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A pram race is a light-hearted sporting event held in several towns in England, often to raise money for local charities. Small teams race an unpowered " pram" vehicle through the streets of their town, one member riding inside it while the others push. Vehicles are sometimes of an elaborate home-made design, with team members wearing costumes. The events often involve stopping for a drink at each of several local
A pram race is a light-hearted sporting event held in several towns in England, often to raise money for local charities. Small teams race an unpowered " pram" vehicle through the streets of their town, one member riding inside it while the others push. Vehicles are sometimes of an elaborate home-made design, with team members wearing costumes. The events often involve stopping for a drink at each of several local pub
A pub (short for public house) is in several countries a drinking establishment licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term first appeared in England in the late 17th century, to differentiate private ho ...
s along the route, as part of the race.
The concept of the pram race originated in Pagham
Pagham is a coastal village, Anglican parish and civil parish in the Arun district of West Sussex, England, with a population of around 6,100. It lies about two miles to the west of Bognor Regis.
Demography
Pagham is part of the electoral war ...
in 1946. The race was established there by a group of demobilised
Demobilization or demobilisation (see American and British English spelling differences, spelling differences) is the process of standing down a nation's armed forces from combat-ready status. This may be as a result of victory in war, or becaus ...
military servicemen who performed a three-mile race around the town, stopping for a drink at each pub they passed, and competing to win a Christmas cake
Christmas cake is a type of cake, often fruitcake, served at Christmas time in many countries.
British variations
Christmas cake is an English tradition that began as plum porridge. A traditional English Christmas cake is made with moist Zan ...
. From that year on, the race became an annual Boxing Day
Boxing Day, also called as Offering Day is a holiday celebrated after Christmas Day, occurring on the second day of Christmastide (26 December). Boxing Day was once a day to donate gifts to those in need, but it has evolved to become a part ...
tradition in the town, with recent races having as many as sixty teams participating. The president of the Pagham event is racing driver Derek Bell.
Pram races have since become regular events in other English towns. The Dawlish
Dawlish is a seaside resort town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Teignbridge district in Devon, England. It is located on the south coast of England at a distance of from the city of Exeter and a similar distance from the to ...
pram race has been staged since 1972.
Rules for the Sutton Valence
Sutton Valence (in the past also called Sudtone, Town Sutton and Sutton Hastings, see below) is a village about five miles (8 km) SE of Maidstone, Kent, England on the A274 road going south to Headcorn and Tenterden. It is on the Greensand ...
event specify that for a team of three, two runners must push while the other rides inside the pram, which must have four wheels, and the two pushers must maintain physical contact with both the pram and the ground at all times.
See also
* Coffin races *Gravity racer
A gravity racer or soapbox car is a motorless vehicle which is raced on a downhill road either against the clock or against another competitor. The vehicles are propelled by gravity.
Soapbox cars
Originally, gravity racers were built from ...
References
{{reflist Sports entertainment Racing