NATIONAL CATCHWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIPS - SUNDAY 5TH AUGUST

The mens national catchweight championships will take place on Sunday 5th August 2018 at the Cheshire Game and Angling Fair, where there will also be an open competition (Open weights - Men 600, 640, 680, ladies/junior 520 and 560 and senior mixed 600).

Entries to the catchweight competition need to be sent in to the Tug of War Association in advance by 22nd July 2018

Please note that for clubs that are already registered and have competed at the national championships in June, and for pullers already registered with these clubs that no transfer of pullers can take place for the purposes of participating in this competition. You must use pullers that you have already registered.

New teams who are not registered with the TOWA and wish to participate in this event should register their clubs and pullers with the TOWA by 5th July.

The entry form for the catchweight championship can be downloaded by clicking here.

Please return to the championship secretary using the details on the form along with the entry fee by 22nd July. Entry fees must be included with the entry form. Cheques can be made payable to The Tug of War Association.

National Outdoor Championships - Saturday June 16th 2018

Venue - Grove and Wantage Village Extravaganza, Grove RUFC, Cane Lane, Grove, Near Wantage, Oxfordshire, OX12 0FL

Entry forms for the 2018 National Outdoor Tug of War Championships will be available to download in due course. Separate entry forms are provided for mens, ladies, juniors and senior mixed entries:

The closing date for entries will be Saturday 2 June 2018.

Please ensure that you complete the entry forms and submit with the relevant entry fees (£25 per team per weight class) by the deadline to the Championship Secretary, Mick Grimston, using the details on the entry form. You can download entry forms below:

Senior Mens weight classes entry form

Senior Ladies weight classes entry form

Senior Mixed weight class entry form

Under 23 "GENSB" 6 a side weight class entry form - see rules for composition of teams by clicking here

Registration Cards Required

Weigh In - Friday 15th June - 4pm - 8pm at Grove RUFC

Stamping - Saturday 17th June - 8am - 9am

First Pull - 10am

Weights (in pulling order) 

(please note that the mens catchweight competition will this year be held at a separate event following a new resolution passed at the TOWA AGM. The catchweight national championship will be held at the Cheshire Game and Angling Fair on Sunday 6th August 2018 - entry details will be provided in due course). Please note that no transfers from one club to another after the registration deadline for the purposes of forming teams for the national catchweight competition will be permitted.

**  this is a new weight class introduced at the 2018 TOWA AGM. Click here for details. 

* denotes weight categories that are representative weights at the World Outdoor Championships and World Junior Championships and British and Irish Outdoor Championships.

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2. Register all of your individual pullers and team coach by completing the puller registration form and provide 2 passport size photos of each member and team coach (if not already registered with the TOWA) and submit your form to the Tug of War Association Secretary with the appropriate puller registration fee of £5 per puller/coach, which registers your team members to compete at all Tug of War Association competitions and championships throughout 2017. Please note that to compete at the championships, all pullers must be registered by Wednesday 16th May at the latest.

For new pullers, only official passport type photos will be accepted, which the puller must print their name and sign on the rear as well as provide a date of birth. Photos printed off Facebook, etc. will not be accepted. For junior and under 23 pullers, a copy of a document that provides proof of age should be provided with the registration form. Acceptable documents for proof of age are as follows:

- a full or provisional driving license
- a passport
- a birth certificate

You can download the puller registration forms below in Excel and PDF format.

Club member registration form (pdf format)



Please return your puller membership form and puller registration fees to TOWA Secretary Mick Copper by post - 11 Holmfield Drive, Raunds, Northamptonshire, NN9 6PB, or e-mail an electronic copy of your forms to mick.copper@tiscali.co.ukClub member registration form (Excel format)

3. Complete the national outdoor tug of war championships entry form to confirm which weight classes your team would like to enter, and submit it to the Tug of War Association Championship Secretary with the relevant entry fees.

How does your team qualify to compete at the championships?

There are no pre-qualification events that teams have to attend to qualify to compete at the Tug of War Association National Outdoor Tug of War Championships. As long as your club is registered as a full or associate member of the Tug of War Association, all individual pullers have been registered by 16 May 2018, you have submitted your entry form and paid all entry fees in advance, then your team can compete. All registered teams are welcome to compete.

The only qualifying criteria that applies is for those teams who aspire to be selected to represent England at international events. The winning teams (and in some cases the second or third placed teams) from the various weight classes at the national championships may be eligible for selection to represent England at international events.

To be eligible to be invited to represent England, teams must have competed in a least 4 outdoor permitted tug of war competitions from the TOWA Fixture List (excluding any training leagues, early pulls, limited events (such as Young Farmers only events) or other similar type of non TOWA event) as amended at the 2016 TOWA AGM on Saturday 30th January 2016. Junior teams wishing to represent must have also competed in junior weight classes at 4 competitions prior to the national championships to be eligible to be invited to represent England as amended at the 2016 TOWA AGM on Saturday 30th January 2016. If in doubt check with your Area Rep or other member of the General Committee.

Please note that for your attendance at a permitted competition to count towards the England qualifying/selection criteria, competing at an event means weighing in, having your team stamped by a judge, fully completing the entry sheet, and paying the entry fee in at least one weight class with a minimum of 5 of your club's own registered pullers if weighing in to compete with 7 members, or 6 of your club's own registered pullers if weighing in to compete with 8 members. 

Please note otherwise, that competing at the TOWA national championships is open to any club registered to the Tug of War Association, and there is no set number of events that teams have to attend to qualify to compete. The qualifying criteria referred to above only applies to those teams wishing to qualify to represent England.

Otherwise, please refer to rule 2.3 of the TOWA rules contained within the TOWA Handbook regarding eligibility to compete at the TOWA National Championships and eligibility to represent England.

Substitutes

Each team can make 1 substitution per weight class. The replacement puller must be the same weight or lighter than the puller they replace.

Prizes

Gold, silver and bronze medals will be presented to the top three teams in each weight class. An annual trophy will also be presented to the winners of each weight class to keep for one year to be returned at the 2019 national championships.

4+4 Teams

Mens teams may register female pullers from other clubs as second claim members to compete in the mixed weight class, and likewise, ladies teams may register male pullers from other clubs as second claim members to compete in the mixed weight class where a mens club or ladies club don't have a team of the opposite gender.

At the 2018 AGM a resolution was passed that will only allow a mixed 4+4 team to be made up of pullers from a maximum of two clubs only. This can be of any combination, e.g. 4 males from one club and 4 females from another club, or 4 males and 2 females from one club and 2 females from another club and so on.

Second claim pullers for the mixed weight class must also be registered by 16 May 2018.

Team Tents

Participating teams will be permitted to erect a team tent for the day, however tents will only be permitted to be erected in the designated area on the opposite side of the arena from the main club house.

Tents will NOT be permitted to be erected next to the edge of the arena. If you erect your team tent next to the arena outside of the designated area then you will be asked to move it.

Car Parking

Cars will NOT be permitted on the field / around the arena at all and must be parked in the designated car park on the next field.

Directions

Given some road restrictions in the area near to the venue, teams will be sent directions to follow to get to the venue. Please do not use SatNav.

For further details about the national championships, please contact the Championships Secretary Mick Grimston on 01205 369753