National News
Click on the tabs below for news and results from competitions taking place throughout the season, as well as other news items from the TOWA!
Our web site administrator is away for the next couple of weeks - however regular updates and scheduled news will be available via our Facebook page, which you can view below, even if you are not a Facebook user!
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!
The Tug of War Association are looking for venues / shows / public events to host the Tug of War Association National Tug of War Championships in 2020 and beyond.
If you have a venue and you are interested in staging an event, then please click here for further details about what is required.
Please can anyone wishing to put forward a venue for 2020 ensure that they are submitted to the TOWA Championships Secretary by Friday 13 September 2019 at the latest
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!
Due to unforeseen circumstances, the FWA Championships originally scheduled for Saturday 17th August had to be cancelled at the last minute.
This event has now been rescheduled to take place as follows:
Sunday 15th September 2019
Venue - Prickly Ball Farm, Denbury Road, East Ogwell, Newton Abbot, Devon, TQ12 6BZ
Weigh In - 10-00 am
First Pull - 11-00 am
Weights - 640 and 720 Kilos Men, Mixed 600kg and a Ladies Weight.
All teams welcome.
Please contact Nick Major for further details and to confirm your team's attendance on 01364 652984 or 07931 756321
The TOWA National League concluded at the weekend with some very competitive pulling and some close results. Click here for a full report!
Steve Phillips
Steve Phillips of St.Clarets and Thames Valley TOWC's sadly passed away on Friday 9th August. Steve had been fighting Cancer for some while and was recently at the Area 7 Open Championships at Sandhurst in July. Steve had seemed in good spirits and was looking forward to keeping in touch with his Tug of War friends, but this was sadly not to be.
Steve's Funeral will be on Wednesday 28th August at 1am ATGrange Park Baptists Church, 217 Lansbury Drive, Hayes, Middlesex, UB4 8RS. The service will be followed by the burial at 12.30pm at Northwood Cemetery, HA6 1HU. The wake will be held at Hayes & Harrington Community Centre, Albert Road Hayes, UB3 4HR
Nick Skelton
Nick Skelton of Cotswold Farmers and recently Coach of Ansty YFC TOW Club has also recently passed away following his fight against Cancer.
Nick was a well known competitor in the South West and competed at both Outdoor and Indoor Tug of War with Cotswold Farmers.
Nick has been Coaching Ansty YFC in recent years and as well as competing in the TOWA National Championships, Ansty YFC won the YFC Championships in 2017, and most recently this year even though Nick was too ill to attend.
Our thoughts are with Steve and Nick's family, friends and team mates at this difficult time.
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!
The Tug of War Association is sad to learn that ex TOWA judge Martin Thorpe passed away on 31 July.
The Funeral will take place 28 August at 1pm at North Herts Memorial Park and Crematorium.
Followed by tea at Mount Pleasant Golf Course, Lower Stondon.
If anyone would like to attend, write a tribute and/or make a tribute then you are asked to please contact Kirsty Thorpe by email. If you would like to make contact, then please drop us a message and we can provide you with the email address by return.
The family are asking for all gents to wear bright coloured or character ties and brighly coloured ties. Family flowers only and donations if you wish will be splite between Diabetes UK and the British Heart Foundation.
This weekend the 2019 British and Irish Tug of War Championships take place in Northern Ireland, with the closed international competition taking place on Friday 9 August and the open club competition taking place on Saturday 10 August.
The Tug of War Association would like to wish all of those teams travelling to the event the very best of luck.
You can find out more about the teams that are representing England by clicking here.
Click here for the results of the 2019 Cheshire Open Tug of War Championships held at the Cheshire Game and Angling Fair at Peover Hall near Knutsford over the weekend!
Well done and thank you to everyone who attended the TOWA training and development day on Sunday 28 July at Holland Sports Club.
The day went well despite the weather and we hope that everyone who attended learned something new and got plenty from the day.
As ever, if you have any constructive feedback from the day, positive or negative, then please contact us with your comments and suggestions as to how we can improve future training and development days.
The Tug of War Association is sad to learn of the passing of Nigel Slade.
Nigel Slade started his career with Byfords/Southend ToWC before joining Rainham/St. George in 1992. With the Club he was a regular member in the teams that achieved a Silver and 5 Bronzes at the outdoor national championships. When he joined Tonbridge in 2004 he was in the 640kg National bronze medalist side.
He achieved greater success on the Indoor circuit with BAC being part of numerous Gold medal winning teams and also represented England.
A good bloke all round and great competitor.
