2022 British and Irish Outdoor Championships - A Successful Weekend for England Tug of War
This weekend, the British and Irish Outdoor Tug of War Championships took place which were hosted by the Welsh Tug of War Association at Swansea University. It was a very hot weekend, and owing to all of the recent hot and dry weather, the ground conditions were extremely dry and dusty.
There was some great competition throughout the two days of competition, with the closed international competitions taking place on Saturday and the open club competition taking place on Sunday.
England attended with a good number of competitors and had teams in all of the mens, ladies, and junior weight classes.
Photo: England Junior Men
For the first time since before the pandemic, there was a junior competition which was fantastic to see. England took a large squad of junior men and ladies to the event, entering A and B teams into the mixed competition and fielding junior mens and ladies teams as well. Due to limited availability of junior girls from the other nations, this was held as a 6 a side 390kg competition, with the other junior competitions going ahead as full 8 a side weights. We are very pleased to say that the England juniors put in some great performances.
Photo: England Junior Ladies
The junior ladies won the bronze medal in the 6 a side event, with Scotland finishing as the winners, and some great performances in the junior men and mixed competitions saw England finish as gold medal winners in the junior men 560kg final after overcoming Wales in the final, and the mixed competition saw England A and B contest the final, which England A won by 2 ends to 0 – so the England junior teams came away with 4 medals from the event – 2 golds, a silver and a bronze! Congratulations to all of the pullers, junior team manager Joe Birch, and all of the supporting coaches, helpers and parents who all helped to make this possible.
Photo: England B Junior Mixed
Of particular note was the impeccable behaviour, conduct and commitment of our junior pullers, and we look forward to seeing how far they can go at the World Championships in Holten, Netherlands next month.
England A Junior Mixed Team
England also fielded under 23 teams at the event as England C teams in the mens 600kg, ladies 520kg and Mixed 580kg. There was some good performances from these teams across the board with all three teams winning a number of good ends from some of the more experienced teams on the day. A number of the Under 23 pullers in our squad have been competing on the TOWA circuit for the first time this season and gained valuable international competition experience at this event ahead of the World Championships in Holten, Netherlands which take place next month.
Photo: England C 600kg team (England Under 23s)
In the senior competitions, it was a great weekend for the England Ladies teams. In the 520kg, England A were represented by Bedford Ladies, and England B were represented by Army Ladies. Both teams progressed from the group stages with the only ends dropped being against each other in a pull that went 1-1. In the semi-finals, England A defeated Wales by 2 ends to 0, and England B came away with a good 2 ends to 0 win against Scotland A in their semi-final. In the final, England A upped their game and they came away with a 2 ends to 0 win against England B to take the gold medal.
Photo: England A Ladies 520kg represented by Bedford Ladies
In the ladies 560kg competition, England A were represented by Melton Mowbray Ladies and England B were represented by Bedfordshire. England A performed very strongly to top the group without dropping an end. Bedfordshire, representing England Ladies for the first time as England B, put in a great performance by placing in the top 4 and reaching the semi-finals along with England A. In the semi-finals, England A defeated Scotland A, but the battle of the competition was between England B and Wales A which went to three ends. England B took the first end, and on the second end, had got Wales moving before slowing down and running out of steam. Wales took the end and levelled the match. The third end was another tough battle which Wales eventually won.
Photo: England B Ladies 520kg represented by Army Ladies
In the bronze medal match, England B had left a lot on the field in the semi-final and Scotland A took the bronze medal by 2 ends to 0. In the final, England A put in another good performance to win the gold medal by 2 ends to 0, with England representatives Melton Mowbray Ladies winning the title for the second consecutive year.
Photo: England B Ladies 560kg team - represented by Bedfordshire
In the mens competitions, the 600kg competition saw Felton Eccles represent England A, and Upper Eden represent England B. Unfortunately for England A, the day didn’t go to plan for them and they missed out on a place in semi-finals after dropping a few too many ends in the group stages. England B did manage to progress to the semi-finals though and went through along with Scotland A, Northern Ireland A and Northern Ireland B. In the semi-finals, England B were up against Northern Ireland B and went down to a 2 ends to 0 defeat, whilst Scotland A overcame Northern Ireland A. In the bronze medal match, Northern Ireland A had too much for England B and England B had to settle for fourth place.
Photo: England A Ladies 560kg team - represented by Melton Mowbray Ladies
In the 680kg competition, England A were represented by Lincoln and England B were represented by York. England A performed strongly, topping the group without losing an End. England B also competed well, finishing third in the group and also went through to the semi-finals along with Scotland A and Ireland A. In the semi finals, England A defeated Ireland A and Scotland A defeated England B. The bronze medal match saw a good three end battle between Ireland A and England B with England B taking the first end, but didn’t have quite enough on the second end to finish the job so the pull went to a third end which Ireland eventually won. The final saw England A put in another strong performance to take the gold medal.
Photo: England A 600kg represented by Felton Eccles
The mixed competition saw England A and England B being represented by Lincoln and Bedford respectively. Both of these teams finished first and second in the group rounds, finishing in the top two and making the semi finals. Both teams progressed all the way to the final with England A taking the gold medal against England B by the ends to 0.
Photo: England B 600kg Team Represented by Upper Eden
Closed International Competition – Results Summary
Men 600
Gold - Scotland A - Silver - Northern Ireland B - Bronze - Northern Ireland A - 4th - England B (Upper Eden)
Ladies 520
Gold - England A (Bedford Ladies) - Silver - England B (Army Ladies) - Bronze - Scotland A - 4th - Wales A
Junior Men 560
Gold - England A - Silver - Wales
Junior Ladies 390kg (6 a side)
Gold - Scotland - Silver - Wales - Bronze - England
Junior Mixed
Gold - England A - Silver - England B - Bronze - Wales
Men 680
Gold - England A (Lincoln) - Silver - Scotland A - Bronze - Ireland A - 4th - England B (York)
Ladies 560
Gold - England A (Melton Mowbray Ladies) - Silver - Wales A - Bronze - Scotland A - 4th - England B (Bedfordshire)
Mixed
Gold - England A (Lincoln) - Silver - England B (Bedford) - Bronze - Scotland A
Open Club Competition Results
Ladies 520 – Winners – Army Ladies – Runners Up – Bedford Ladies
Ladies 540kg – Winners – Army Ladies – Runners Up – Melton Mowbray
Ladies 560kg – Winners – Melton Mowbray – Runners Up – Bedford Ladies
Men 560kg – Winners – Cornhill – Runners Up – Felton Eccles
Men 600kg – Winners – Lincoln – Runners Up – Cornhill
Men 640 – Winners – Lincoln – Runners Up – Felton Eccles
Men 680kg – Winners – Lincoln – Runners Up – Cornhill
Mixed 580kg – Winners – Melton Eccles – Runners Up – St Enoder
Junior Men 560kg – Winners – Upper Eden A – Runners Up – Upper Eden B
Junior Mixed – Winners – Upper Eden A – Runners Up – Upper Eden B
Junior Ladies 390kg (6 a side) – Winners – Ayrshire – Runners Up – Upper Eden A
