International News
2025 European Championships and World Junior and Under 23 Championships
On 4-7 September 2025, England will be hosting the TWIF European Outdoor Tug of War Championships, with the world junior and under 23 championships also being held in conjunction with this event.
The event will be taking place at Nottingham University and we will be publishing more details about this event in the coming weeks and months.
The event will include an open club competition and all clubs from home and abroad are invited to take part in the open competition. Further details about how to participate will be published in due course.
In the meantime, you can follow the event on social media by searching for @tugofwar2025 on Facebook and Instagram - please give these pages a follow if you use social media.
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2024 World Junior and Under 23 Championships Results
Click here to read about a very successful World Outdoor Tug of War Championships in Germany for our junior and under 23 teams in both the open competition and the international competitions where a total of 6 world championship medals were won by our teams!
We are very proud of everyone’s hard work and effort to make these successes possible and we thank everyone for the sacrifices and commitment made.
The TOWA wants to build on this success into 2025, and we encourage all young people to get involved in tug of war to boost competition and make our teams even stronger!
Here is how you can do so.
For under 23 tug of war, visit our 
under 23 page to find out how to get involved and what is required. If you are not a current member of a club, then visit our club directory page to find a club near to you, or if you are part of a YFC club, then get yourselves out to TOWA competitions around the country and register your club with the TOWA for 2025 and make sure you register to take part in any under 23 training days that are organised. Contact should be made early to trial for the under 23 teams.
At junior level there will be junior competitions at most TOWA competitions around the country through the year, and these are open to any junior team to take part in. In June, the national championships will take place and teams need to register with the TOWA in advance to take part. The winning teams at the national championships may then be selected to represent England at international competition.
With England hosting the European Championships on 4-7 September 2025 in Nottingham (the junior and under 23 competitions will be run as a world championships), where there will be both open club and international competitions, this offers a fantastic opportunity for clubs and pullers to take part in an international event on home soil. If this sounds good to you, then make sure you get involved and be part of it next year!
Do not hesitate to contact us if you want to register and get involved!
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24/08/2024 - TOWA Hosts Successful GENSB Junior International Tournament at Keele University!
This weekend, The Tug of War Association had the honour of hosting GENSB 2024 at Keele University in Staffordshire.
It was wonderful too see so many young people taking part, including 8 junior teams from England, with some fantastic performances from each and every one of them.
The TOWA very much wants to continue to increase junior participation further, and we would like to see more senior clubs currently without full junior teams continue to get out there and recruit junior pullers to their teams. GENSB takes place in the Netherlands next year, and of course there will be our national championships where we run junior men, junior ladies, junior mixed and GENSB weight classes, and we very much encourage all clubs and Young Farmers Clubs to enter those.
Then in September 2025, there is the small matter of England hosting the 2025 European Championships in Nottingham that will include the World Junior and Under 23 Championships where there will be both a club competition and the international competition. We would like to see a high level of participation from England junior teams competing in the open club competition in Nottingham, and we will be publishing more information about this event and how to participate very soon, so watch this space for further details.
Let’s keep working together and growing participation in junior tug of war!
Click here for a full report from the event from an English perspective.
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10/11 August 2024 - British and Irish Championships Results
Click here for the results of the 2024 British and Irish Championships which were held on 10/11 August and hosted by the Tug of War Association in Melton Mowbray with the kind support of Melton Mowbray Ladies TOWC and Lincoln TOWC.
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GENSB 2024 - Keele University, Staffordshire, England
On 24 August, England will be hosting the annual GENSB junior international club competition in Staffordshire.
Information relating to the 2024 GENSB youth international tug of war tournament is now available on the GENSB web site at www.gensb.eu.
The registration deadline is 19th July 2024
You can enter your team into the competition and book accommodation by e-mailing GENSB2024@outlook.com
This event is open to any junior tug of war team to enter, so don't delay - get your junior teams together and enter! It will be a great weekend of junior tug of war!
Click here for the results of the 2023 TWIF Senior World Championships which took place in Switzerland between 31 August at 3 September.
Click here for the results of the 2023 TWIF World Under 23 Championships which took place in Switzerland between 31 August at 3 September.
Click here for the results of the 2023 TWIF World Junior Championships which took place in Sursee, Switzerland between 31 August and 3 September.
Voting in the World Games team of the year vote is now open.
TWIFs candidate this year is the Swiss men 640kg team who won gold at the 2022 World Games.
Everyone is asked to vote for the tug of war candidate to help raise the profile and give recognition to the sport of tug of war. Voting is open until 22 January and you can cast a vote once every 24 hours. Everyone voting has to vote for a first preference (which will receive 2 votes) and a second preference (which will receive 1 vote) for your vote to count.
You can vote by clicking here - https://www.theworldgames.org/awards/Team-of-the-Year-2022-109
The TWIF Highlights of 2022 newsletter can be read by clicking the link below to download the newsletter. It features some good articles from a number of clubs/pullers from England and elsewhere around the world.
Planning is currently taking place to hold a World Indoor Tug of War Championships in early March 2023 to take place in Belfast, Northern Ireland.
The competition will take place in Jim Baker Stadium in Parkgate and the hotels will be around the proximity of the venue.
The proposed dates are as follows:
Weigh-in - Tuesday 7 March 2023
Competition days - Open Competition - Wednesday 8 March and Thursday 9 March. Closed Competition - Friday 10 March and Saturday 11 March 2023.
