Under 23 tug of war is open to male and female pullers. World Under 23 championships are held annually in conjunction with world and European championships for senior teams. Under 23 tug of war was introduced into international tug of war championships in 2004, and have been held annually at outdoor championships every year since. Under 23 championships have yet to take place at International tug of war events on the indoor circuit, however an open club competition was held at the World Indoor Championships in Scotland in 2012. In September 2013, a ladies under 23 competition was held at the European Championships with three countries taking part.
England endeavor to enter under 23 teams in all international competitions when pullers are available. Further information about how to get involved in under 23 tug of war is below.
No matter what your ability you are more than welcome
to become part of our development squad - both indoor and outdoor. Registration forms
explaining what is required on becoming a member of our U23 England
squads are available on this website.
2018 UNDER 23 TUG OF WAR
We are currently beginning to form under 23 mens and ladies development squads.
Please note that to register your interest, you must complete an application form and return it to the relevant team manager, even if you have been involved in previous seasons.
To download an application form to be involved in the under 23 MENS development squad, please click here
To download an application form to be involved in the under 23 LADIES development squad, please click here
Dave Knott
England U23 MENS Coach/Manager Tel: 01538 385752 Mobile: 07779852610
Email: bigknotty720@gmail.com
13/07/2017 - ENGLAND UNDER 23 MEN - 2017 SQUAD ANNOUNCEMENT
We are pleased to announce that the following pullers
have been selected
for the Tug Of War Association Men Under 23 England squad for 2017 for
the British and Irish Championships and World Under 23 Championships.
Haydon Forbes - Lincoln.
Owen Embleton - Thames Valley. Aidan Canning - Sandhurst. Alan Holt - Longridge.
George Worle -Felton.
Dan Bowen - Upton on Seven.
Alex Brown - Upton on Seven.
Ryan Bird - Upper Eden.
Sean Foster - Upper Eden.
Joe Thirlby - Holland TOWC
Kurt Tatton - Norton.
We wish them well on their selection and know they will give 100%
for our Association and England well done for making the squad and a big
thank you to all our clubs for the use of their young pullers.
ENGLAND UNDER 23 (MEN) TRAINING SESSION - SUNDAY 2ND JULY 2017
There will be an England men under 23 training day at Holland Sports
Club, Efflich Lane, Barton-under-Needwood, Staffordshire on Sunday 2nd
July starting at 10.00am.
This training session will also be open
to anyone who wishes to help us train - men, ladies and juniors. Bring
your own refreshments, drinking water and sports drinks.
All pullers wishing to be considered to represent England at Under 23
level at the UK and Ireland Championships in August and the World Under
23 Championships in Southport in September must attend.
Further
training sessions will be arranged in due course. In addition, under 23s
are also requested to attend the competitions to be held at Upton upon
Severn in Worcestershire on 23 July, Cheshire Game and Angling Fair on
Sunday 6 August, and the National League Finals at Holland Sports Club
on Sunday 3rd September where teams will be entered into the senior
men's competitions for competition training.
The first meet-up date for all Male Under 23 pullers will be
Sunday 14th of May 2017 at the Midland Open Championships, Jubilee
Fields, St Faiths Road, Alcester, Warwickshire B49 6AG.
We will be entering and trialling teams in mens Catchweight
competition so as not to interfere with your clubs participation in other
weight classes on the day. If you are unavailable to attend please let the mens
under 23 team manager know. Other sessions are to be arranged on the build up
to the British and Irish Championships (which take place in Scotland in August,
where England will be entering an under 23 team to compete as England “C” in
the mens 600kg competition, and then the World U23 Championships open
competition and closed international competition being held in conjunction with
the European Championships in Southport in September.
To all clubs - please note that when you register your Under
23 pullers to please provide a copy of their proof of age (e.g. passport or
driving licence) to the Hon Gen Secretary when completing your puller
registrations. Application forms to register to take part in Under 23 training
days and be part of the Under 23 international squads are available by clicking here.
After last year’s B&I championships we have high hopes
for this year with the pullers we have available to us.
Any questions you may have do not hesitate to get in touch.
Dave Knott
England U23 MENS Coach/Manager
Tel: 01538 385752 Mobile: 07779852610 Email: bigknotty720@gmail.com
UNDER 23 LADIES DEVELOPMENT DAYS (2017)
Training days for any female pullers under the age of 23 will take place on the following dates:
Sunday 30 April at Upton upon Severn, Worcestershire
Sunday 20 August in Gloucester
Training sessions will commence at 11.30am
To
take part in these training sessions, register to take part in the
England Under 23 Ladies Squads for 2017, and for further information,
please contact Dave Kitchener using the details below:
All
ladies under the age of 23 are very welcome and encouraged to attend.
