// BBC UK NEWS — CRONACA
Pole position? These women are set to scale a 25ft greasy pole - to win a prize ham
The group will be the first women's team to try the greasy pole challenge since the 90s
When Bex Campbell bumps into people she knows in the street these days, they all say the same thing.
"People keep stopping me in the street and going 'are you mad, are you actually doing the greasy pole this year?'," the 37-year-old says with a laugh.
Bex is one of a five-strong all female team tackling one of Irvine's more unique challenges - scaling a 25ft (7.6m) wooden pole covered in grease, and trying to claim the prize at the top - a ham.
The women are the first female team to attempt the task, part of Irvine's annual Marymass celebrations, external, in nearly 30 years.
That has meant getting practice in at climbing centres and using poles at a dance and burlesque studio in Kilmarnock.
Four of the hardy team meet BBC Scotland News at the studio, ahead of a training session on the poles there. Spirits are a mixture of amusement and apprehension.
Three of the group - Bex, Ali Wright and Amanda Jean - work with local radio station Now Ayrshire, which is why they all ended up roped into this escapade.
"We're all on different shows, so we don't actually see each other that much, even with the station," Ali says.
"Someone at the station suggested we give this a go, and we thought 'why not?'. Now there is a lot of panic to be honest. There is a wood fuel supplier locally who made up a replica pole and I went to have a look at it. It has given me the fear."