2024 British and Irish Championships Results - Melton Mowbray
The 2024 British and Irish Tug of War Championships this year were hosted by England in Play Close Park on the edge of Melton Mowbray town centre in Leicestershire, with the event being organised with a huge amount of work and support from Melton Mowbray Ladies TOWC and Lincoln TOWC. It was a wonderful setting and we enjoyed two days of great competition with national teams and club teams taking part from England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and the republic of Ireland.
The first day of competition was the international event which started with the opening parade of teams before the morning sessions got underway. The morning weight classes were the womens 520kg competition and the mens 600kg competition.
In the mens 600kg competition, England A were represented by Oxney Vines Cross, and England B were represented by Upper Eden. In addition to these teams, England C were represented by the England Under 23s (each country is allowed to enter an under 23 team as a C team). Photo: England B 600kg team represented by Upper Eden
The group stages saw England A perform strongly to top the group. For England B, it was a bit more of a struggle throughout the competition and they struggled to pick up points early on, which proved costly as they missed out on finishing in the top four and earning a place in the semi-finals. England C on the other hand were the surprise package performing strongly early on with a 2 ends to 0 win over Scotland and England B, collecting enough points to progress to the semi finals. Photo: England C 600kg under 23 team
The semi-finals saw England A and England C progress along with Ireland A and Northern Ireland A. England A and Ireland A progressed to the final leaving England C and Northern Ireland A to battle for bronze. England C put in a great performance coming very close to taking the first end only to pick up 3 cautions with Northern Ireland being awarded the end on a disqualification. Northern Ireland then went on to take the second end to secure bronze. In the final, Ireland A put up a strong fight against England A, but it was England, represented by Oxney Vines Cross who took the gold medal, winning this competition at 600kg for the first time in 33 years! Photo: England A 600kg team represented by Oxney Vines Cross
In the Womens 520kg, England A were represented by Bedford Ladies and England B were represented by Bedfordshire. England also had a C team taking part represented by Under 23 pullers. Photo: England C Under 23 520kg team
The group stages saw England A top the group without losing an end, with England B finishing as group runners up. England C finished the group in fourth place so all 3 England teams progressed to the semi-final along with Scotland A. In the semi final, England A defeated England C and England B defeated Scotland A. Photo: England B 520kg team represented by Bedfordshire
The medal matches saw England C face Scotland A for bronze, and despite a good effort, England C weren't quite strong enough to match Scotland A and they finished in fourth place, meaning that both of our mens and womens under 23 squads finished in the top four this year which is a good acheivement. In the final, it was England A vs England B, with England A again remaining unbeaten to win the final by 2 ends to 0 to take the gold medal and regain the 520kg title that they lost last year to England B who were represented by Melton Ladies at that time. England B, represented by Bedfordshire took a well earned silver for the second year running. Photo: England A 520kg team represented by Bedford Ladies
In the junior mens competition, England A were represented by Upper Eden and England B were represented by Kilroe and they were up against teams from Wales. There were some close matches in this weight class, with all teams taking ends off each other. Photo: England B Junior Men 560kg team represented by Kilroe
Eventually, it was England A and England B who progressed to the final. It was another good match up, with England A, represented by Upper Eden taking the gold medal by 2 ends to 0. Photo: England A Junior Men 560kg team represented by Upper Eden
In the junior ladies competition, England A were represented by Upper Eden, and England B were represented by a composite team and again, they were up against teams from Wales. Photo: England B Junior Ladies 520kg team represented by a composite team.