Our thoughts are with his family, friends and team mates.
The Funeral of Nigel Slade will take place on Tuesday 13th August 2019 at St. Andrews Church, Rochford, Essex, SS4 1NW at 12.00pm.
The burial will be at The Lawn Cemetary, Rochford, Essex, SS4 1PA at 1pm.
Every will be welcome to come back to the house after for tea/coffee and food.
Click here for the results of the Inter County Championships hosted by the TOWA South West Area Number 3.
The Funeral of Ernie Jones will take place on Tuesday 6th August 2019 at St George's and St Michael's Church, Vancouver Road, Forest Hill, London, SE23 2AG at 12.30pm
The burial will take place at 2pm at Hither Green Cemetery, Verdant Lane, London, SE6 1JX
Afterwards, everyone is asked to join Ernie's family to celebrate the life of Ernie at the Catford and Cyphers Cricket Club, Rubens street, Catford, London, SE23 4DH.
If you wish to send flowers for the funeral please send to 147 Elsinore Road, Forest Hill, London, SE23 2SQ
On Sunay 28 July 2019, the TOWA will be holding a recorders course in conjunction with the TOWA Training and Development Day
TOWA recorders provide a very important role in the running of tug of war competitions, in particular assisting with the draw, recording the scores and recording cautions received by each team.
Becoming a TOWA recorder offers those who enjoy coming along to support events with an opportunity to participate and assist with the running of such events. There are few limitations to becoming a TOWA recorder and everyone is encouraged to put themselves forward.
This is an ideal opportunity for anyone that wishes to help out with recording at their local club events.
Please click here for further information
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
Click here for the results of Bedford Ladies TOWC's annual open tug of war competition held at Kempston, Bedford on Sunday!
Click here for the results of the Far Western Area Championships held at Launceston, Cornwall on Saturday night.
Click here for the results of the Devon County Championships held at Ansty on Friday night!
The Tug of War Association is saddened to learn of the passing of long standing TOWA Member and judge Ernie Jones. Click here for more.
Click here for a full roundup, photos and videos from a fantastic national tug of war championships held at the Cumberland Show on Saturday 15 June 2019.
Please note that the deadline to register your junior teams to take part in the GENSB Junior International Tournament in Folkestone, Kent on the August Bank Holiday weekend is 24 June 2019.
If your junior team intends to compete in this event, then please complete your registrations as soon as possible.
Remember, there are no pre-qualification events, this is an open competition, and all junior teams are eligible to take part.
Visit the GENSB 2019 Page for further info!
Two England Under 23 Ladies Tug of War training days have been arranged to take place on Sunday 23 June and Sunday 30 June 2019.
For further details, please click here.
All ladies under the age of 23 are encouraged to apply and trial for the England under 23 ladies team and otherwise come along for some training and experience.
Click here to read about what happened at York's annual open competition!
Click here for the results of the 2019 Shropshire Open Championships!
The Tug of War Association is saddened to learn of the passing of James Myatt, former puller of Leek, Sheen and Bosley. Click here for more.
A busy weekend of tug of war culminated in the well organised annual open competition hosted by Felton Eccles TOWC. Click here to see the results from this event!
Click here for the results of the tug of war competition held at Otley Show in Yorkshire!
Click here for the results of the tug of war competition held at Devon County Show!
Click here for the results of the AAA tug of war championships and Midland Area Open Competition!
Click here for the results of the tug of war event held in conjunction with North Somerset Show.
Click here to read about the Charity Truck Pull event organised by the Lancashire Association of Boys and Girls Clubs that the Tug of War Association helped to organise!
Click here for the results of the 2019 Daventry Open Tug of War Competition.
Click here for the results of the 2019 Sheen / Waterhouses YFC Open Competition
Click here for the results of the 2019 Lincoln TOWC Open Competition.
Click here to read about everything that happened at the 2019 East of England Open Championships at the weekend and which teams won the various weight categories on the day!
All teams are kindly asked to note that there are a number of events that are taking place at various shows and public events around the country during 2019. These events are great opportunities to showcase our sport to a large audience and all teams are encouraged to support these events as much as possible.
Please click here for more details about how to take part at various shows around the country and the deadlines for obtaining entry passes and confirming your attendance.
Please note that due to circumstances beyond the control of the organisers, Thames Valley have regrettably had to cancel their event taking place on Sunday 28 April. There is still another fixture taking place on that date at Sheen in the Peak District. Please see the fixtures page for more details.
