England Teams Ready to Compete at 2022 World Tug of War Championships
This week will see The TWIF World Outdoor Tug of War Championships taking place in Holten, Netherlands, which will see clubs and representative teams from 20 countries battling it out for the gold medals in the mens, ladies, mixed, under 23 men, under 23 ladies, under 23 mixed, junior men, junior ladies and junior mixed competitions. This year will see the international competitions happening in more “normal” circumstances, with no international competitions taking place in 2020, and a scaled back World Championships taking place in 2021.
This year we will have England teams competing in unique and sombre circumstances during the period of official mourning for the late Her Majesty the Queen. As a mark of respect, our teams will be competing in black armbands at the event.
We have a number of clubs representing England at this event and you can read a bit more about them and how they got there below.
Men 560kg
England will this year be represented by Upper Eden TOWC from Cumbria, who will be representing England at a Word Championships for the very first time. Upper Eden have been competing on the TOWA circuit since 2017 and have built up a good team over the past few seasons in the lighter mens weight classes. Upper Eden represented England as a club for the first time at the 2019 British and Irish Championships, but missed out on a medal on that occasion in the mens 600kg competition, but picked up a bronze in the mixed 580kg competition at the same championships. Some of their members went on to win gold for England in the 600kg weight class as part of a composite team at the 2021 British and Irish Championships. This year the team represented England in their own right at the British and Irish Championships in the 600kg competition where they finished in 4th place. Upper Eden qualified for this competition as 560kg silver medallists at the National Championships, whilst also picking up a bronze in the mixed 580kg. We wish Upper Eden well representing England at the World Championships for the first time in what promises to be a fantastic experience.
Men 640kg
England will this year be represented by Lincoln who qualified for this competition as national champions and won gold in the mens 600, 640, 680, 720 and mixed 580kg at the national championships. Lincoln, as England representatives, won the bronze medal at the last World Championships held in Getxo, and will be looking to improve on that this time after a successful few months so far where they have won many of the competitions that they have entered, as well as silver for Great Britain in the mens 640kg at the World Games and then had pullers who went on to win gold for Great Britain in the mixed 580kg at the same event, before going on to represent England at the British and Irish Championships in the 680kg and mixed 580kg competition where they won gold in both.
Men 680kg
England will this year be represented by Felton Eccles TOWC who are based in Somerset. Felton Eccles qualified for the mens 680kg competition as silver medallists in this weight class at the 2022 English National Championships. The 680kg competition was won by Lincoln at the National Championships, however they have chosen to represent England in the senior mens 640kg competition, so Felton Eccles will be representing England as the highest placed team at the national championships. Felton also won silver in the 640kg and 600kg competitions and bronze in the mens 720kg at the national championships and have had a good season so far. Felton of course are no strangers to international tug of war having represented England on numerous occasions. Felton represented last England at the 2019 European Championships in the mens 720kg weight class and will be hoping for a medal again on this occasion.
Men 720kg
England will this year be represented by York who have had a great season so far after winning silver and two bronze medals at the national championships. Like Upper Eden, this season will be the first time that York have represented England at a World Championships, but the club has represented England before in the mixed 600kg at the 2013 UK Championships held in Perth where the team won the silver medal, with the team also representing England at the British and Irish Championships in August as England B in the mens 680kg team where the team finished in 4th place. York will be hoping to pick up a medal for England at this competition too. We wish York well representing England at the World Championships for the first time in what promises to be a fantastic experience.
York Tug of War Club are currently doing some crowdfunding towards representing England this year, and if you wish to make a donation to help them on their way, then please visit their crowdfunding page at 
https://www.gofundme.com/f/york-pulling-for-england
Ladies 500kg
England will this year be represented by Bedford Ladies who qualified for the event as national champions. It has been a very busy 12 months for Bedford Ladies on the national and international circuit. Bedford have so far had a very successful season winning gold in the ladies 500kg and 520kg competitions and silver in the ladies 540kg and 560kg competitions at the national championships and have recently been part of the Great Britain squad that competed at the World Games in Alabama where the GB ladies finished 4th, just missing out on a bronze medal in the ladies 540kg competition, but then won gold as part of the mixed 580kg Great Britain team which was a massive achievement. Bedford also recently represented England in the Ladies 520kg weight class at the British and Irish Championships where they won the gold medal.
Bedford Ladies Tug of War Club are currently doing some crowdfunding towards representing England this year, and if you wish to make a donation to help them on their way, then please visit their crowdfunding page at https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/bedfordladies-worldgames
Ladies 540kg
England will this year be represented by Melton Mowbray Ladies who will be presenting England at a World Championships for the very first time. Melton Ladies have had a strong season to date, when they ended the dominance of Bedford Ladies at the National Championships by winning both the ladies 540kg and 560kg competitions at the 2022 National Championships and also picked up silver in the ladies 500kg competition. This is Melton Ladies second full season on the ladies circuit and they have made great progress in a short space of time, representing England in the ladies 560kg at the British and Irish Championships in 2021 and 2022 and winning the gold medal on both occasions. They will be our third club competing at the event who will be representing England for the very first time and we hope they enjoy the experience.
