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The Oxford & District Aunt Sally Association has been in existence for 80 years.
League games are played on Wednesday evenings between May and
September. The league regularly attracts 120 teams divided into 12
sections, with up to 1,400 players registered to take part.
Aunt Sally is played by players throwing batons at a wooden skittle
known as a doll and goes back at least as far as the 17th Century. It
may have been introduced by Royalist soldiers during the English Civil
war when Charles set up court in Oxford. It is one of those pub games
which is played only in a very confined locale and hardly at all outside
of this area. In the case of Aunt Sally, the location is Oxfordshire
and despite being restricted only to pubs in and around Oxford it is a
very popular game indeed which is taken very seriously by regulars and
for which there are numerous leagues of some longevity.
Theory ascribes Aunt Sally as a development of a game which was
essentially a humane version of a barbaric blood sport called "throwing
at cocks". In this horrible pastime a cock was tied by one leg to a
stake in the ground and the participants would then pay for a turn at
throwing a "cok-steles" (small club) at the bird. Whoever killed the
bird got to take it home for dinner. If the bird's leg was broken, the
sad creature would be supported on sticks until the bitter end. Joseph
Strutt noted in 1801 that humane versions of this had been seen as
fairground amusements wherein the cock was replaced by a wooden replica
and people paid a small sum to attempt to hit it. He thought that this
had died out but this theory believes it persisted and became Aunt
Sally.
A second theory concocted, is that Aunt Sally is merely an extension of a vulgar misogynist fairground pursuit. It is apparent that the doll used to be dressed up to resemble an old maid and no doubt it was thought to be an amusing to chuck sticks at the ugly looking Aunt Sally doll. Quite possibly the game started to be played in a few pubs where it began to be taken more seriously.
In Aunt Sally, the single white stubby skittle, about 6 inches high and
2 and 3/4 inches in diameter, is called "dolly" and the round-ended
projectiles, of which there are six, are 18 inches long, 2 inches in
diameter and are called "sticks". The doll is positioned on top of a
swivel which is inserted into a hollow rod (the "iron") driven into the
earth so that the top is two and a half feet above the ground and the
players throw the sticks at it from behind a line known as the "hockey"
which is 10 yards from the iron. Each turn consists of six throws and a
'doll' is only counted as long as the stick hits the doll before the
iron. Normal league play has two teams each consisting of eight
players and three legs or "horses" are played. Each horse consists of
each member of each team having one turn so that each team makes 48
throws.
Links
Leagues
Banbury Aunt Sally League:
http://banburyauntsally.com/
Abingdon Aunt Sally League:
www.abingdonauntsally.com/
Bampton Aunt Sally League:
www.bamptonauntsally.org/
Bicester Aunt Sally League
www.bicesterauntsally.com
Wychwood Aunt Sally League
www.wychwood-aunt-sally-league.co.uk
Other
Trade Games: www.tradgames.org.uk