National Tug of War Championships

The Tug of War Association National Outdoor Tug of War Championships are just days away now, with the event taking place on Saturday 18th June at Macclesfield Rugby Club’s Priory Park ground in Macclesfield.

Tug of war teams from all over England will be taking part in the event, which will see teams competing for the gold, silver and bronze medals in mens weight categories, ladies weight categories, and junior weight categories. There will also be a mixed gender weight class up for grabs, with teams consisting of 4 men and 4 ladies each.

The event is being organised by the English Tug of War Association (TOWA) and the Macclesfield Rugby Club, and each tug of war team will consist of 8 pullers. The event is being organised in weight classes, with teams weighing in the night before the event. Each team is not allowed to exceed the weight limit for each weight class.

The winning teams from the different weight classes that are held at the national championships will go on to represent England at the World Outdoor Tug of War Championships, which take place in Malmo, Sweden in September

Amongst the teams competing will be Norton Tug of War Club from Staffordshire and Lincoln Tug of War Club who each won three weight classes on offer at the 2015 National Championships. Lincoln later went on to win the European 720kg title at the 2015 European Championships.
Local interest in the event will come from Bosley Tug of War Club, who will be looking to improve on the bronze medal won at the 2015 National Championships that were held in Yeovil.

“We are very much looking forward to the national tug of war championships in Macclesfield this year”. Commented TOWA spokesman Alan Knott.

“We will have teams that have won World and European Championship medals taking part at the event, which should make for a very exciting championship. English teams boast a proud record at international tug of war, with England having won many gold, silver and bronze medals over the past 50 years”

“The World outdoor tug of war championships take place in Malmo, Sweden in September, so this event will be used to select the teams that represent England at the World Championships”

“The Tug of War Sport used to be organised by the Amateur Athletic Association in the early 1900’s, but it was not until 1958 when The Tug of War Association was formed to organise the sport independently”.

The sport was formerly a part of the Olympic programme until 1920, but was phased out along with other sports, such as Cricket and Rugby to reduce the number of competitors at the Olympics at that time. Great Britain are still the reigning Olympic champions at tug of war from those games held in 1920.

“Tug of war is a true team sport. The ethics or determination, hard work, sportsmanship, and friendship are unrivalled in any other sport. We hope that people come along to watch the tug of war championship at Macclesfield Rugby Club to give all of our tug of war teams as much support as possible. We are sure that there are many in the area that will come out and support their local team from Bosley”.

The championships on Saturday 18^th June 2016 start at 10.00am and will run throughout the day. Entrance to the event is free for spectators.

For further information about the sport of tug of war, people are encouraged to visit the Tug of War Association web site at www.tugofwar.co.uk.
Schedule of Events:

The competition schedule is as follows (all timings are approximate start times):
10am – Men 640 kilos competition; Junior Men 560 kilos competition and Junior Ladies 480 kilos competition

11.30am – Men 580 kilos competition; Men catchweight (no weight limit) competition and Ladies 540 kilos competition
13.00 – Men 700 kilos competition; Ladies 500 kilos competition; Junior Ladies 520 kilos competition

14.30pm – Men 600 kilos competition; Junior Mixed 560 kilos competition

16.00pm – Men 680 kilos competition

17.30pm – Mixed 600 kilos competition
Tug of War Clubs competing:

·           Lincoln Tug of War Club (Lincolnshire)

·           Norton Tug of War Club (Staffordshire)

·           Bosley Tug of War Club (Cheshire)

·           Holland Tug of War Club (Staffordshire)

·           Two Dales Tug of War Club (Derbyshire)

·           Widecombe Tug of War Club (Devon)

·           York Tug of War Club (Yorkshire)

·           Felton Eccles Tug of War Club (Somerset)

·           Sandhurst Tug of War Club (Berkshire)

·           Oxney Vines Cross Tug of War Club (Sussex)

·           Bedford Tug of War Club (Bedfordshire)

·           Team Army

·           4^th Regiment Royal Artillery

·           Gloucestershire ACF Tug of War Club

·           Leicester, Northants and Rutland ACF Tug of War Club

·           Haldon YFC Tug of War Club (Devon)

·           Kilroe Tug of War Club (Lancashire)

·           Upton on Severn Tug of War Club (Worcestershire)

Who are the defending champions? – 2015 National Outdoor Tug of War Championships – Results Summary
Men 560 kilos – Gold – Norton (Staffordshire) – Silver – Sandhurst (Berkshire) – Bronze – Bosley (Cheshire) – 4th – Widecombe (Devon)
Men 600 kilos – Gold – Norton (Staffordshire) – Silver – Felton Eccles (Somerset) – Bronze – Oxney Vines Cross (Sussex) – 4th – Bosley (Cheshire)
Men 640 kilos – Gold – Norton (Staffordshire) – Silver – Two Dales (Derbyshire) – Bronze – Felton Eccles (Somerset) – 4th – Lincoln (Lincolnshire)
Men 680 kilos – Gold – Lincoln (Lincolnshire) – Silver – Norton (Staffordshire) – Bronze – Felton Eccles (Somerset) – 4th – Two Dales (Derbyshire)
Men 720 kilos – Gold – Lincoln (Lincolnshire) – Silver – Holland (Staffordshire) – Bronze – Raunds (Northamptonshire)

Men Catchweight – Gold – Two Dales (Derbyshire) – Silver – Holland (Staffordshire) – Bronze – Raunds (Northamptonshire) – 4^th – Haldon (Devon)
Ladies 560 kilos – Gold – Kilroe Ladies (Manchester) – Silver – Holland Ladies (Staffordshire) – Bronze – Bedford Ladies (Bedfordshire) 
Ladies 520 kilos – Gold – Kilroe Ladies (Manchester) – Silver – Bedford Ladies (Bedfordshire) – Bronze –  Gloucester ACF

Mixed 600 Kilos – Gold – Lincoln (Lincolnshire) – Silver – Kilroe (Manchester) – Bronze – Holland (Staffordshire)
Junior Men 560 Kilos – Gold – Gloucester ACF – Silver – Somerset ACF – Bronze – Leicester, Northants and Rutland ACF

Junior Men 530 Kilos – Gold – Gloucester ACF – Silver – Somerset ACF – Bronze – Leicester, Northants and Rutland ACF