Departure Sunday 12 March 2023.
More information about the package will follow in due course.
England tug of war teams had a successful weekend at the World Outdoor Tug of War Championships on 17 - 18 September coming away with two silver and 2 bronze medals from the event with a number of good placings in the other weight categories.
Click here to read more about how team England got on at the event!
English clubs have been in action over the course of the first two days of competition at the TWIF World Outdoor Tug of War Championships in Holten, Netherlands.
There has been lots of top class tug of war over the course of the event so far, with English clubs coming away with 4 medals. Click here to read more and read about their achievements!
This week will see The TWIF World Outdoor Tug of War Championships taking place in Holten, Netherlands, which will see clubs and representative teams from 20 countries battling it out for the gold medals in the mens, ladies, mixed, under 23 men, under 23 ladies, under 23 mixed, junior men, junior ladies and junior mixed competitions. This year will see the international competitions happening in more “normal” circumstances, with no international competitions taking place in 2020, and a scaled back World Championships taking place in 2021.
This year we will have England teams competing in unique and sombre circumstances during the period of official mourning for the late Her Majesty the Queen.
We have a number of clubs representing England at this event and you can read a bit more about them and how they got there by clicking here
The article also contains the programme of events and live streaming information.
Very best of luck to everyone from England who is competing at this event.
Over the weekend of 13 and 14 August, England tug of war teams were in action at the British and Irish Tug of War Championships, which were hosted by the Welsh Tug of War Association in Swansea.
Click here for the results and photos from the event which saw England come away with 6 gold, 3 silver and 1 bronze medal from the championships.
Click the link below to download the TWIF Monthly Focus which covers the recent World Games held in Alabama, USA where Great Britain won gold and silver medals.
This weekend, the British and Irish Tug of War Championships take place in Swansea, Wales and we will have England teams taking part in the senior men, senior ladies, senior mixed, junior men, junior ladies and junior mixed competitions. We will also have under 23 teams competed as C teams in the senior men 600kg, senior ladies 520kg and senior mixed 580kg.
You can read more about the teams representing England by clicking here. Within the article we have also provided links to club crowdfunding pages, so if you wish to make a small donation to any of the clubs representing England, please feel free to do so!
We wish all of our teams the very best of luck and to those representing England for the first time, we hope you enjoy the experience and learn a lot from this event!
The Team GB tug of war team made history at the 2022 World Games in Birmingham, Alabama, USA by winning the mixed weight class which was staged at the World Games for the very first time!
Click here for a full report from the event covering the mens 640kg, ladies 540kg and mixed 580kg!
Image credit Dawson Martin / Dustin Massey Studios for the World Games 2022
There will be a joint Under 23 and Junior Tug of War training day this Sunday 24 July at 10am.
The training day will be held at Bosley TOWCs training ground at Tunstall Road, Bosley, SK11 0PG.
All juniors and Under 23s are requested to confirm attendance with the relevant team manager in advance so that numbers of attendees are known and planning can take place in advance.
For information about junior tug of war, visit - http://www.tugofwar.co.uk/junior-tug-of-war
For information about under 23 tug of war visit - http://www.tugofwar.co.uk/under-23-tug-of-war
The England Team Manager has been asked to form a Composite Team for the 4x4 Mixed 580 kilos weight in the World Championships in Holten, Netherlands as those teams who were eligible to represent England in this weight class after their results at the National Championships are already committed to other weight classes so are unable to represent in this weight class.
If any individuals are interested in being considered for this Team, then individuals are asked to please forward their names to the England Team Manager (Staff Chipperfield) and copy in the Hon. Gen. Secretary.
Applicants must meet the qualification criteria to represent England which is as follows:
- participants must be a current Registered member of a current England TOWA Registered ToW Team.
- participants must have been resident in England since August 2021.
- Must not have competed for or Coached any other National Team outside of England in the previous 2 years.
- Male and Female pullers are eligible to participate in the senior category from the beginning of the year in which the puller reaches the age of 16 years.
- participants must have a valid UK passport as proof of nationality as required by TWIF competition rules.
Participants are invited to submit their applications as soon as possible, and should be available to attend the national training and development day on Sunday 31 July so that trials can be held for those wishing to earn a place in this team.
Please note that the mixed 580kg competition is currently scheduled to be held on the morning of the first day of competition at the World Championships, and will be held at the same time as the mens 680kg, junior men 560kg and junior ladies 480kg.
This week, The World Games is taking place in Birmingham, Alabama, USA. This event is held every year for IOC recognised sports that are not yet on the Olympic Programme, and tug of war is one such sport.
Tug of war has been on every World Games programme and features the top 6 countries in each weight category. Great Britain will be represented in all three weight classes (Men 640kg, ladies 540g and mixed 580kg) and will be represented by Lincoln and Bedford. We wish our teams the very best of luck.
The competitions take place on Thursday 14, Friday 15 and Saturday 16 July – the schedule events and links for the live streaming are available by clicking here. Please share the info with all of your friends and supporters!
The latest TWIF newsletter can be downloaded and read by clicking the link below.
Junior Tug of War Page. If your club has any junior pullers who wish to try out for the England junior teams, then please contact Joe.
clicking here. This will provide contact details for our Under 23 England team managers Dave Knott (Men’s) and Dave Kitchener (Ladies) both very experienced internationals and very approachable.
