GLOUCESTER , MASS. (WHDH) - After a number of fails and flops, a contestant of the world-famous greasy pole contest in Gloucester took the flag Friday and was named a 2024 winner.
Each year, people attempt to cross a 45-foot greased telephone pole perched over the ocean at the St. Peter’s Festival. Those who fail to get across fall up to 20 feet depending on the tide. The first person to get the flag on the end of the pole wins bragging rights for the year.
“Super unique, I’ve never seen anything like it. It’s always just really fun to go see people try to get across the pole,” spectator Natalie Cannelas said.
SKY7-HD captured this year’s winner, Max Allen, as he narrowly made it to the end and snatched the flag before jumping into the water.
“It was unbelievable. The best feeling. I’ve been dreaming about this for a while,” Allen said. “I just had a lot of confidence in myself and I just went out there, just focused on the flag.”
The decades-old tradition dates back to the 1930s.
“It’s a unique event, a unique competition, you don’t see it anywhere else in the country, maybe even the world,” spectator Denny Donovan said.
Most participants slip and slide, falling off the pole into the water below.
“You just got to look right in front of you, two steps in front of you. One, two, that’s all you can do. You can’t look at the flag or you’ll get off balance, but who am I to tell, I haven’t won yet,” competitor Jake Schrock said.
When Donovan was asked what he thinks the strategy to get across would be, he had a couple ideas.
“Guts, practice, and a certain amount of alcohol, I think, would be my guess,” Donovan said.
Additional rounds of the competition will take place Saturday and Sunday.
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