If you wish to attend, please make sure you register your attendance
with Dave Kitchener in advance prior to each training session.
JOIN THE ENGLAND UNDER 23 DEVELOPMENT SQUAD IN 2017
The Tug of
War Association intends to form under 23 mens and ladies teams to compete at
the forthcoming British and Irish Championships in Scotland in August, and the
World Under 23 Championships in Southport, Merseyside, England in September.
England wishes to compete in both the open and closed competitions at these events with the strongest representation possible.
The age limit for male Under 23
Competition is from the beginning of the year a puller turns 18 until the end
of the year you reach the age of 22.
The age limit for ladies Under 23
Competition is from the beginning of the year a puller turns 16 until the end
of the year you reach the age of 22.
To register your interest to take part in the MENS Under 23 development squad please download and complete the application form by clicking here
To register your interest to take part in the LADIES
Under 23 development squad please download and complete the application
form by clicking here
If you wish to be part of the under 23 development squads, then please complete a form and return it to the appropriate team manager (details below).
Dave Knott
England U23 MENS Coach/Manager Tel: 01538 385752 Mobile: 07779852610
Email: bigknotty720@gmail.com
08/08/2016 - BRITISH AND IRISH TUG OF WAR CHAMPIONSHIPS - INFORMATION FOR THIS WEEKEND
Please can all Under 23 (male) pullers attending the championships this weekend, please download the information sheet, which contains information regarding weigh in arrangements and your designated weights by clicking here.
ENGLAND UNDER 23 DEVELOPMENT SQUADS - MEN AND LADIES - 2016
The Tug of
War Association intends to form under 23 mens and ladies teams to compete at
the forthcoming British and Irish Championships in Wales in August, and the
World Championships in Malmo, Sweden in September.
The age limit for male Under 23
Competition is from the beginning of the year a puller turns 18 until the end
of the year you reach the age of 22.
The age limit for ladies Under 23
Competition is from the beginning of the year a puller turns 16 until the end
of the year you reach the age of 22.
Details for getting involved in
the mens and ladies teams are below
Under 23 Ladies
The
England TOWA is considering developing an under 23 ladies team to partake in
the World Championships in Sweden. We already have a number of ladies who
have come forward for this. Mr David Kitchener is managing this and has
organised a training day on 24th July at
Kempston Hammers, Kempston, Bedford starting at 11.00am.
We would
strongly encourage any eligible girls/ladies to come along.
If
you are interested please complete the form which you can download by clicking here and email to David
Kitchener - david.kitchener@lineone.net, or you can speak to
David further on 01234 720086
Under 23 Men
It is the intention of the Tug of
War Association to form Under 23 mens squads to compete at the British and
Irish Championships on the weekend of 12th - 14th August 2016 in Wales and the
World Outdoor Tug of War Championships in Malmo, Sweden on the week of 7 - 12
September 2016.
If you are interested in becoming
part of the mens Under 23 Development Squad, then please download and complete
the application form by clicking here
and return it to Under 23 Manager Dave Knott as soon as possible. The weight
class for Under 23 competition is 600kg.
When returning the form, please
indicate whether or not you are available to compete at:
a) the British and Irish
Championships (hosted by Wales)
b) the World Championships (hosted by Sweden)
c) both the British and Irish Championships and the World Championships
If you are unable to attend
either championship, but wish to be considered for selection in 2017 when
England are hosting the World Under 23 Championships in conjunction with the
European Championships, then please let us know.
There will be a meeting and training pulls for
anyone wishing to become part of the male Under 23 Development Squad on Sunday
10 July in conjunction with the event being held at Glebe Farm, Peel Lane,
Astbury, Congleton, Cheshire, CW12 4RQ. All
under 23 pullers are requested to attend. If you are unable to attend, please
inform the Under 23 manager.
Please can all clubs pass this
information on to your younger members.
Dave Knott
England U23 Mens Coach/Manager Tel: 01538 385752 Mobile: 07779852610
Email: bigknotty720@gmail.com
01/08/2014 - UK OUTDOOR TUG OF WAR CHAMPIONSHIPS - BELFAST - NORTHERN IRELAND
After our National Championships it is always a hurry to
form our squad for the UK Championships, it is even harder when a lot of our clubs now
have to use our U23s in their own line ups for international competitions- a
great advert for our young pullers but limiting our own options for an U23 team
.
