2023 World Senior Tug of War Championships Results
England had teams competing at the senior world outdoor tug of war championships in Switzerland recently, with Lincoln, Sandhurst, Bedford Ladies, Army Ladies and Upper Eden taking part in the open club competition, followed by England being represented in all weight classes in the closed international competition.
Open Competition
The first day of open competition saw the mens 680, mens 560 and womens 500 take place.
In the 680 competition, Lincoln were England’s sole club in this event and they were drawn into group 1 of the four group competition along with Malmo from Sweden, Zell from Germany, Ebersecken and Luthern from Switzerland, Astra-Feltre from Italy, and Valleitrekkers and Gelderswoude from the Netherlands. Lincoln won their first 6 matches by 2 ends to 0 and went into their final group match against Valleitrekkers who were also unbeaten. This match therefore decided who would finish first and second in the group to determine who teams would face in the quarter final. On this occasion it was the Dutch team who succeeded with a 2 ends to 0 win. In the quarter finals, Lincoln met Engelberg from Switzerland and went down to a 2 ends to 0 defeat to miss out on the semi finals and a chance to compete for a medal.
Engelberg eventually progressed to the final where they were defeated by 2 ends to 1 by Valleitrekkers. Goldscheuer from Germany won the bronze.
No clubs from England took part in the mens 560kg competition with Sins A from Switzerland taking gold, Gaztedi from Switzerland taking silver and Sins B taking the bronze.
The ladies 500kg competition saw the weight class being split into two groups. Bedford Ladies were drawn in group 2 along with Mosnang and Stans-Oberdorf from Switzerland, Jingmei from Chinese Taipei, Cornhill from Scotland, Heure from Netherlands and Gaztedi B from the Basque Country. It was a tough group with Bedford eventually finishing in fourth place with Heure and Jingmei progressing.
The final result saw Sins from Switzerland win gold, Heure from the Netherlands win silver, and Brunnsbergs from Sweden win bronze.
The second day of open competition saw the senior mixed 580kg take place in the morning with Sandhurst and Upper Eden competing. Sandhurst were drawn into group 2, and Upper Eden were drawn into group 3. Sandhurst were up against Sevelen and Thurtal from Switzerland, Brunnsbergs from Sweden, Jeux Bretons Casson from France, Mutriku from the Basque Country and Taichung from Chinese Taipei. Upper Eden were up against Malmo from Sweden, Sins and Waltenschwil-Kallern from Switzerland, Heure from Netherlands and Zeus Pagratis from Greece.
Sandhurst finished in 5th place overall in their group and Upper Eden finished in 3rd place overall in their group, so both missed out on a spot in the quarter final stages. The eventual gold medallists were Taichung from Chinese Taipei, with Eibergen from the Netherlands winning silver and Heure from the Netherlands taking the bronze.
In the afternoon, the mens 640 and ladies 540 took place, with Lincoln competing in the 640 and Army Ladies competing in the 540.
The 640 was split into 4 large groups with Lincoln being drawn into group 2 along with Ebersecken, Rosenhockler and Glungge-Thurtal from Switzerland, Veenseboys B, Valleitrekkers and OKIA from the Netherlands, Mertensmannen from Belgium, Mutriku from the Basque Country and Simonswald from Germany. Lincoln started off with a 1-1 pull against home team Ebersecken, and only dropping one more end against OKIA in the group to eventually finish in first place and progress to the quarter finals. Lincoln then progressed to the semi-finals where they met Stans-Oberdorf from Switzerland who were also representing Switzerland in this weight class in the international competition. This time, it was a 2 ends to 0 defeat for Lincoln, so they went into the bronze medal match against Goldscheuer from Germany, which Lincoln won by 2 ends to 0 with a strong performance. The final saw Stans-Oberdorf take the gold medal by 2 ends to 0 ahead of Ebersecken.
The womens 540kg competition was run as a single large group, with Amry Ladies up against Jingmei from Chinese Taipei, Brunnsbergs from Sweden, Gelderswoude and Heure from the Netherlands, Sins and Gonten from Switzerland, Power Train from the USA, and Goiherri and Gaztedi from Switzerland. Army Ladies only defeat in the group came first on against Jingmei,, and went on to defeat Power Train, Goiherri, Heure, Gaztedi and Gonten with 1-1 draws against Brunnsbergs, Gelderswoude and Sins. Army Ladies eventually finished 3rd in the group to progress to the semi finals.
In the semi-finals, they met Brinnsbergs from Sweden and missed out on a place in the final by 2 ends to 0. Army Ladies then went through to the bronze medal match where they faced Sins from Switzerland. In a strong performance, Army Ladies came away with a well deserved bronze medal by 2 ends to 0 to win their first ever world championships medal. The final was won by Jingmei by 2 ends to 0 ahead of Brunnsbergs.