Click here to read about everything that happened at Bosley TOWC's annual open competition at the weekend and which teams won the various weight categories on the day. It was another well attended event this weekend!
This Sunday Essex Tug of War / Essex YFC held a tug of war day which was well attended by a mix of TOWA and YFC teams, and it was pleasing to see a good number of ladies teams in attendance.
Click here for the results from the day!
Click here to read more about what went on and who won what weight classes at the Dorset Training League held at Marshwood, Dorset over the weekend!
Congratulations to Mick Grimston, Heather Grimston, Terry Spoore and Vic Ludkin who received the TOWA Award of Merit at the 2019 TOWA AGM. Click here to read more.
Please click the image below to watch a documentary about tug of war and the Tug of War Association made during the 1970's. It is a fascinating watch!
The GENSB Promotional video has been launched and can be viewed below:
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 TOWA Clubs, military, cadet and young farmers teams. If you have any questions about this event, then please do not hesitate to contact us!
On Thursday 6 December the Army Tug of War Team graced the famous coblles of Coronation Street in Manchester to take part in a tug of war match for a special compilation programme of messages from military families to their loved ones back home and overseas. Click here to read more and see some photos and videos!
Click here for a report, photos and videos from the 2018 National Indoor Tug of War Championships held at the Harry Mitchell Leisure Centre in Smethwick, West Midlands on 1 December 2018!
There are still some British and Irish Championship polo shirts and t-shirts left over which are available for purchase at a reduced price (limited stock available).
Polo shirts are available for £5 each
T-shirts are available at £3 each
Postage and packaging is £4 per item.
If you would like a 2018 B&I Championships t-shirt/polo shirt, please contact John Gracie and he can advise you as to what sizes are still available:
Tel: 07736 675640
email: john@gracie.co.uk
Tug Lawson's Funeral will take place on Friday 21 December at 11:00.
The funeral will take place at:
South Leicestershire Memorial Park and Crematorium
Foston Rd
Countesthorpe
Leicestershire
LE8 5QP
There should be ample car parking, but if not, attendees are requested not to park on the road side but use the Garden Centre car park opposite the crematorium.
Tug left instructions for no flowers but instructed that any donation be given to the RA Charitable Fund. A collection box is to be made available at the crematorium on the day.
It is requested that all serving and retired service personnel are to wear their Regimental Tie. TOWA Blazer and Tie is requested to be worn by non-service members of the TOWA if you have one.
Click the video below to watch a highlight program from the 2018 World Outdoor Tug of War Championships held in Cape Town, South Africa in September, featuring all of the medal pulls from the closed international competition and 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 Tug of War Association is saddened to learn of the passing of Lieutenant Colonel (Retd) Cecil John Lawson, known to most of us as "Tug" this afternoon.
Tug was well know in both the TOWA circuit and of course the military circuit, bringing many teams through over the years at both senior and junior level and actively encouraging new recruits to get involved.
Tug has previously served on the TOWA general committee, served as TOWA president and was also a TOWA Award of Merit holder.
In 2014, Tug was awarded with the British Empire Medal in the Queen's Birthday Honours List today for voluntary service to the Army Cadet Force. Tug had been part of the Leicestershire, Northamptonshire and Rutland ACF for many years, and was instrumental in promoting tug of war within the ACF. Tug of war is now a fully recognised sport within the ACF, with county, regional and national tug of war competitions taking place every year. Many ACF clubs are now taking part in TOWA youth competitions, with many also taking part in GENSB competitions, with some ACF clubs also going on to represent England at youth level.
Thank you Tug for everything that you have done for our sport.
A true gentleman in every sense of the word who will be greatly missed.
Rest in Peace Tug.
Congratulations to our medal winners at the 2018 AAA indoor tug of war championships at the weekend:
Catchweight - winners - Uppertown - runners up - Raunds
640kg - winners - Kilroe - runner up - Uppertown
Great effort from everyone who continues to support indoor tug of war!
photo: Kilroe Squad
Photo - Uppertown Squad
The TOWA is in the process of putting together the fixture list for 2019 which will be discussed at the General Committee meeting to be held in November.
If you are a club or event organiser and are looking to organise a tug of war competition during 2019 (including any training leagues, YFC competitions, shows, etc), then you need to apply for your permits by Mid November (17 November 2018). The cost of a permit is £20.
To apply to hold an event, please complete the permit application form and return it to the TOWA secretary Mick Copper along with the permit fee using the details provided on the form.
If your date is flexible, then please provide any potential alternative dates with your application in the event that there is a clash with another nearby event.