Please see below the communication from TWIF confirming the cancellation of the 2022 World Indoor Tug of War Championships due to be held in the Netherlands.
The Christmas edition of the TWIF newsletter is available to download below:
Please find below information relating to the 2022 World Indoor Tug of War Championships, scheduled to take place in Doetinchem, the Netherlands. The package of information includes the following:
- Invitation letter from TWIF;
- Invitation letter from SIT/Dutch Organizers;
- Accommodation prices;
- World Indoor Championships Programme
Due to the ongoing pandemic, those attending the championships are mandated to book accommodation through the organisers.
Sins Tug of War from Switzerland are hosting an international tournament in 2022.
You can find details here - https://seilziehclub-sins.ch/International-Tournament-2022/Organisation/Organisation/
The latest edition of the TWIF Magazine can be downloaded below:
On the weekend of Friday 29 April - Sunday 01 May 2022, Felton Eccles TOWC will be hosting an international open club tournament.
The event will include mens, ladies, junior and mixed competitions.
For further details, please download the flyer below:
Click here for a report from the international competitions at the World Championships, including 2 bronze medals for England!
Click here for a summary of the action from day 2 at the World Championships, including a bronze medal for Lincoln!
Click here for a summary of the action from day 1 at the World Championships, including a silver medal for Bedford Ladies!
The World Championships take place on Thursday 16 - Sunday 19 September.
The event is being streamed on YouTube via the World Championships YouTube Channel, link here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLQM29NAfeCkmBC93Up_o3Q
Competitions start at 09.30am (CET) each day, so from 8.30am UK time. Make sure you get onto YouTube to support our teams!
England tug of war teams will be competing in Getxo in the Basque Country this week.
Click here to see who our representatives are, programme of events and live streaming info!
Below is an announcement on TWIF regarding the recent rule changes on the wearing of belts / protective clothing. A pdf copy of the ruling is also available to download below.
On 21-22 August 2021, the British and Irish Tug of War Championships took place in Northern Ireland with both an international competition and an open club competition. It was a great weekend for English teams with a number of gold, silver and bronze medals being won.
Click here for the results, some photos, videos and some social media reaction from the clubs taking part.
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The latest TWIF monthly focus newsletter for May has now been published and can be downloaded as a pdf document via the link below.
The Tug of War Association are very proud to announce that we have been successful in our bid to host the 2025 TWIF European Tug of War Championships, along with the World Junior and Under 23 Championships!
The venue for this event will be Nottingham University. We will be sharing more details in due course, but this is wonderful news!
The online Congress has finished. The whole meeting went very smoothly, so we are getting used to online meetings, but...
Posted by TWIF on Saturday, April 17, 2021
As TWIF and the Tug of War Association follow WADA Anti-doping rules, there are some useful seminars for pullers and coaches to attend.
Click the link below for further info.
The newsletter can be downloaded via the link below. Please share with your pullers / youngsters and use it to inspire more people to get involved in tug of war!
Watch our slideshow of images for international tug of war day!
Thank you to everyone who supported tug of war in this vote by voting for James Kehoe of Boley TOWC, Ireland, who finished in a fantastic second place overall. It has been great publicity for our sport.
To mark this success, TWIF has published a monthly focus magazine about James Kehoe, having competed in a record 9 World Games events, as well as several national and international competitions, winning many medals with his club over the years.
You can download the TWIF monthly focus via the link below.
The latest edition of the TWIF Magazine can be downloaded via the link below:
In normal times, September would have seen TWIF celebrating its 60th Anniversary at the 2020 World Outdoor Tug of War Championships which were this year due to be held in the Basque Country. The World Championships have been postponed until next year. The Tug of War Association are otherwise proud to have been founder members of TWIF.
In the meantime, TWIF have published a 60th Anniversary Magazine, which can be downloaded below.
Click here for a report, photos and videos from the 2007 European Outdoor Tug of War Championships which were hosted by the Tug of War Association.
The event was hugely successful in terms of teams competing, medals won by the England teams, and of course the royal visit by HRH Princess Anne!
Please see the post below from TWIF confirming the postponement of the 2020 World Outdoor Championships until 2021. The 2021 European Championships will now be held in 2022 and the 2022 World Championships in Switzerland will be held in 2023. Click the post to expand the notice further.
Click here to read the report / results from the 2005 European Outdoor Tug of War Championships held in Cento, Italy
Click here to read the report / results from the 2004 World Indoor Tug of War Championships held at the Kelvin Hall, Glasgow, Scotland
Click here to read about the 2003 European Championships held in Assen, Netherlands
Click the link below to read the latest TWIF Magazine
Next year's World Games has now been rescheduled to 7-17 July 2022.
The main reason for this change is in light of the decision to postpone the Olympic Games to 2021 and the new dates for the Olympics clashed with the original dates World Games.
The implications for teams looking to qualify for the tug of war events for the 2022 World Games are not yet known. We will await further information from TWIF in due course.
We are unable to answer any further queries on this matter at this stage.
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Over the weekend of 22-23 February, England took a small squad of pullers to the World Indoor Championships with Uppertown representing England in the 680kg, and England also competing in the 640kg competition with a composite teamed formed of pullers from Raunds, Uppertown, Bosley and Kilroe.