Melton Mowbray Ladies are currently doing some crowdfunding towards representing England this year, and if you wish to make a donation to help them on their way, then please visit their crowdfunding page at https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-melton-ladies-tow
Senior Mixed 580kg
For the mixed 580kg competition, given that the top three teams that won medals at the national championships will be representing England in other weight classes, the England mixed team will be a composite team of available pullers who won’t be competing in other weight classes that are being held at the same time.
The Mixed squad is Siobaun Jose, Emily Kerry, Liz Todd, Rebecca Vick, Lauren Bates, Danny Webber, Richard Keightley, Jamie Dixon, Tim Spakouskas, Andrew Huggins.
Junior Men 560kg
This year will be the first time for a few seasons where we will have an England junior mens team competing, which is great to see.
The junior mens team will be a squad of young pullers from clubs and YFC teams from all over the country.
There have been a number of development sessions held over the course of the season for our junior pullers and it has been great to see lots of interest and enthusiasm from the pullers and coaches involved which has resulted in the selection of the following:
Callum Ellis, Tom Allan, Jedd Hall, Joe Hulme, Will Howard, Dylan King, George Barker, Harry Wooton Evans, Lewis Sorrel, Myles Capper.
Junior Ladies 480kg
As with the junior mens team, this year will also be the first time for a few seasons where we will have an England junior ladies team competing, which is great to see.
The junior ladies team will be a squad of young pullers from clubs and YFC teams from all over the country.
There have been a number of development sessions held over the course of the season for our junior pullers and it has been great to see lots of interest and enthusiasm from the pullers and coaches involved which has resulted in the selection of the following:
Carley Thwaites, Pippa Steele, Millie Tomplinson, Mollie Read, Amelia Kerry, Grace Sercombe, Harriett Benjamin, Izzie Kucznik, Claudia Clemons, Niamh Winder
Junior Mixed 520kg
The England junior mixed team will be competing in this weight class with a squad of pullers from the junior men and junior ladies pullers listed above.
Under 23 Men 600kg
The England Mens Under 23 600kg team will be a squad team of Under 23 pullers mainly made up of pullers from Bosley and Upper Eden. All of the pullers involved in the team are competing in their first full outdoor season on the TOWA circuit. The squad recently got a flavour of international pulling at the British and Irish Championships, and will now take the huge step up to international level and it will be very much a learning experience for them. We wish these pullers the very best of luck!
England Under 23 Squad – Ewan Hay, Jackson Twentyman, Matthew Fabi, Jack Sowerby, Harry Large, Greg Large, Alfie Waring, Tom Whilock, Rob Clark
England Under 23 Ladies 500kg
The England ladies 500kg team will be a squad team of Under 23 pullers mainly made up of pullers from Essex, Bosley, Army Ladies and Upper Eden. Many of the pullers involved in the team are competing in their first full outdoor season on the TOWA circuit and as with the under 23 men, it will be very much a learning experience for them after getting a first taste of international tug of war at the recent British and Irish Championships. We wish these pullers the very best of luck!
England Under 23 Squad - Holly Griffiths, Freya Russell, Zoe Glendinning, Zoe Brocklehurst, Ellie Platt, Jessica de Main, Rhearna Griffin, Kirsten Rutter, Maddie Hempell
England Under 23 Mixed
The England under 23 mixed team will be competing in this weight class with a squad of pullers from the junior men and junior ladies pullers listed above.
Live Streaming
The Open Club and Closed International Competitions will all be streamed live.
The stream will be available by clicking here.
The programme of events is as follows:
Open Club Competition
Thursday 15 September
Morning - 09.30 (08.30 UK time) – Men 680, Mixed 580, Junior Men 560 and Junior Ladies 480
Lincoln, York and Felton Eccles will be competing in the mens 680kg, Essex will be competing in the mixed 580kg and the England junior teams will be competing as Upper Eden in the Junior men and junior ladies competitions.
Afternoon - 13.30 (12.30 UK time) – Men 560, Ladies 500, Under 23 Mixed 560kg
Bedford Ladies and Melton Mowbray Ladies will be competing in the ladies 500kg, and Felton Eccles, Lincoln and Upper Eden will be competing in the mens 560kg.
Friday 16 September
Morning - 09.30 (08.30 UK time) – Men 720, Under 23 Men 600, Under 23 Ladies 500
York will be competing in the 720kg competition, and the England under 23 ladies team will be competing as Leek in the ladies 500kg competition.
Afternoon - 13.30 (12.30 UK time) – Men 640, Ladies 540, Junior Mixed 520
Lincoln and Felton Eccles will be competing in the mens 640kg, Melton Mobray will be competing in the ladies 540kg and the England junior team will be competing as Upper Eden in the junior mixed competition with an A and a B team.
International Competition
Saturday 17 September
Morning - 09.30 (08.30 UK time) – Men 680, Mixed 580, Junior Men 560 and Junior Ladies 480
England will be competing in all weight classes
Afternoon - 13.30 (12.30 UK time) – Men 560, Ladies 500, Under 23 Mixed 560kg
England will be competing in all weight classes
Sunday 18 September
Morning - 09.30 (08.30 UK time) – Men 720, Under 23 Men 600, Under 23 Ladies 500
England will be competing in all weight classes
Afternoon - 13.30 (12.30 UK time) – Men 640, Ladies 540, Junior Mixed 520
England will be competing in all weight classes
