Tug of War teams battle it out in Macclesfield

Main image above: Norton take the strain.

The Tug of War Association National Outdoor Tug of War Championships took place at Macclesfield Rugby Club in Cheshire on Saturday. Tug of war teams from all over England took part in the event.

The event was staged on behalf of the Tug of War Association in conjunction with Macclesfield Rugby Club, with a total of 18 clubs taking part across the different weight classes for mens teams, ladies teams and youth teams throughout the day.

The medals winners were well spread out across the day, with 14 different clubs picking up a gold, silver or bronze medal across the 10 different weight classes for mens, ladies and junior weight classes that were on offer.

Norton tug of war team were the dominant force on the day, coming away with a record 6 gold medals, with the Kilroe Ladies team from Manchester and Bedford Ladies from Bedfordshire winning 1 gold medal each in the ladies weight classes. The Gloucester ACF junior team took the junior crown for 2016. Holland from staffordshire won the remaining gold medal on offer in the mens heavyweight division.

As far as the home team were concerned, Bosley Tug of War Club put in a strong performance in the mens lightweight classes to win bronze in the mens 580kg competition, and then missed out on getting a second bronze medal in the mens 600kg competition where the team finished 4th.

“We had a great day” commented TOWA spokesman Alan Knott.

“Thankfully the rain held off for day and which meant that we were able to witness some fiercely competitive competition in all of the weight classes on the day”

“The winning teams will now go on to represent England at the World Championships, which take place in Malmo in Sweden in September”

“We would like to take this opportunity to say a massive thank you to Macclesfield Rugby Club, and the people of Macclesfield for making us feel very welcome. The set up was first class and we enjoyed the day very much. We look forward to returning to Macclesfield in the future.

“We would also like to thank the Cheshire East Mayor Olivia Hunter, and local MP David Rutley for coming along and supporting the event”.

“We hope that by coming to Macclesfieldthat we have given the public the opportunity to see a new and exciting sport, and hopefully we have inspired a few more people to pick up the rope and give tug of war a go”

For further information about tug of war and the Tug of War Association, and to find out how you can take up the sport, visit www.tugofwar.co.uk.

 National Outdoor Tug of War Championships – Results Summary:

Men 580 kilos – Gold – Norton (Staffordshire) – Silver – Sandhurst (Berkshire) – Bronze – Bosley (Cheshire) – 4th – Felton Eccles (Somerset)

Men 600 kilos – Gold – Norton (Staffordshire) – Silver – Felton Eccles (Somerset) – Bronze -Two Dales (Derbyshire) –4th – Bosley (Cheshire)

Men 640 kilos – Gold – Norton (Staffordshire) – Silver – Lincoln (Lincolnshire) – Bronze – Two Dales (Derbyshire) – 4th– Felton Eccles (Somerset)

Men 680 kilos – Gold – Norton (Staffordshire)  – Silver – Two Dales (Derbyshire) – Bronze – Lincoln (Lincolnshire) –4th – Felton Eccles (Somerset)

Men 700 kilos – Gold – Norton (Staffordshire) – Silver – Oxney Vines Cross (Sussex) – Bronze – Lincoln (Lincolnshire) – 4^th – (Holland (Staffordshire)

Men Catchweight – Gold – Holland (Staffordshire) – Silver – Oxney Vines Cross (Somerset) – Bronze – Haldon (Devon)

Ladies 540 kilos – Gold – Kilroe Ladies (Manchester) – Silver – Bedford Ladies (Bedfordshire) – Bronze – Haldon Ladies (Devon) – 4^th – Holland Ladies (Staffordshire)

Ladies 500 kilos – Gold – Bedford Ladies (Bedfordshire) – Silver – Army Ladies – Bronze – Haldon Ladies (Gloucestershire) – 4^th – Kilroe Ladies (Manchester)

Mixed 600 kilos (4 men and 4 ladies) – Gold – Norton (Staffordshire) – Silver – Lincoln (Lincolnshire) – Bronze – Bedford (Bedfordshire) – 4^th – Two Dales (Derbyshire)

Junior Mixed 560 Kilos – Gold – Gloucester ACF – Silver – Leicester and Northants ACF