Bosley Tug of War’s young lions shine

Above: Bosley 560kg Squad

Bosley Tug of War Club, along with Junior and under 23 members, have been competing in Mannheim,  Germany at the TWIF World Outdoor Tug of War Championships. 

The four-day event saw teams from across the globe competing in various weight classes for mens, ladies, under 23, junior and mixed (teams of 4 men and 4 ladies) with two days dedicated to open club competition, and two days dedicated to international competition. 

In the Open Club competition, Bosley competed in the mens 560kg competition in a bid to give their younger members experience of senior level competition. Whilst not finishing among the medals, the team finished in mid table in their group of 8 teams, with the team more than holding their own against some of the best teams in the world.

After this weight class, a number of pullers were involved in other weight categories with other clubs and the national team.

Club members Zoe Brocklehurst, Harry Large, Alfie Waring and Tom Whilock, were involved in the ladies and mens under 23 squads, Kate Brocklehurst was part of the England senior ladies 500kg team and George Large was part of the England junior squads. 

In the open competition, Zoe Brocklehurst, Alfie Waring, Tom Whilock and Harry Large were part of the ETOWA under 23 mixed teams, with England fielding A and B teams in this weight which pulled superbly with both teams reaching the semi finals where they faced each other. Harry and Zoe were in the A team that reached the final, and Tom and Alfie were part of the B team that then went into the bronze medal match.

In the bronze medal match, Tom and Alfie were part of the team that faced Ayrshire from Scotland, putting in a dominant performance to take the two ends needed to win a world bronze medal, and their very first medals at world level. In the final, Harry and Zoe were part of the team that made it to their second world final in a row, but it was not to be again this tie, with a close 2 ends to 1 defeat to Goiherri from the Basque Country leaving them both with a world silver medal.

In the junior open competition, George Large was part of the Upper Eden junior team that secured fifth place overall.  

The next two days of competition saw these young pullers proudly wear their England shirts in their respective weight divisions.  

In the international competitions, the England under 23 ladies, including Zoe Brocklehurst, performed strongly in the group stages, progressing to the semi-finals where they met South Africa. After a close three end pull, England progressed to the final with a 2 ends to 1. I the final, they met Chinese Taipei who proved to be too strong in the end, with England settling for a well deserved silver medal.

The England under 23 mens team, including Tom Whilock, Harry Large and Alfie Waring, didn’t reach the semi finals, but finished up with a world ranking of 6th place.

George Large was part of the England junior mens team and junior mixed team, finishing 6th in the junior competition, but things went much better in the junior mixed competition where the team progressed to the semi finals. In the semi-final, the team met Switzerland but missed out on a place in the final by 2 ends to 0. In the bronze medal match, England faced South Africa, who are one of the strongest nations at junior tug of war in the world at the moment, but England this time pulled it out of the bag with a fantastic 2 ends to 0 win to take the bronze medal.

In the senior competitions, Kate Brocklehurst was part of the England ladies 500kg team that managed to finish in 6th place overall. This result qualified Great Britain to compete in the tug of war competitions at the 2025 World Games in Chengdu, China, which is held every 4 years for IOC recognised sports which are not yet part of the full Olympic programme. Only the top 6 countries get to take part at this event, so just qualifying for it is very difficult and is a fantastic achievement.  

Club spokesman Alan Knott said: “We are very proud of what we achieved as a club, and in particular, are very proud of what our young members achieved at the World Championships this year.”

“We are a largely self-funded sport, so it takes a lot of commitment, self-sacrifice and fund raising to get to these events, so it is amazing to see our youngsters succeed at this level. 

“They have all worked extremely hard in training and when you see all the emotion that spills out just as the medals are won, you know how much it means to everyone to earn a medal. We hope that they enjoyed their experience and we hope to see more young pullers come through the ranks now and in the future.” 

England under 23 team manager and Bosley Coach Dave Knott added:  “I was immensely proud to lead out the England under 23 teams this year, and to come away with lots of medals from this event is an outstanding achievement – I couldn’t have asked any more from all of my team members and the pullers involved have created memories and built friendships that will last a lifetime. 

“Taking teams of juniors and under 23s forward is hard work, especially when the teams change every year as members come of age and move up to the next age category, so medals at this level are always very special”. 

The world championships marks the end of the outdoor tug of war season and the team will soon be turning its attention to the indoor tug of war season. The club trains on the rope on Tuesday and Thursday evenings and is always open to new members (male and female) aged 14 plus.

England are hosting the 2025 European Championships in Nottingham next September and Bosley have their sights set on competing at that event next year, which will be the 60th anniversary of the first European Tug of War Championships with Bosley having competed at and won the very first one in 1965. If anyone wishes to find out more or join the team, then you can message the club via their Facebook or Instagram page (@bosleytugofwar) or you can call, text or WhatsApp Alan Knott on 07976 591222.