Click here to read about what happened.
The third day of competition took place in Letterkenny, Ireland today with the first day of international competition. England competed in the mens 640kg competition represented by a composite team where they finished in 5th place. A summary of the final results for each weight class that took place on the day is provided below:
| Gold | Silver | Bronze | 4th | |
| Men 640kg | Scotland | Netherlands | Ireland | Chinese Taipei |
| Women 500kg | Chinese Taipei | Basque Country | Netherlands | Germany |
| Women U23 500kg | Chinese Taipei | Basque Country | Russia | Ireland |
| Men U23 600kg | Chinese Taipei | Netherlands | Basque Country | Ireland |
| Men 600kg | Netherlands | Northern Ireland | Ireland | Basque Country |
The third day of competition took place in Letterkenny, Ireland today with the first day of international competition. England competed in the mens 680kg competition represented by Uppertown where they finished in 5th place. A summary of the final results for each weight class that took place on the day is provided below:
| Gold | Silver | Bronze | 4th | |
| Men 680kg | Scotland | Netherlands | Ireland | Chinese Taipei |
| U23 Mixed 560kg | Netherlands | Basque Country | Russia | Ireland |
| Women 540kg | Chinese Taipei | Basque Country | Netherlands | Ireland |
| Men 560kg | Chinese Taipei | Northern Ireland | Ireland | Netherlands |
| Mixed 580kg | Netherlands | Chinese Taipei | Basque Country | Italy |
The second day of open club competition took place in Letterkenny, Ireland today. There were no English clubs competing in the open competition, however a summary of the final results for each weight class that took place on the day is provided below:
| Gold | Silver | Bronze | 4th | |
| Men 640kg | Mountain View (Ireland) | Deinum Britsum (Netherlands) | Monnickendam (Netherlands) | Fitness Factory (Chinese Taipei) |
| Men U23 600kg | Dabenniu (Chinese Taipei) | Taipei University (Chinese Taipei) | Watermannen (Netherlands) | Berriozar (Basque Country) |
| Ladies 500kg | Badaiotz (Basque Country) | Jingmei (Chinese Taipei) | Beti Gazte (Basque Country) | Txantrea (Basque Country) |
| Men 600kg | Clonmany B (Ireland) | Mountain View (Ireland) | Beti Gazte (Basque Country) | Ibarra (Basque Country) |
You can watch a recording of all of the streaming from the second day of competition via the YouTube video below:
The first day of open club competition took place in Letterkenny, Ireland today. There were no English clubs competing in the open competition, however a summary of the final results for each weight class that took place on the day is provided below:
| Gold | Silver | Bronze | 4th | |
| Men 680kg | Cornhill (Scotland) | Monnickendam (Netherlands) | Mountain View (Ireland) | Fitness Factory (Chinese Taipei) |
| Mixed 580kg | Monnickendam (Netherlands) | Beti Gazte (Basque Country) | Lagerweij (Netherlands) | Zuraidarrak A (Basque Country) |
| Ladies 540kg | Badaiotz (Basque Country) | Beti Gazte (Basque Country) | Gaztedi (Basque Country) | Monnickendam (Netherlands) |
| Men 560kg | Country Club (Northern Ireland) | Clonmany B (Ireland) | Ibarra (Basque Country) | Gaztedi (Basque Country) |
You can watch a recording of all of the streaming from the first day of competition via the YouTube video below:
This weekend, the England tug of war squad will be competing at the TWIF World Indoor Tug of War Championships which are taking place in Letterkenny, Ireland. Click here to read more.
Click the video below to watch a slide show of some of our favourite memories from over the years.
Remember - if you use social medial, please share our video and otherwise post your own photos / tug of war memories online and encourage people to get involved in tug of war!
Click here to read about everything that happened at the British and Irish Indoor Tug of War Championships over the weekend and to see some photos and videos from the event!
The web site for the World Outdoor Tug of War Championships to be held in the Basque Country on 16-20 September 2020 has now been launched. The web site contains programme, information and accommodation details.
The web site address is https://www.sokatiramundiala.com/
On 1 and 2 February 2020, the Tug of War Association will be hosting the 2020 British and Irish Indoor Tug of War Championships. Please click here for further details about how to take part or go along and support the teams taking part. There is both an international competition and an open club competition. Any club is eligible to take part in the open competition.
The 2020 GENSB international junior tug of war tournament will take place in Heino, Netherlands over the August 2020 Bank Holiday weekend with the competition taking place on Saturday 29 August.
Visit the GENSB 2020 Page for provisional information!
The TOWA has received invitations to some international events taking place in 2020. Please click here to read more.
English clubs and the England national teams came away with a number of medals from the recent European Championships held in Castlebar, Republic of Ireland!
Click here to read more!
05-08 September 2019
Click here for the schedule of events for the next four days of competition (including which English teams will be competing when) and a link to the live streaming which we have embedded onto our site for everyone to watch.
Make sure you log on to support the England teams taking part!
From Thursday 5 to Sunday 8 September 2019, the TWIF European Outdoor Tug of War Championships will be taking place in Castlebar, Republic of Ireland and teams from England will be taking part in the event!
It is certain to be a tough but exciting competition and we would like to wish all of the teams from England that are taking part the very best of luck!
You can read more about the teams representing England this week by clicking here!