International Competition
The first day of senior international competitions started with the mens 680 and 560 and ladies 500kg.
The 680kg competition took place in the morning with England being represented by Lincoln. This competition was split into two groups with England being drawn into group 1 along with Basque Country, Netherlands, Ireland, Lithuania, Greece and Chinese Taipei. The top two teams from each group would progress to the semi-finals. England won all of their opening matches going into the final group round against the Netherlands who were also unbeaten. The Netherlands went on to secure a 2 ends to 0 win which meant that England finished in second place and progressed to the semi finals where they would face Switzerland. It was not to be in the semi final with Switzerland progressing to the final with a 2 ends to 0 win. In the bronze medal match, England faced Sweden, performing strongly to take a 2 ends to 0 win to secure the bronze medal.
In the afternoon, the womens 500 and mens 560 took place.
In the womens 500, England were represented by Bedford Ladies, with this competition being split into two groups. England were draw in group 2 with South Africa, Italy, Netherlands, Belgium and Switzerland. England started off with a good win against the Netherlands and then Belgium, and were then defeated by 2 ends to 0 by Switzerland., England then defeated South Africa and went into their final match against Italy who were level on points with England and also had a chance of the semi-finals. This pull went 1-1, so England and Italy finished level on points. When the TWIF countback criteria was applied, England progressed.
In the semi-finals, England met Chinese Taipei where they were defeated by 2 ends to 0, so they went into the bronze medal match against Germany, who they also faced for bronze in 2022. On this occasion, it was Germany who succeeded with a 2 ends to 0 win with England finishing in 4th place.
In the mens 560kg competition, England were represented by Sandhurst, who were representing England at a senior world championships for the first time since 2004, and for the first time at a TWIF competition since 2009. This competition was split into two groups with England being drawn into the same group as Chinese Taipei, USA, Northern Ireland, Basque Country and Belgium. The 560kg was a tough weight class with England eventually finishing in 5th place in the group, so they didn’t progress to the semi-finals.
The final result saw Switzerland win gold, with Basque Country taking silver and Scotland the bronze.
The second and final day of international competition saw the mixed 580, mens 640 and womens 540 take place.
The mixed competition saw England being represented by Lincoln and Bedford Ladies, which was split into two groups with England being drawn into group 1 along with Greece, USA, Switzerland, Basque Country, Latvia, Chinese Taipei and Netherlands. This group ended up being the group of death with several ends being dropped by teams all over the place. At the end of the group rounds, Basque Country finished in first place, with England and Netherlands finishing in joint second place. When the TWIF countback criteria was applied, England progressed to the semi-finals in second place.
In the semi finals, England met Sweden where England went on to a 2 ends to 0 defeat so went into the bronze medal match where they faced Italy. On this occasion, having expended a lot of energy in the group stage, it was Italy who took the bronze medal by 2 ends to 0 to win their first ever international medal at a TWIF championship. The gold medal was won by Sweden with a 2 ends to 0 win over the Basque Country.
The afternoon session saw the mens 640kg and womens 540kg take place.
The ladies 540kg saw Army Ladies representing England and they were up against Netherlands, Switzerland, USA, Basque Country, Germany, Sweden, Chinese Taipei and South Africa with the top four teams progressing to the semi finals. England had a tough start against Chinese Taipei first on losing by 2 ends to 0, but picked up the points against South Africa, Netherlands, USA, Germany and the Basque Country to finish in the top four and progress to the semi finals along with Sweden, Chinese Taipei, and Switzerland.
In the semi final, England were drawn against Switzerland and were defeated by 2 ends to 0, so they went into the bronze medal match against Sweden with England’s representatives hoping to repeat their bronze medal success from the open competition. On this occasion it wasn’t to be and it was Sweden who took the bronze medal by 2 ends to 0. Chinese Taipei were the gold medallists with a hard fought 2 ends to 1 win over the host country Switzerland.
The mens 640kg competition saw England being represented by Lincoln. Lincoln went into this weight with a few pullers who had already been in a very tough mixed weight class in the morning and were in a group containing Italy, Ireland, Belgium, Scotland and Germany. A tough start meant that England dropped three crucial ends early in the competition meaning that they were up against it to qualify from their group to make the semi finals, and another 2 ends to 0 defeat meant that they finished in third place in the group overall and missed out on the semi finals. As the competition was split into two groups, England went into the 5th / 6th place pull off against Chinese Taipei which they ended up winning by 2 ends to 0. The final result saw Switzerland win gold, Netherlands silver and Belgium bronze.
Well done to all of the senior teams who represented England in Switzerland this year, and all of your hard work to get there despite the financial challenges. Whilst some results may not have been what teams wanted, your efforts are hugely appreciated.
