2022 World Outdoor Tug of War Championships - Open Competition Results
The TWIF Open Club Competition has concluded today at the World Championships in Holten Netherlands after two fantastic days of open club competition and a number of competitions for the juniors, under 23 and senior teams.
Day 1 saw the mens 680kg and 560kg competitions take place, along with the senior mixed 580kg, Junior Men 560kg, Junior Ladies 480kg, and Under 23 Mixed 560kg. There was a lot of pulling, and English interest in the event came in the form of Felton Eccles and Lincoln in both the mens 560kg and 680kg competitions, York in the 680kg, Essex in the mixed 580kg and Upper Eden in the Mens 560kg. In the junior competitions, the England Junior Team competed as Upper Eden in the junior ladies 480kg and junior men 560kg. In the ladies competition, Bedford Ladies and Melton Mowbray Ladies 500kg class.
The morning competitions saw the 680kg, mixed 580kg, and the junior mens and ladies competitions take place.
The 680kg competition was split into 4 leagues with the top 2 teams in each league going through to the quarter finals. There were a lot of good teams in this weight and there were lots of teams from the host nation taking part. Felton Eccles finished in third place in their group so missed out on a quarter final spot and York missed out from their group as well, but Lincoln got through their group to reach the quarter finals where they were drawn against Stans-Oberdorf from Switzerland. Lincoln have had a great season so far, but unfortunately it wasn’t to be on this occasion and it was Stans-Oberdorft who progressed and went on to win the competition.
Gold – Stans-Oberdorf (Switzerland) – Silver – Valleitrekkers A (Netherlands) – Bronze – Mertensmannen (Belgium) – 4th – Goldscheuere (Germany)
In the mixed competition Essex competed in a competition that was split into two large groups. It was tough going in this event with lots of great teams taking part but with only the top two teams from each group progressing. Unfortunately Essex didn’t make it to the top two places in the group.
Gold - Eibergen (Netherlands) – Silver - Taichung (Chinese Taipei) – Bronze - Monnickendam (Netherlands) – 4th - Brunnsberg (Sweden)
In the junior ladies 480kg the England Junior Team competed as Upper Eden. There was a small entry of teams, but they won some good ends through the competition and went into the Semi Finals where they met Drostdy from South Africa. The South African team were too strong for our girls on this occasion, so Upper Eden went into the bronze medal match against Swellendam, also from South Africa. This pull went 1-1 in the group, but on this occasion, Upper Eden lost out by 2 ends to 0 to miss out on a bronze medal.
Gold - Ayrshire (Scotland) – Silver - Drostdy (South Africa) – Bronze - Swellendam (South Africa) – 4th - Upper Eden (England)
In the junior mens competition, this weight class was split into two leagues where the top two teams from each group would progress to the semi-finals. The England Junior Team competed as Upper Eden in this competition and won some brilliant matches in this competition, but missed out on a spot in the semi-finals, but gaining valuable experience in the process.
Gold - Oakdale A (South Africa) - Shou Shan (Chinese Taipei) – Bronze - Stans Oberdorf (Switzerland) - Swellendam (South Africa)
The ladies 500kg saw Bedford Ladies and Melton Mowbray Ladies taking part, with Melton taking part in their first World Championships. This competition was split into two groups with Bedford and Melton being drawn into separate groups. Melton finished 5th in their group, and Bedford finished third in their group so they just missed out on a spot in the semi finals.
Gold - Sins (Switzerland) – Silver - Jingmei Tai Shi Da (Chinese Taipei) – Bronze – Mosnang (Switzerland) – 4th - Gonten (Switzerland)
In the under 23 mixed competition, there were no teams from England competing, but the final result is provided below:
Gold - Brunnsberg (Sweden) – Silver - Ti Da-Tai Shi Da-Jin (Chinese Taipei) – Bronze – Valsbaai (South Africa) – 4th - Goiherri (Basque Country)
The 560kg competition was split into 4 large groups. This is always a very competitive weight class with lots of great tug of war clubs taking part. Upper Eden, Felton Eccles and Lincoln all took part in this weight class, and despite holding their own against some top class opposition, didn’t make the top two places in their respective groups to reach the quarter finals. The final result was as follows:
Gold - Gaztedi (Basque Country) – Silver – Sins A (Switzerland) – Bronze – Engelberg (Switzerland) – 4th – Simonswald (Germany.
There was some great pulling on day 1 but no medals for English Clubs in these competitions.
Day 2 saw the mens 720kg and 640kg, ladies 540kg, under 23 ladies 500kg, under 23 men 600kg, and the junior mixed 520kg competitions take place. English interest in these competitions came in the form of York in the 720kg, Fleton Eccles and Lincoln in the 640kg, Melton Mowbray in the Ladies 540kg, the England under 23 Ladies team pulling as Cheadle YFC in the under 23 Ladies 500kg, and The England Junior Team forming A and B teams in the junior mixed competition pulling as Upper Eden A and B.
With no medals won on day 1, it was hoped for a better day on day 2, and we are very pleased to say that a number of our teams delivered just that!
The mens 720kg saw York using this weight class as a warm up for representing England at 720kg at the weekend. This competition was split into two leagues, and it was a tough weight with York not making the final standings but gaining useful experience ahead of the weekend.
