2024 National Indoor Tug of War Championships Results
The 2024 National Indoor Championships were once again stage in Bakewell at the Agricultural Centre. This year we had Kilroe, Bosley, Sheen and Uppertown taking part, and whilst the number of clubs taking part is smaller than the number of clubs taking part on the outdoor circuit, there was a significant increase in competitors across the board this year, particularly younger competitors which enabled us to also stage junior and under 23 competitions which were both great additions to this years indoor championships.
The day opened with the catchweight competition. Sheen and Bosley competed in the final, with Sheen coming out as 2 ends to 0 winners to win the title for the second consecutive year.
The 640kg competition followed with all clubs entering teams. Sheen were the defending champions in this weight class and opened with a 2 ends to 0 win over Bosley whilst Kilroe defeated Uppertown by 2 ends to 0. Sheen progressed to the final as group winners and they were joined in the final by Kilroe. Bosley and Uppertown contested the bronze medal match with Uppertown taking the bronze by 2 ends to 0. The final was a repeat of the 2023 final, with Sheen taking the gold medal by 2 ends to 0 to win the 640kg for the third consecutive year.
Photo - Sheen
The 560kg competition is the lightest mens weight class with the defending champions being Bosley. They opened the competition with a 2 ends to 0 win over Sheen, and they eventually progressed to the final where they met Uppertown, who were the silver medallists from 2023. Another good performance by Bosley saw them take the gold medal by 2 ends to 0 to win the 560kg title for the fifth year in a row.
Photo: Bosley
The 720kg competition followed where Kilroe and Sheen ended up contesting the final. It was a very exciting and closely fought match with Sheen eventually finishing as 2 ends to 0 winners.
The 600kg competition followed and prior to the event, this looked like it was going to end up being one of the most competitive weight classes and that turned out to be the case. Sheen and Uppertown met first on, and this was a very keenly contested match, and after two close fought ends, Uppertown came out as 2 ends to 0 winners. At the end of the group rounds it was Bosley and Uppertown that progressed as the top two teams in the group to the final. Sheen and Kilroe contested the bronze medal match first, with Sheen running out 2 ends to 0 winners. In the final, it was Uppertown against Bosley, and after two good ends of tug of war, it was Uppertown that took the gold medal to take the title off last years winners Bosley.
Photo: Uppertown
The 680kg competition was another full weight class with Sheen topping the group round, followed by Kilroe, then Uppertown, then Bosley. In the bronze medal match, Uppertown overcame Bosley by 2 ends to 0 to take bronze, and in the final, it was a good match between Sheen and Kilroe, with Sheen taking their fourth gold of the day by 2 ends to 0.
Photo: Kilroe
The senior mixed competition saw Kilroe and Sheen battle it out in the final which turned out to be the most exciting final of the day going all the way to three ends. Sheen took the first end before Kilroe made a substitution to bring a fresh pair of legs in. After a close second end, Kilroe levelled the match. The third end was very close with Sheen taking Kilroe a good way down the mat before Kilroe managed to turn the pull around to take a hard fought gold medal. Well done to both teams!
Photo: Sheen senior mixed
The day finished with a junior GENSB competition and Under 23 mixed competition. Under TOWA rules introduced for youth this year, teams can compete at the national championships as club teams, area teams or regional teams to enable as many juniors as possible to participate. This rule was used on the outdoor circuit and the indoor circuit and first of all, we would like to thank all of the indoor clubs for co-operating to make the junior and under 23 competitions possible.
Photo: Kilroe senior mixed
The GENSB competition saw Sheen, Northern Region and Area 1 taking part. Area 1 and Northern Region were up first, with Area 1 taking the first match by 2 ends to 0. Then Sheen and Northern Region had a very exciting match which went 1-1 before Area 1 defeated Sheen. Area 1 progressed to the final as group winners with Northern Region joining them in the final on the countback. In the final, Area 1 took a deserved gold medal by 2 ends to 0. Well done to all of the juniors who took part and we hope you all enjoyed the experience.
Photo: Sheen Juniors
The final competition was the under 23 mixed competition with Kilroe and Northern Region competing. In a straight final, it was Kilroe who took the two ends to win the gold medal.
Photo: Area 1 juniors
Officials on the day were Pete Dyer, Mick Grimston, Gavin Corden, Karl Bonahan, Mick Scull, Wendy Dyer, Rachel Lewis
Photo: Northern Region Juniors
This was the final competition of 2024. Thank you to everyone who supported both the indoor and outdoor circuit this year and good luck to all of the indoor teams taking part at the British and Irish Championships in Newport, Wales in February. We then have the 2025 European Championships to look forward to in Nottingham in September and we hope to see lots of clubs, spectators and volunteers supporting the event. Watch this space for further information!
Photo: Kilroe Under 23 Mixed
In the meantime, we wish everyone a happy and healthy Christmas – see you all in the new year!
Photo: Northern Region Under 23 Mixed
Photos and videos courtesy of Jamie Dewsberry
