Tag: Barrel Rolling

Here’s a sport you don’t see these days, at least not around these parts: Barrel Rolling. Many competitive events started off as “work” and this is a perfect example. Long before mechanical machinery, heavy lifting had to be done by hand and in the vineyards of France, the quickest way to move a wine barrel from here to there was to roll it on its edge. Well, as these things often go, one fine day, one gentleman said that he could roll a barrel farther and faster than all his friends and soon it turned into a full-fledged contest. It became very popular, so much so that the different areas of France had their own tournaments culminating with the championship held in Paris.

It takes strength as well as dexterity to keep a rolling barrel under control and moving in a straight line. The champions of this sport could keep their barrel moving while at a full sprint. Some places in France still have these contests.