Treble Gold for Bosley Tug of War

On Saturday 2 December, Bosley Tug of War Club took part in the 2023 Tug of War Association national indoor championships in Bakewell.

Despite having a predominantly light weight squad, and a few injury setbacks leading up to the event, the club entered a team in every weight class on offer despite competing under weight in a number of them, and despite a tough day of competition, it turned out to be a very rewarding day for the club. 

The team started the day off in Catchweight (no weight limit) where the club picked up the silver silver, with Sheen from the Peak District winning the gold medal. The team then finished 4th in the 640kg competition, before heading into the 560kg competition where the team were the defending champions 

The team went through this weight unbeaten in the group states and went through to the final where they met the Uppertown team from Derbyshire. Bosley proved to be the stronger team in the end and retained their title by 2 ends to 0. 

Another silver came in the 720kg competition, and then it was on to the 600 which was another weight class where Bosley were the defending champions. The team knew it was going to be a tall order to defend this title this time around weighing in 20k light. The team managed to top the group round where we went through to the final against Sheen. This proved to be the closest and most competition final of the day which went to three ends – much to the delight of the crowd, not so much for the 16 men in either end of the rope. After losing the first end, the team battled through to take the next two ends and the gold medal to win an unexpected title. 

Bosley then finished third in the 680kg competition before the day ended with the mixed 580kg competition where teams each compete with four men and four women on the team. 

With a much changed team from previous seasons, Bosley had 3 girls competing in their first nationals. After a nervous start, the team gradually grew into the competition and managed to get through to the final against Uppertown. It was another competitive final and Bosley fought their way to a 2 ends to 0 win to take a third gold medal of the day. 

“It was a remarkably successful day for us” commented club spokesman Alan Knott. 

“We knew we were up against it this year, and we thought going into it that we would probably only retain one of the three titles that we won in 2022. 

“We made sure that we trained hard and prepared as well as we could for the event to give us our best chance, and thankfully all of that hard work and good preparation paid off, so all credit to everyone involved for their hard work over the course of the season. 

“National championships successes are always a squad effort and are never solely down to the 8 pullers that end up in the final teams on the day 

“Finally, we would just like to say a hugh thank you to JA 4×4 from Congleton and Platts Limited for their supper this indoor season” 

Bosley Tug of War Club are now looking forward to 2024 which will be another busy year where the team plans to compete at the World Championships in Germany in September. The club are always looking to recruit new members (male and female) and in particular, with the GENSB junior international tug of war tournament taking place at Keele University next year the team would love to have a junior (under 19) team competing there.

If anyone would like to join Bosley Tug of War Club or would like to find out more about getting involved, then you can find the club on Facebook and Instagram, or alternatively contact Alan Knott by phone or WhatsApp on 07976 591222.

More general information about tug of war can be found on the Tug of War Association web site at www.tugofwar.co.uk.