2026 British and Irish Indoor Championships Results
This weekend, the Tug of War Association had the honour of hosting the 2026 British and Irish Indoor Tug of War Championships in the sports hall at the Bedford International Athletics Stadium.
The annual competition saw teams from England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and Republic of Ireland competing in weight classes for senior men, women and mixed teams. The international weights were contested at 600kg and 680kg for mens teams, 580kg for mixed teams, and for indoor tug of war 6-a-side 405kg for womens teams.
After a short opening ceremony, the day started with the 600kg competition. England, Ireland and Northern Ireland fielded A and B teams, with Scotland having one team in the competition to make a 7 team group competition. England A were represented by Sheen, and England B were represented by a composite team made up of other pullers from Sheen and Kilroe.
Photo: England B 600kg team
After a competitive round of group pulling, the top four teams were Northern Ireland A, England A, and the A and B teams from the Republic of Ireland. In the semi-finals, Northern Ireland and England each faced one of the Republic of Ireland teams, with Northern Ireland winning their semi-final by 2 ends to 0, with England falling to a 2 ends to 0 defeat to miss out on a place in the final. England went into the bronze medal match winning a close first end and then taking the second end to win the bronze. In the final, Northern Ireland put in a strong performance to win a well deserved gold medal by 2 ends to 0.
Photo: England A 600kg team
The womens 6-a-side competition followed, with England, Wales and Ireland taking part. The top two teams after the group stage were Wales and Ireland who went into the final, who had a very exciting pull in the final round of the competition which went 1-1. By the time the final had come around, the Irish team appeared to have run out of steam and it was Wales who won the gold by 2 ends to 0.
Photo: England womens team
The mens 680kg competition had two teams from Ireland taking part, and one team each from England, Scotland and Northern Ireland. England, Northern Ireland, and the two teams from Republic of Ireland progressed to the semi finals with England facing Northern Ireland and the two Republic of Ireland teams facing each other. Ireland A progressed from the first semi-final and Northern Ireland progressed from the second semi-final. England faced Ireland B for the bronze medal, with the Irish taking the bronze medal by 2 ends to 0. The final saw another strong performance from Northern Ireland who took their second gold medal of the day by 2 ends to 0.
Photo: England taking on Ireland in the 600kg competition
The final international weight of the day was the mixed 580kg with England A and B and Ireland taking part. England A were represented by Sheen, and England B were represented by Kilroe. England A and B met first on with England B taking the match by 2 ends to 0. England A then defeated Ireland and England B also defeated Ireland. The final between England A and B saw both teams battle it out in a close first end which England B took after England A had received three cautions. England B then took the second end and the gold medal.
England B Mixed 580kg team
Congratulations to all of the medal winners who and to the pullers from Sheen and Kilroe who represented England throughout the day. And our thanks to all of the officials and volunteers who worked hard to make sure the event ran smoothly.
England A Mixed 580kg team
Open Competition Results
The second day of competition was the open club competition with the following results:
Women 6-a-side 405 – Gold – Carndonagh (Ireland) – Silver – Penhow (Wales)
Men 680 – Gold – Clonmany (Ireland) – Silver – Country Club (Northern Ireland)
Men 560 – Gold – Richill (Northern Ireland) – Silver – Ballyhegan (Northern Ireland)
Men 640 – Gold – Clonmany (Ireland) – Silver – Country Club (Northern Ireland)
Men 600 – Gold – Carndonagh (Ireland) – Silver – Country Club (Northern Ireland)
Mixed 580 – Gold – Sheen (England) – Silver – Clonmany (Ireland)
Good luck to those teams travelling to Taiwan for the World Indoor Championships in March. England will be represented by Sheen at that event in the mens 560kg, 600kg, 640kg and mixed competitions. Good luck with your final preparations and we wish you all the best.
Photo: Sheen Mixed 580kg team - winners of the open club competition.
Image credits on this page: Jamie Dewsberry (TOW Jamie)
There are lots of photos and videos from the event available via the 
TOW Jamie Facebook Page and the Ireland Tug of War Memories Facebook page.
