With the Summer Half in full flow, and thanks to the return of some normality, pupils have been taking advantage of the great weather and long evenings by taking part in house games. Many boarding houses have created their own version of a traditional house game, so Press Officer Guy Silver investigated their origins by taking a tour of two classic of Eton house games:
PAH (Cotton Hall) famously play the fast-paced sport of bike-shed cricket. When walking past the house’s backyard, one can often hear great cheers and bellows after bat connects with the ball. The set up and rules of the game are as follows: within the bike shed there’s a brick structure which serves as the wicket. In front of the wicket, there are many crooks and crannies, which the bowlers aim at in order to help them spin the ball. The amount of runs one obtains from a ball is based around which part of the wall the ball hit. Elegance corresponds to runs, as a well-timed cover drive gives the batsman four runs, whilst a cheeky paddle sweep equals three runs. This game as described by a PAH pupil is “exhilarating and an all-time classic”. With simple rules and finely-tuned skills, PAH’s bike-shed cricket is certainly one for the ages.
ADGF (Hopgarden) use the house’s interior to provide space for the individual and unique game of ‘atrium football’. The three-storey high atrium is filled with pupils on a regular basis, playing this unusual sport. The two vs two game is an excellent spectator sport as itis exceptionally fast-paced. The sport is played with a sponge ball and each player can only touch the ball once in a row, unless you manage to keep the ball of the floor, in which case the touches allowedare unlimited. The goals are diagonal from one another, at opposite ends of the atrium. In the unlikely circumstance that one team loses decisively, the losing team have to run up to the top floor with all manner of obstacles placed in their way!
From cover drives in PAH to dashes to the top floor in Hopgarden, internal house games play a huge role in the summer experience of many Eton pupils. We hope you enjoyed this inside glance!
