A Race To The Top; The Highly Anticipated Greasy Pole

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NASSAU, THE BAHAMAS – It’s one of the most anticipated traditions of Fox Hill Day – the Greasy Pole challenge.

Every year, crowds gather to watch brave competitors slip, slide and scramble their way to the top.

Now, while the event is all in good fun, Our Chinasa Outten tells us, the tradition has a history that stretches back centuries.

Here’s that report.

If there’s one event that gets the crowd on its feet every fox hill day – tt’s the greasy pole contest.

Atest of strength, teamwork and determination, as competitors try to conquer a pole designed to do one thing, send them sliding right back down.

Fox Hill Festival Committee Chairman Warren Davis says its a tradition the crowd never wants to miss.

“It’s a fun, it’s a fun time when you see people get together collectively, going after one goal, people from all walks of life and enjoying and giving entertainment to those who’s around watching that greasy pole.”

Davis tells me that the event has been around for nearly 500 years, with similar competitions held across the Caribbean and even parts of Europe.

But before anyone can take their shot at the top, he says safety comes first.

Each year, the pole is thoroughly inspected to ensure it can handle the climb.

However, this yea, mother nature took its toll, forcing organizers to replace the pole altogether.

“You go into the pine forest, and then we can cut it, bring it to Fox Hill. We’ll clean it, shave it, smooth it down, and ready to be erected.”

Now, looks can be deceiving. It may just seem like a tall pole but once it’s coated in grease, reaching the top becomes a much bigger challenge and that’s exactly what keeps competitors and crowds, year after year.

“It’s so slippery, you have no grip. So you tend to just keep sliding down and keep going up and just sliding down. So that’s the fun about it, that climbing up and climbing up and then sliding down. Eventually, they get the prize. But nowadays they’re using ropes and cloth and all that.”