"It isn't for the faint-hearted" - Haxey Hood returns
The annual event dates back to the 14th century.
The annual Haxey Hood - in which villagers compete to push a leather tube known as 'the hood' to one of four chosen pubs - returns today (6 January).
Up to 2,500 people are expected to attend for the event which made its return for the first time since covid in 2023.
The Haxey Hood is based on a tale of a noble woman riding through the village when her hood was taken by the wind.
James Chatwin, who will play the role of 'the fool' who gets the game underway said: "It's like a big rugby scrum in the middle of a field - that's probably the easiest way of explaining it. And once it gets thrown up, all the local villagers push to try to get it into their local pub."
In the tale, 'the fool' picked up the noble woman's hood but felt too nervous to return it to her. Instead, the 12 other men in the field with him fought over who would return her hood. She was said to have been so amused by the event that she asked for it to be repeated every year.
All 13 characters are played out in the current version of the game, including the fool, the lord, the chief boggin and ten boggins - whose role is to make sure the 200 or so people who are in the scrum don't get injured.
Mr Chatwin said: "It isn't for the faint-hearted that's for sure. But we don't go out to hurt people, we help people and make sure the game runs as smooth as it can and everybody turns up because they want to be part of it and the majority of people come back year after year.
"It's something that has bounced back and is even stronger now, and everybody thrives on it and thrives on turning up. It means everything to the community - it's like the best school reunion you could ever have because you know that you're going to see the same faces every year."