and then evolve the pin out of the clay or
did they develop separately or prior to the long game?
Earlier than 1388, references are vague but quoits
was designated as illegal in the Sporting Regulations act of that year.
By the 15th Century, there is evidence to show that it had become a well
organised sport, not least because of the numerous attempts to eradicate
it from the pubs and taverns of England due to its apparently seedy
character. Not until the nineteenth century is the game documented
in any serious way but the game apparently grew in popularity during
that century and the official rules first appeared in the April 1881
edition of 'The Field' having been defined by a body formed from pubs in
a large area of Northern England.
The Northern Game
The Association of Amateur Quoits Clubs for the
North of England was the name given to the official body that laid down
the 15 rules that were published in "The Field" in 1881. This set
of rules constituted what is now called The Northern Game and it has
remained largely unchanged ever since. Although the Northern Game
has lost some of its popularity, it is still played seriously and
enthusiastically in the North of England under the auspices of The
National Quoits Association which was formed in 1986 and is undergoing
something of a resurgence of late.
The game has the hobs (stakes that the quoits were
aimed at) 11 yards apart in 3 feet squares of clay, the maintenance of
which is quite an art, it seems. Originally, players used an iron
quoit which weighed about a pound but regional variations resulted in
quoits which reportedly weighed up to 23 lb. which may or may not be an
exaggeration. In the Northern game, nowadays, quoits measure about
5 1/2 inches in diameter and weigh about 5 1/2 pounds. Some of the
terms commonly used in the Northern game are:
'Hill' - top surface of the quoit
'Hole' - underside of the quoit
'Hole-up' - a quoit which lands flat with its wider face upwards.
This is not preferred because such a quoit can be flipped out of play by
an opponents' quoit.
'Gater' - a quoit which falls so that it's edge rests on the hob with
the bulk of the quoit in front of the hob. This is done so as to
prevent the opponent achieving a ringer. A Gater is either a hole-gater
or a hill-gater.
'Cover' - a quoit that covers part of the top of the hob. This is
an excellent throw.
'Frenchman' - hole side up to the right of the hob
'Cue' - hill side up to the right of the hob
'Pot-side' - hole side up on the left of the hob
'Side-on' - hill side up on the left of the hob
'Hill to pin' - high side of quoit towards the hob
'Black Pot' - a quoit which falls so that it's edge rests on the hob
with the bulk of the quoit behind the hob
'Bibber', 'Shower up' or 'Coach' - the thrower's helper who stands by
the target hob and shouts advice and encouragement.
'Trig-man' - an adjudicator who watches out for foot faults
'Front-toucher', 'Side toucher' and ‘Back toucher' - a quoit
that touches the side of the hob