I will need full cooperation and
understanding from our clubs when we return to N Ireland for the World Championships
next year to put out our strongest line up.
The UK Championships this time brought a lot of new faces
into our squad and for the first time I had the option of using Gloucester and
Somerset ACF pullers, our other pullers in the team came from Lincoln, York and
Holland. With only one puller from our squad available from Assen, Joe Aikman.
It was a baptism of fire for our new team members to go straight into a
senior championships weighing 20Kilos light but, rest assured, these young pullers gave a superb account of
themselves and did not let me down. All in all a great performance from our
squad and something to build on for next year - very pleasing.
Congratulations to all the other teams
competing it was a great competition.
I would like to thank our hosts Northern Ireland, the UK
Commission and our Association for the opportunity for the U23s to compete at
the UK Championships and our club coaches for the use of their pullers: Tim
Tatler,Alec Masson, Tim Lee, Gavin Corden and Neil Hudson, also a big thank
you to all our U23 supporters.
Our England “C” U23 UK Championships team was Joe Aikman, Hayden
Forbes, George Worle, Josh Williams, Liam Macmenemey, Shawn Burnham, Lewis
Nightingale, Tom Austin, Sam Palmer, and Carl Dewhurst.
Dave Knott
2014 OUTDOOR TUG OF WAR (MEN AND LADIES)
You can download an application form to become a part of the Under 23 Development Squad by clicking here
We are hoping to form indoor squads for the forthcoming
world outdoor championships in America at the end of August, as well as the UK Outdoor Championships in Belfast, Northern Ireland on 2nd August 2014
If you are aged between 18 and 22 (and do not reach the age
of 23 before the 31 December 2014) then you are eligible to compete for our squads and
we look forward to you coming along and having a go.
No matter what your ability you are more than welcome
to have a try for our squad. Registration forms
explaining what is required on becoming a member of our U23 England
squads are available on this website with and we
eagerly await you response.
Firstly I would like to congratulate our pullers that
competed at the World Indoor Championships In Ireland - Tom Knott (Kilroe), Dan
Kenny and Emmett Power-Thomas (Raunds), Charlie Village and George Goodwin (Uppertown).
You are a credit to your clubs, our Association and England.
Sadly for the members of the squad that dropped out, a World
indoor a medal opportunity has been lost you only get a couple of chances to
compete at a world indoor championships before you are too old.
Fair play to the rest of our squad who went to Ireland
gaining silver medals in the open with Clonmany Under 23S and bronze medals
with the England 680k team. you paid your money, you took your chance and you
got your just rewards. You only get out what you are prepared to put into our
sport - you made me a very proud with your performance. To the others - think
long and hard to what you have missed out on and the rest of the squad you let
down at short notice after they paid to go to the Championships.
I would like to thank all our supporters, Daniel and Clonmany
for accommodating my pullers with competition at the championships and England
coaches Billy, Clem and Mike for giving the chance for our U23 squad members to
compete.
We now have some big decisions to make for the World outdoor
championships 2014 being held in America. We need serious sponsorship to be
able to send an U23 squad to compete, without this it is highly unlikely a
squad will be able to go. If there is anybody that can help to fund our squad
please contact either myself or our Association. Any help you can give our U23s
will be greatly appreciated.
Dave Knott - England U23 Manager/Coach
SEPTEMBER 2013 - WORLD UNDER 23 TUG OF WAR CHAMPIONSHIPS - ASSEN - NETHERLANDS
Our squad would like to start by thanking the Nederland’s
Association for their hospitality and organisation of great championships.
Firstly I would like to praise all my young pullers for the
effort that they gave in the open and closed World Championships in Assen both
teams gave their all and as coach you cannot ask for more, to reach two semi
finals at world level is no mean achievement by anyone’s standards and it was a
pleasure to lead you onto the pulling ground. Well done to everyone involved
with the squad. You did your clubs and England proud. A big thank you to all
our Under 23 supporters for the encouragement around the field - you were
fantastic.
The open club competition was a very strong field with teams
from South Africa, Nederlands, Switzerland, Germany, Belgium and ChineeseTaipe
all competing for the top four places. We progressed well within the group of
nine to reach the semi finals finishing fourth in the group. In the semi final
we met Siegelau from Germany who we had drawn 1-1 with in the group stage. We
pulled well fighting all the way but lost two ends to nil. We then had to pull
for the bronze medal against a very strong side from South Africa – Wynland. This turned out to be one of the best pulls of
the open competition the first end being nearly three minutes of holding and
battering lifts, two cautions a piece, the end eventually going to the men from
South Africa. The second end followed and it was the same brutal pulling. We
gave our all but lost the pull - congratulations to Wynland on a hard fought
bronze medal - a great advert for youth tug of war.