2019 saw England host the annual GENSB junior international tournament in Folkestone, Kent over the August Bank Holiday Weekend. It was a very hot day and the teams taking part enjoyed an excellent day of tug of war!
Click here for a report, photos and videos from the event!
Well done to all of the teams who travelled to the British and Irish Tug of War Championships in Northern Ireland over the weekend. It was a fantastic event which saw England come away with a number of medals! Click here for a report from the event!
Click here for a link to an article featured on "Around the Rings" for an interview with TWIF President Anton Rabe discussing the prospects and challenges for the future of including tug of war in the Olympic Games.
If you are a Facebook or Twitter user, please click the links below and share the article with your friends / followers to help promote the ethos and values of our sport.
Tug of War Pulls for Olympic Returnhttps://t.co/sb2QA7oe2L pic.twitter.com/xsPb2NKxZG
— Around the Rings (@AroundTheRings) July 15, 2019
Tug of war is once again on the shortlist on the World Games athlete / team of the year awards!
Voting opens on 1st January and you can vote via the link below.
Everyone can register a vote every day, so please remember to make sure that you visit the World Games web site every day to register your vote and help maintain and increase the standing of our sport on the international stage. Happy voting!
https://www.theworldgames.org/awards/Athlete-of-the-Year-2018-58
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To find out how you can take part in the GENSB 2019 Tournament, which takes place in Folkestone, Kent on the August Bank Holiday weekend, then please visit the GENSB 2019 Page of this web site!
All teams are encouraged to take part, including established clubs, military, cadet and young farmers teams. If you have any questions about this event, then please do not hesitate to contact us!
Click the video below to watch highlight coverage from the 2018 World Outdoor Tug of War Championships held in Cape Town, South Africa in September. It features all of the medal pulls from the closed events and some interviews with organisers, coaches and pullers.
Click the link for a brilliant highlight video from the 2018 World #tugofwar champs held in South Africa in September featuring #gold and #bronze medal wins for #England! Please Retweet! #Sport #GetRopedIn #sportengland #teamengland #teamwork https://t.co/aQ9wOK0ddL
— Tug of War Assoc. (@englandtugofwar) November 22, 2018
The England teams have returned home from a very successful world outdoor tug of war championships held in the wonderful setting of Camps Bay, Cape Town, South Africa, with the magnificent Table Mountain forming the backdrop of a fantastic competition.
The first two days of the event saw the world club championships take place. On the first day of competition, English teams competing were Kilroe and Bedford. Both of these clubs competed in the mixed 580kg (where teams each consist of 4 men and 4 ladies), and they also competed in the ladies 500kg division.
The mixed 580kgcompetition was the first weight class of the championship, with the competition being slit into groups, with the top 2 teams from each group progressing to the knock out stages. Bedford finished third in their group, so missed out on a place in the knock out stages, however Kilroe progressed unbeaten to the semi finals where they met Huere from the Netherlands. A good 2 ends to 0 win saw Kilroe progress to the final where they met Eibergen from the Netherlands. In the final, Kilroe won the gold medal by 2 ends to 0, with ends lasting 2 minutes 23 and 1 minute 21 respectively meaning that Kilroe are now World and European club champions in this weight class. Congratulations!
In the afternoon of the first day, more medals came the way of English clubs in the ladies 500kg competition. Bedford Ladies and Kilroe Ladies were in action in this weight class, with both teams being drawn into different groups. The top two teams from each group progressed to the knock out stages with Bedford progressing top of their group and Kilroe Ladies progressing in second place in their group. Both teams ended up meeting in the semi finals, meaning that English clubs were guaranteed at least a silver medal. It was a closely fought semi final which went to three ends, with Kilroe eventually progressing to the final.
In the bronze medal pull, Bedford were up against Sins from Switzerland. These two teams had met previously in the group rounds with that pull going 1-1. In this match, Bedford had another 3 end battle on their hands, and battled really hard to overcome Sins from Switzerland by 2 ends to 1. A great effort. In the final, Kilroe were up against Ayrshire from Scotland. These two teams met in the final of the European 520kg competition in 2017 where Ayrshire became European Champions. On this occasion, Kilroe were unable to add a second gold medal of the day, but reaching two World finals in the space of a few hours is a great achievement. Congratulations to Kilroe and Bedford Ladies on their achievement in this weight class. Great results for ladies tug of war!
The second day of competition saw Team ACF compete in the Junior mixed 520kg competition with an A and B team, and in addition, they had a team competing in the under 23 ladies 500kg competition, and Felton Eccles competed in the mens 640kg competition. In the Under 23 competition, Team ACF found it tough and unfortunately did not make it past the group stages, however they gained good experience from the competition. In the junior mixed competition, both the ACF A and B teams competed well to finish 9th and 11th respectively overall.
The mens 640kg competition saw Felton Eccles competing in a very tough group to start with, containing Swiss champions Engelberg – regulars on the top of the international podium in this weight class, as well as a number of good teams from the Netherlands. Despite a defeat to Engelberg and going 1-1 in another match, Felton Eccles managed to progress to the knock-out stages of the competition in second place in the group. Felton Eccles progressed to the semi finals where they met Okia from the Netherlands. This time, Felton could not progress to the semi finals with a chance of a medal after losing out by 2 ends to 0.