The final result was as follows:
Gold - Valleitrekkers (Netherlands) – Silver - Fam. Janssens (Belgium) – Bronze - Veenseboys (Netherlands) – 4th - Gelderswoude (Netherlands)
At the same time as the 720kg was taking place, the under 23 competitions were taking place. No teams from England entered the under 23 mens open competition, but the England Under 23 Ladies team competed as Cheadle YFC in the ladies 500kg competition. The competition was pulled as a straight group with the top two teams going to the semi finals. Cheadle did a great job to finish second in the overall group standings and progress to the semi-finals. They had a grueeling semi-final against Goudini from South Africa which went to three ends, with the team from South Africa just edging it. In the bronze medal match Cheadle faced Goiherri from the Basque Country who they had already beaten by 2 ends to 0 in the group stage. After a tougher semi final than their opponents, this was another gruelling pull. Goiherri took the first end, and the second end was a really good fight. Goiherri took rope off the Cheadle team but had to work very hard to do so and started picking up cautions in the process. Goiherri were within centimetres of the line before they were eventually disqualified for receiving three cautions and the match went to a deciding end. On this occasion, Cheadle took the initiative and worked really hard to work their opponents over the line and take a well earned bronze medal. This is the first ladies under 23 medal won by an English under 23 ladies team – well done girls!
Final Result
Gold - Jingmei Tai shi Da (Chinese Taipei) – Silver - Goudini (South Africa) – Bronze – Cheadle (England) – 4th - Goiherri Basque Country
There were no English teams competing in the under 23 mens 600kg, but the final result was as follows:
Gold - Böllen (Germany) – Silver – Powerrangers (Belgium) – Bronze - Taiwan Sports Uni (Chinese Taipei) – 4th - Stans Oberdorf (Switzerland)
On to the afternoon competitions and there was further excitement for the English Clubs.
In the ladies 540kg Melton Mowbray were competing in a straight league with the top four teams progressing, and they put in a great shift to reach the top four and compete for the chance of winning a medal. In the semi-finals they met the strong Gelderswoude team from the Netherlands who had topped the group rounds and it was the Dutch ladies that progressed to the semi final with a 2 ends to 0 win. Melton therefore went through to the bronze medal match against the strong Gaztedi team from the Basque Coutnry. The match between these two teams went 1-1 in the group rounds, so the stage was set for an exciting pull, but Melton upped their game from the group rounds and controlled the match impressively to take the bronze medal by 2 ends to 0, which is a fantastic result for their first world championships!
Final Result
Gold – Gelderswoude (Netherlands) – Silver – Sins (Switzerland) – Bronze – Melton Mowbray Ladies (England) – Gaztedi (Basque Country
The junior mixed 520kg competition was a really exciting competition with the England Junior Team fielding an A and B team competing as Upper Eden A and B, which gave our junior pullers an opportunity to gain more valuable experience. The A and B team faced each other in the first round, with the A team taking the points by 2 ends to 0. The B team battled away well throughout the competition taking some good ends on the way, but it was the A team that grew in confidence and form as the competition progressed. Later on in the competition, the A team made a substitution and continued to improve, so much so that they progressed to the semi finals. In the semi finals, they were drawn against Breervier Club from South Africa, but went down to a 2 ends to 0, so went on to face Ayrshire in the bronze medal match who they had beaten earlier in their final group round. Upper Eden took the first end, but then Ayrshire went on to take the second end meaning that the pull went to a deciding third end. In another very close and exciting pull, Upper Eden took the end and the bronze medal which was a joy to watch and is the first medal won at junior level by an English team at TWIF level (other than GENSB) since 1993, so it was brilliant to see the juniors to bring home a medal – well done to the whole junior squad!
Final Result:
Gold - Swellendam (South Africa) – Silver - Breerivier Club A (South Africa) – Bronze - Upper Eden A (England) – 4th – Ayrshire (Scotland)
The day completed with the 640kg compettion with Lincoln and Felton Eccles taking part. This was split into 4 large leagues and there were a number of long ends in this competition. Lincoln performed very strongly in their group rounds to top their group without dropping an end to progress to the quarter finals. Felton Eccles put in a good performance, but finished in third place to miss out on a quarter final spot. In the quarter finals, Lincoln met Mertensmannen from Belgium and ran out as 2 ends to 0 winners to make the semi-finals. In the semi-finals they met Ebersecken from Switzerland, and again, Lincoln put in a dominant performance to come away with a 2 ends to 0 win and reach the final. In the final, they met the great Engelberg team, and this was another great final which went to three ends. Lincoln performed exceptionally well to take the first end, but two really hard fought ends later saw the gold medal eventually go to Engelberg.
After another great day of tug of war, English clubs came away with 1 silver medal and 3 bronze medals. It really was great to see junior and under 23 pullers come away with medals, which is great for the future of our sport, and it was also another great day for ladies tug of war in England with bronzes won in the ladies 540kg and under 23 500kg, and of course bronzes won by the junior ladies who were part of the junior mixed team. Congratulations!
Attention now turns to the international competitions on Saturday and Sunday where we will be hoping for some great performances from the England teams!Click to edit text. What stands you apart from the competition?
Photo: Lincoln 640kg team - silver medal winners
Video of the junior mixed bronze medal pull