The closed Championships had seven country’s entered -
England, Germany, Sweden, South Africa, Belgium, Chinese Taipei and Switzerland.
We started the competition with a win against South Africa 2-0
- a great start. We then had Sweden losing 2-0, Taipei winning 2-0, Switzerland
losing 2-0, Belgium wining 2-0, Germany losing 2-0.When the results of the
group were announced England, Sweden and South Africa were level on points. TWIF
criteria came into play with cautions and weight resulting in England 3rd
Sweden 4th and South Africa 5th. This gave us a semi final pull with
Germany the same side that we had in the open semi final. Once again it proved
to be an exciting pull the first end being nearly four minutes and the second
strong lifting from both sides the Germans knew they had been in a pull with us
as they progressed to the final and we had to settle for the bronze medal pull
off. We then faced Sweden for the bronze. We had a poor first end but on the
second end our team gave their all lifting and fighting to the end, everyone
giving 110% - you cannot ask for more.
Congratulations to all the medal winning teams in the open
and closed Championships you and the others who competed in the U 23 World
championships are a great advert for our
youth and the promotion our sport - well done everyone.
As always our development squad is very limited due to the amount
of U23 pullers I have available within our Association due to age restrictions.
I do not have the luxury of the senior
teams to be able to ask clubs to borrow pullers to save men for other weight classes
I have got what I have got and have to utilise these pullers the best way I can.
Unlike Minehead where we were able to field two teams with the pullers
available from our clubs, this time for Assen I only had eleven men to choose
from unfortunately two weeks before the Championships one of my squad broke his
arm reducing it to ten.
Disappointingly this time our U 23 development squad has
encountered some issues that could have jeopardised competing at the Championships
and I will be rectifying these in the very near future with the relevant people
within our Association as they had a detrimental effect to our preparation for
the Championships.
With fourth place finishes in the open and closed
competitions’ we have given a great account of ourselves for our Association
and England as everyone knows fourth place is the worst position to end up in
just missing out on the medals but we can take great pride in our achievements
in Assen.
As always it is an absolute pleasure for me to manage and
coach our young athletes. Some will leave the squad due to age and I thank them
for their efforts over the past three years you will be sadly missed. To the
new members of the squad there is a bright future - keep up the hard work and
we will go from strength to strength.
I now have the pleasure of introducing my new assistant for
our squad Joe Birch, as my right hand man. I welcome him to his new role he is
a great puller and a real asset to myself and the squad. Good luck on your new
position within the squad Joe I know we will make a formidable combination to
our Association and England teams.
Once again thank you to all our clubs and Association
members who have supported our development squad.
Dave Knott - Manager/coach.
LADIES UNDER 23 TUG OF WAR
TWIF announced at their recent congress that they are hoping to organise a ladies under 23 competition in conjunction with this years European Outdoor Tug of War Championships in Assen, Netherlands in September.
As such, England will be seeking to form a team to enter this competition if it goes ahead. The Tug of War Association has appointed Dave Kitchener (Bedford Ladies Coach) to manage the team.
As such, any female pullers aged under 23 (i.e. anyone who does not reach the age of 23 this year) should register their interest by contacting Dave Kitchener on 01234 720086 or e-mail david.kitchener@lineone.net
2013/2014 Indoor Tug of War
Next year Ireland will be hosting the World indoor Championships. The England Under 23 Team Manager has had conformation that the host country would like to enter an U23 team at these Championships. As you may be aware a minimum of four countries must enter to make it a Championship competition. England are once again hoping to be able to send a squad.
We fully understand that only a few clubs compete at indoor pulling and that we are restricted on our U23 pullers. We are going to try to encourage more pullers to be part of our squad and have a try at the Sunday competitions’ that are held at the Harry Mitchell Centre every weekend throughout the indoor season to give them the experience of indoor pulling and hopefully making the squad.
Firstly I would like to praise all my young pullers for the
effort that they gave in the open and closed World Championships in Assen both
teams gave their all and as coach you cannot ask for more, to reach two semi
finals at world level is no mean achievement by anyone’s standards and it was a
pleasure to lead you onto the pulling ground. Well done to everyone involved
with the squad. You did your clubs and England proud. A big thank you to all
our Under 23 supporters for the encouragement around the field - you were
fantastic.