The first day of the international competition saw England competing in all of the senior mens, ladies, mixed and junior competitions, so it was a very busy day. The World Championships kicked off with the mens 680kg, mixed 580kg, junior men 560kg and junior ladies 480kg, which was held as an exhibition event.
In the 680kg competition, England were represented by Felton Eccles in a straight league competition with the top four teams progressing to the semi finals. England’s only defeats in the group came at the hands of Switzerland and the Netherlands, meaning that England progressed in third place along with these two countries and Germany. In the semi finals, England were up against current European Champions at this weight class the Netherlands. The big Dutch team went on to defeat England by 2 ends to 0 to go on to the final meaning that England faced Germany for the bronze after they were defeated by Switzerland. In the bronze medal match, England picked up a good 2 ends to 0 win against Germany secure the bronze medal, meaning that England were off the mark in terms of medals.
A second bronze medal soon followed in the Junior Ladies 480kg exhibition competition, with England being represented by Team ACF. In this competition, South Africa and Chinese Taipei were the strongest teams with Taipei winning gold and South Africa taking the silver.
The junior mens 560kg team were unfortunately unable to give us another medal in the junior weight classes, finishing 6th overall in a competition that was dominated by Switzerland who took the gold medal. Well done to our juniors for their efforts in travelling to South Africa to compete at the World Championships.
In the mixed 580kg competition, England, represented by Kilroe, went into this event as current European Champions. England started the competition well, and progressed through a group of 11 countries unbeaten to reach the semi finals along with defending world champions Sweden, Switzerland and the Netherlands. In the semi finals, England faced the Netherlands, and secured a good 2 ends to 0 win to reach the final, with a silver medal now guaranteed. In the other semi final Sweden overcame Switzerland meaning that the current European champions would meet the current World champions.
First, the bronze medal match took place between the Netherlands and Switzerland, which the Netherlands won by 2 ends to 0. In the final, England very much controlled the proceedings, winning the first end in 3 minutes 54, and then took the second end and the world championship gold medal in 1 minute 12. This brought England its first World Championship gold medal since 2004. Congratulations to everyone for this achievement.
The afternoon saw the mens 560kg and ladies 500kg competition take place.
The mens 560kg competition saw England being represented by a composite team after national champions Norton as a club unfortunately had to withdraw from representing England at the World Championships this year although 4 of their members still formed part of this team. Nonetheless, the composite team competed well in a very tough straight group competition to progress to the semi finals in third place behind Germany and the Basque Country, with Netherlands also progressing to the semi finals.
England had a very tough semi final with the defending champions Basque Country with the first end going 7 minutes 17, and the second end 3 minutes 17, with the Basque Country overcoming England to progress to the final.
In the bronze medal match, the Netherlands awaited England who didn’t have so much of a battle with Germany with their semi final ends lasting a little over a minute each. Despite England having defeated Netherlands in the group rounds earlier in the day, the tough semi final meant that the Netherlands had more in reserve than England and they took the bronze medal by 2 ends to 0. The final saw surprise package in this weight class, Germany take the gold medal by 2 ends to 0.
The ladies 500kg saw England being represented by open club bronze medallists Bedford Ladies. This weight was also run on a straight points competition with the top four teams progressing to the semi finals. England were right in the mix to make the semi finals all the way up to the final round against the Basque Country. Dropped points to other teams in this weight class meant that this pull would decide who would progress in the final semi final spot. Unfortunately England were defeated in their final match to the Basque Country by 2 ends to 0 so missed out on a place in the semi finals and the chance to compete for a medal. The gold medal went to Chinese Taipei, with Switzerland winning silver and Basque Country bronze.
The final day of competition saw England competing in the mens 720kg, junior mixed 520kg, Mens 640kg and Ladies 540kg.
In the mens 720kg competition, England had a good run in the group to progress to the semi finals in second place. In the semi finals, England were up against the Basque Country, with the first end going to 5 minutes 32 and went to the Basque Country. The Basque Country then went on to take the second end meaning that England would meet host country South Africa for the Bronze. This match went to three ends, with South Africa taking the bronze and England finishing in 4th place. The final was won by Netherlands who defeated Basque Country by 2 ends to 0.
The junior mixed competition saw England taking part with the team reaching the semi finals. In the semi finals, England met Chinese Taipei who won the match by 2 ends to 0. England went into the bronze medal match against Sweden, however Sweden were too strong for England and won the bronze medal by 2 ends to 0, leaving England with 4th place. In the final, Chinese Taipei defeated South Africa by 2 ends to 0.
The afternoon weights saw the mens 640kg and ladies 540kg take place.
In the ladies 540kg, England were represented by Kilroe Ladies and they got off to a good start by defeating Sweden by 2 ends to 0. England progressed well to finish third in the group overall and progress to the semi finals along with Chinese Taipei, Switzerland and Netherlands. In the semi finals, England met Switzerland and were defeated by 2 ends to 0, so England went into the bronze medal match to face the Netherlands. England competed well to defeat the Netherlands by 2 ends to 0 to take a well earned bronze medal. The final was won by Chinese Taipei who defeated Switzerland by 2 ends to 0.
