bounds ceremony at Bodmin are the only instances of the sport today. St Columb Hurling The traditional St Columb Major hurling matches take place on Shrove Tuesday and the Saturday 11 days later; the sport has been played at St Columb on those dates since before records began. The usually rough game is played on the town's streets and the surrounding countryside, between two teams: the Townsmen (who live in St Columb town) and the Countrymen (who live in the rest of the parish). Aim The aim of the game is either to goal the ball or carry it across the parish boundary; accomplishing either of these feats wins the match. There are two goals (one for each team) both about a mile (1.6 km) from Market Square, the game's starting point, whilst the parish boundary varies between 1.5 and 3 miles (2.4 to 4.8 km) from the starting point. Gameplay involves controlling possession by running with the ball, passing, throwing, snatching, tackling and scrummaging. Commencement Proceedings begin at 4:15 pm in Market Square, when the ball is "called-up" by the hurler who won it for his team in the previous game. The hurl starts 15 minutes later at 4:30 pm with the "throw-up", which is performed by a person chosen by the said previous winner. They climb a stepladder and recite the traditional rhyme “Town and Country do your best, for in this parish I must rest”, call for three cheers and throw the ball to the crowd. Gameplay The initial phase of the game takes place in the main streets of the town and generally lasts for up to an hour; most of this period is non-competitive and the two teams are somewhat irrelevant: townsmen pass the ball to countrymen and vice versa, whilst the tackles and scrums that occur are generally for amusement only. Play often stops for spectators to touch the ball (said to bring luck and fertility), or slows to allow younger players to participate. Hurling in the town consists of a variety of action: hurlers run through the streets, passing the ball between them, whilst tackles and scuffles for possession often become larger scrummages involving several men and sometimes lasting several minutes. In this period, most of the action takes place in Fore Street and Fair Street, with occasional forays into some of the side streets and the Recreation Ground. At some point, usually