For England A, the competition didn't quite go according to plan, and they missed out on a spot in the final, so England B and Wales A progressed to the final, with England B being an undefeated team. England B continued their unbeaten run by winning the gold medal by 2 ends to 0. England A won the bronze medal. Photo: England A Junior Ladies 520kg team represented by Upper Eden
In the mens 680kg competition, England A were represented by Lincoln and England B were represented by Felton Eccles. In the group stages, England A were unbeaten, with England B picking up plenty of points to also finish in the top four and make the semi finals along with Ireland A and Wales A. Photo: England B 680kg team represented by Felton Eccles
In the semi finals, England A defeated Wales A by 2 ends to 0, however there was an exciting 3 end battle in the other semi final between England B and Ireland A, with Ireland A eventually progressing by 2 ends to 1. In the bronze medal match, England B fought hard to bring back the bronze medal. The final saw England A take on Ireland A with England A taking a well deserved gold medal by 2 ends to 0 and win the 680kg title for the 8th consecutive year. Photo: England A 680kg team represented by Lincoln
In the womens 560kg competition, England A were represented by the home team Melton Mowbray Ladies, and England B were represented by Army Ladies, and they were up against teams from Wales and Scotland. Both teams progressed to the semi finals, with England A progressing in first place and England B progressing in second place. Photo: England B Ladies 560kg team represented by Army Ladies
Both England A and England B won their respective semi-finals to set up an all England final, however before that there was a bronze medal match between Scotland and Wales, with Wales taking the bronze by 2 ends to 0. In the final, Army Ladies for England, were the defending champions from 2023, and they were up against Melton Ladies who won the 520kg competition for England in 2023. This time, it was England A, represented by Melton Ladies who prevailed in the final by 2 ends to 0, and they won their fourth British and Irish title in a row. Photo: England A ladies 560kg team represented by Melton Mowbray Ladies
The junior mixed competition was another competitive weight class, with England A being represented by Upper Eden and England B represented by Kilroe, and they were up against teams from Scotland and Wales. There was a lot of close tug of war with England A and B, Scotland A and Wales A all making the semi finals. Photo: England A junior mixed team represented by Upper Eden
Both England A and Scotland A progressed to the final, with England B and Wales A pulling for bronze. In the bronze medal match, England B eventually ran out of steam, and it was Wales A who took the bronze. In the final, Scotland A put in a strong performance to take the gold medal ahead of England A by 2 ends to 0. Photo: England B junior mixed team represented by Kilroe
The final weight class of the day was the Mixed 580kg competition. England A were represented by Lincoln, and England B were represented by Anstey who were representing England as a club for the very first time. In addition, England C were represented by Under 23s. Photo: England A senior mixed 580kg team represented by Lincoln / Bedford Ladies
All three teams put in an exceptional performance, with all three teams progressing to the semi-finals. The battle for the remaining semi final spot between the other nations saw Scotland A progress to the semi-finals. England A defeated Scotland A in their semi-final, and England B defeated England C in the other semi-final. Photo: England C mixed 580kg team represented by Under 23s.
In the bronze medal match, England C put in another strong performance to take the bronze medal by 2 ends to 0, and win their second British and Irish mixed bronze medal in a row which is a fantastic achievement. In the final, England A had more experience and took the gold medal by 2 ends to 0 ahead of England B, but what a performance by Anstey representing England for the first time to take a well earned silver medal. We are sure to see them representing England again soon in the coming years! Photo: England B Mixed 580kg team represented by Anstey
Well done to everyone who took part in this years event and made it a great competition, and in particular, thanks again to all of the volunteers, committee members, Lincoln TOWC and Melton Ladies for all of the hard work and effort that they put in to stage this event. And of course, thanks to the many sponsors for their financial support to help make this event possible. We could not have done it without you all, so thank you!
Open Competition
Teams competing:
Men - Hay on Wye (Wales), Garvagh (Northern Ireland), Killylough, G&B (Ireland), Ayrshire (Scotland), Lincoln, Felton Eccles, Oxney Vines Cross, Upper Eden, Holland, East Anglia, Bosley, Kilroe, Anstey (England)
Ladies - Ayrshire (Scotland), Hay on Wye (Wales), Bedford Ladies, Bedfordshire, Upper Eden, Holland, East Anglia, Under 23s, Melton Mowbray, Anstey, Army Ladies (England)
Junior - Felton Eccles, Upper Eden, Kilroe, Holland, England composite team (England), Ayrshire (Scotland)
Results
Men 580kg - Winners - Lincoln - Runners Up - Felton Eccles
Men 600 - Winners - Killylough (Ireland) - Runners Up - G&B (Ireland)
Men 640kg - Winners - Lincoln - Runners Up - Oxney Vines Cross
Men 680kg - Winners - Lincoln - Runners Up - Oxney Vines Cross
Ladies 500kg - Winners - Bedford Ladies - Runners Up - Melton Mowbray Ladies
Ladies 520kg - Winners - Bedford Ladies - Runners Up - Melton Mowbray Ladies
Ladies 540kg - Winners - Bedford Ladies - Runners Up - Army Ladies
Ladies 560kg - Winners - Bedford Ladies - Runners Up - Army Ladies
Junior Men 560kg - Winners - Kilroe - Runners Up - Upper Eden
Junior Ladies 520kg - Winners - ETOWA composite team - Runners Up - Upper Eden
Junior Mixed 540kg - Winners - Ayrshire (Scotland) - Runners Up - Upper Eden