The final weight of the championship was the mens 640kg with England being represented by Lincoln. This weight class was split into two groups, with England being drawn in the same groups as Netherlands, Italy, Basque Country, France and USA. England went through the group undefeated to reach the semi finals along with Netherlands. In the other group, Switzerland and Germany progressed. Both of these teams were on level points, however after the criteria was applied, Germany finished top of the group and Switzerland second. In the semi finals, England were drawn against Switzerland and had a really good match against the Swiss going to three ends. Unfortunately Switzerland took the two ends needed which meant that England would meet the Netherlands for bronze who lost to Germany in the other semi final. England performed strongly to defeat the Netherlands by 2 ends to 0 to take the bronze medal. In the final, Switzerland defeated Germany by 2 ends to 0.
The Tug of War Association would like to express our appreciation to all of the teams, pullers and coaches involved in this event, both on the field and behind the scenes. It takes a huge amount of effort to prepare for these types of event as well as the expense of traveling, which we know is a huge challenge when funding is scarce. Thanks also to England team manager Stafford Chipperfield for helping and supporting the teams there (often a thankless task!), the supporters who cheered the teams on, and friends and families back home who provided the support to get teams here.
Finally, a huge thank you to our hosts, the South Africa Tug of War Federation. It was another great Championships in a wonderful setting with great organisation and great hospitality. No doubt we will return again in the future!
To everyone in the tug of war community out in South Africa - Now the pulling over, enjoy the celebrations, meeting up with old friends, and making new ones!
Until next time at GENSB 2019 in Folkestone, England and the 2019 TWIF European Championships in Castlebar, Ireland!
England finished off the World Championships by collecting more medals in South Africa on the final day of competition.
England finished 4th in the mens 720kg competition, being represented by a composite team.
In the afternoon, England picked up two bronze medals, the first coming in the ladies 540kg represented by Kilroe Ladies, and then a good bronze medal in the mens 640kg represented by Lincoln.
In the junior mixed 520kg England finished 4th represented by Team ACF.
Overall a very good championships for England, and our best for a number of years.
More to follow.
What a superb day for the England teams!
In the junior competitions first of all, the England Junior Men finished 6th overall. The Junior Ladies 480kg was held as an exhibition competition and the England junior ladies came away with a bronze!
In the mens 680kg, England came away with another brilliant bronze medal, defeating Germany 2-0 in the bronze medal match.
Following the 680kg, England gained a superb result in the mixed 580kg competition by winning gold, defeating Sweden in the final.
In the afternoon, England finished 4th in the mens 560kg competition with a composite team and 5th in the ladies 500kg represented by Bedford Ladies.
Well done to all of our teams on these excellent results!
More to follow!
Today Felton Eccles competed in the open club competition in the 640kg competition. They were in a group containing perennial 640kg challengers Engelberg from Switzerland along with a number of good teams from the Netherlands. Felton battled hard to progress from the group, but unfortunately lost out on a place in the semi finals after losing their quarter final match against Okia.
Team ACF entered two teams in the junior mixed 520kg and competed well with their A team finishing 9th, and their B team finishing 11th.
More medals have come this afternoon in the open competition with two medals in the ladies 500kg with Kilroe Ladies taking silver after being defeated in the final by Ayrshire from Scotland. Bedford took bronze against Sins from Switzerland in a three end match which Bedford won 2 ends to 1. Huge congratulations to both teams!
A brilliant first day for English clubs with a gold, silver and bronze medal in the bag!
More to follow
Kilroe have just taken gold in the mixed 580kg competition after defeating Eibergen from the Netherlands in the final. Kilroe were undefeated in the group stages and defeated another Dutch team Huere in the semi finals before defeating Eibergen. Congratulations!
More to follow.
Over the next few days, the England tug of war teams will be heading out to the World Outdoor Tug of War Championships, which take place in Cape Town, South Africa on 19-22 September.
England will be represented in the International Competitions in the mens 560, 640, 680 and 720 weight classes, as well as the ladies 500 and 540, the senior mixed 580, junior men 560, junior ladies 480 and junior mixed 520.
Felton Eccles, Bedford Ladies, Kilroe Ladies, and Team ACF will also be competing in the open competition.
England will be represented in the closed international competition by the above clubs as well as Lincoln, and other pullers from other teams who are travelling to the event as part of their squads.
Entries for the open club competition can be viewed here: https://towcapetown2018.co.za/club/
Entries for the international competition can be viewed here: https://towcapetown2018.co.za/world_club/
We would like to wish all of our teams and officials a safe journey and we wish everyone taking part the very best of luck.
We understand that there will be live streaming from the event, so we will publish the link to the live streaming when it is made available.
English teams recently took part in the GENSB youth international tug of war tournament in Germany. Club ACF fielded two teams at the 21st annual GENSB tournament held in picturesque Mohnesee.
Once again there was a good entry of 31 teams, who were divided into four groups. The top sixteen teams then went through to the knock out stage.
Switzerland were well represented with three teams reaching the semi-finals and Stans-Oberdorf (Switzerland) emerging as dominant winners defeating TTV Powerrangers 1 (Belgium) in the final, which was judged by our own Gavin Corden.
The top eight placings are listed below:
| Rank | Team | Country |
| 1 | Stans-Oberdorf | Switzerland |
| 2 | TTV Powerrangers 1 | Belgium |
| 3 | SZC Engelberg | Switzerland |
| 4 | Sins | Switzerland |
| 5 | Ebersecken | Switzerland |
| 6 | Loftadalen DK | Sweden |
| 7 | TZC Wieden | Germany |
| 8 | TTV Vriezenveen | Netherlands |
In total eight countries were represented at the event (Belgium, England, Germany, Ireland, Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland and Wales).
Team ACF 2 pulled well in the group stage gaining 16 points and finishing in second place behind last years’ winner Waldkirch 1.
To gain their second place Team ACF 2 defeated: Eire Og 1 (Ireland), TTT Het Loggertje (Netherlands), Dutch Mix (Netherlands), TZFr. Dietenbach (Germany), TTV Powerrangers 2 (Belgium). Club ACF 2 shared the points with Mosnang (Switzerland) and lost to Waldkirch 1 (Switzerland).
Club ACF 2 could not maintain their good run of form and were defeated by Loftadalen DK (Sweden) in the round of 16 and finished overall in 11th place.
Club ACF 1 unfortunately, had a far more difficult day, but did gain a vast amount of experience throughout the whole competition.
In addition to Gavin Corden, England were also represented by Dave Kitchener and Ian Grant in the pool of judges.
At the end of the competition the GENSB flag was lowered and passed to the Chairman of the English Tug of War Association, Pete Dyer, who invited all those present to next year’s tournament to be held in Folkestone, England.
The following day, before our long coach drive to Calais, we visited the Mohne Dam. This trip was made all the more significant with 2018 being the 100th Anniversary of the RAF. It was also a time to reflect on the casualties and loss of life on both sides of the conflict, as a result of the historic bombing of the Mohne Dam in 1943.
The British and Irish Tug of War Championships took place over the weekend with two days of competition being held at Wyboston Lakes near St Neots, Bedfordshire.
The first day of competition saw A and B teams from each of the 5 nations of England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland battling it out in various weight divisions for mens teams, ladies teams and junior teams.
This event turned out to be one of the most competitive British and Irish Championships for a number of years, with no one nation dominating the overall results on the day. The event saw England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales all come away with at least one gold medal. England and Wales got 3 gold medals each, with Scotland and Ireland also winning a gold medal each.
This was one of the best attended British and Irish Championships for a number of years with over 500 competitors taking part. The Sunday saw the club competitions taking place, where there was again some exceptionally close competition.
The mens divisions saw Lincoln win 3 of the 5 gold medals on offer, with the other two weight classes being won by Greenhills from Northern Ireland and Cornhill from Scotland. The ladies competitions saw Ayrshire and Kilroe win one gold medal each, with Cornhill also winning the mix. All in all, it was a superb weekend of competition
It is a long time since we have had a British and Irish Championships / UK Championships as fiercely competitive as this one and it was a great spectacle for all of the spectators who came along to cheer their teams on the day.
Competitions like this are won on fine margins, and all of the eventual gold medallists were very worthy winners.
The next big event that teams are looking forward to is the World Tug of War Championships which are taking place in South Africa in September and we wish everyone travelling to that event representing England the very best of luck.
As a final note, we must extend a vote of thanks to TOWA Secretary Mick Copper for co-ordinating and doing a huge amount of work with the staff at Wyboston Lakes to put this on, to Jamie Dewsbury for sponsoring the arena barriers, to Area 5 for supplying the tentage, and once again to Heather Grimston for running the raffle, the funds from which go a long way towards helping to cover the cost of staging these types of events. Of course a huge vote of thanks goes to all of the teams who took part, many of who travel significant distances to train and compete, and to the officials and marshalls who officiate at these events.
International Events
Men 600kg - Gold - Ireland A - Silver - Scotland A - Bronze - Northern Ireland A
Men 680kg - Gold - England A - Silver - England B - Bronze - Wales A
Mixed 580kg - Gold - England A - Silver - Scotland A - Bronze - England B
Ladies 560kg - Gold - England A - Silver - Scotland A - Bronze - Wales B
Ladies 520kg - Gold - Scotland A - Silver - England A - Bronze - England B
Junior Men 560kg - Gold - Wales B - Silver - England A - Bronze - Wales B
Junior Ladies 520kg - Gold - Wales A - Silver - Wales B - Bronze - England A
Junior Mixed 560kg - Gold - Wales A - Silver - Wales B - Bronze - England A
Club Events
Men 560kg - Gold - Greenhills (NIR) - Silver - Upper Eden (ENG) - Bronze - Cornhill (SCO)
Men 600kg - Gold - Cornhill (SCO) - Silver - Norton (ENG) - Bronze - Oxney (ENG)
Men 640kg - Gold - Lincoln (ENG) - Silver - G&B (EIRE) - Bronze - Norton (ENG)
Men 680kg - Gold - Lincoln (ENG) - Silver - Felton Eccles (ENG) - Bronze - Ballinastoe (EIRE)
Men 720kg - Gold - Lincoln (ENG) - Silver - Felton Eccles (ENG) - Bronze - Ballinastoe (EIRE)
Mixed 580kg - Gold - Cornhill (ENG) - Silver - Upper Eden (ENG) - Bronze - Haldon (ENG)
Ladies 560kg - Gold - Kilroe (ENG) - Silver - Haldon (ENG) - Bronze - Bedford (ENG)
Ladies 520kg - Gold - Ayrshire (SCO) - Silver - Kilroe (ENG) - Bronze - Haldon (ENG)
Videos from most of the finals that took place are available on our Facebook page.