If you wish to host the AAA championships (any event prior to the national championships in June), Inter County Championships (any event after the June national championships) or League Finals (first week of September or slightly earlier date during late August depending upon the date of the European Championships in September) at your event, then please provide a covering letter applying to hold such an event. Where more than one venue applies to hold such an event, then a decision will be made by the committee by way of majority vote based upon the information provided about the suitability of the venue.
Organisers are also reminded that when organising a tug of war event, it is your own responsibility to invite officials and such invitations should be sent at the earliest opportunity and not at the last minute.
In advance of receiving expected questions on the national championships venue, the venue for the championships will be voted on in November. Otherwise, the national championships takes place on the third Saturday of June. We are always looking for venues to host future national championships in the coming years, so if you wish to put a venue forward (ideally at a show or other public venue/event with weigh in facilities nearby), then please contact the Championships Secretary Mick Grimston (mickgrimston@gmail.com) to discuss further what is required.
Otherwise, if you have any other general queries about competition fixtures / hosting an event, then please contact the TOWA Secretary Mick Copper - mick.copper@tiscali.co.uk. The permit application form to apply to host an event is available to download below. If you intend to hold an event in 2019, then please download, complete and return the form to the TOWA Secretary as soon as possible.
Click here to read more about the first weekend of indoor tug of war competition!
The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) has published the 2019 List of Prohibited Substances and Methods, and The Tug of War Association wants to ensure you know all the key details before it comes into effect on 1 January.
Whether you’re a puller, coach, parent, physio, doctor or S&C coach, it’s vital you are aware of the changes, so you don’t get caught out and end up with a ban from sport.
The List outlines substances and methods which are banned both in and out-of-competition, but it is not exhaustive as most categories only include common examples. It’s updated every October, giving you time to get to grips with any changes before the New Year, but please also be aware that changes can also be made to the Prohibited List throughout the year.
Several of the changes relate to supplements, or ingredients commonly found within them, while there is also more information around gene doping and examples of certain substances being known by a different name.
More details can be found on the UK Anti-Doping (UKAD) website, so please take the time to have a read through to ensure you don’t get caught out.
The Kessingland Autumn Tug of War Weekend celebrated its 40th Anniversary this year and the organisers are very grateful that pullers are still turning out for the weekend, enabling them to keep the competition going. This included two new teams to the event.
The results were as follows:
Saturday
600kg winners, Raunds and runners up Halstead
640kg winners, Halstead and runners up Raunds
680kg winners, Raunds and runners up Halstead
600kg 4x4 winners Thames Valley B and runners up Thames Valley A
Sunday
620kg winners Raunds and runners up Hadleigh
660kg winners Raunds and runners up Hadleigh
720kg winners Raunds and runners up Halstead
660kg 4x4 winners Hadleigh and runners up Thames Valley
Next year the Kessingland event is being held over the weekend of 12th and 13th October 2019 and the organisers look forward to seeing everybody once again!
Starting on Sunday 28 October, there will be 5 weekly competitions, taking place on Sundays, followed by the TOWA national indoor championships on Saturday 1st December
The indoor season is run as a league. Annual team trophies (donated by Len Hall) are awarded for each weight class at the final indoor competition before the national championships for the teams that have accumulated the most points over the course of the season in each weight class.
This season will include new 6 a side weight classes at 480kg and 510kg for men. Ladies/junior 6 a side weights will be confirmed shortly.
As per the ruling voted in at the 2018 AGM, This year, there will be a 6 a side weight class held at each indoor event (open competitions only). Teams may weigh into these weight classes with 6 pullers or 5 pullers, as with normal 8 a side competitions where teams can weigh in with 7 pullers.
This weight class is a great opportunity for teams who have never done indoor tug of war before, or for teams with small squads to come along and take part. It is also ideal for outdoor teams looking to keep fit over the winter to come along and have a go. All you need is your normal tug of war kit and flat soft sole trainers instead of boots. Multiple teams can be entered into the 6 a side weight classes if your clubs have sufficient numbers in attendance, and teams can also borrow pullers to make extra teams.
Please note that in order to encourage new teams to take part on the indoor circuit that for the 6 a side weight classes, the TOWA committee has resolved to only permit unmodified, shop bought shoes for the 6 a side weight categories.
Please note also that the 6 a side weight classes will not count towards the criteria for qualifying to represent England for those teams looking to qualify to represent England at the British and Irish Championships. If teams attend an indoor event with 5 pullers to compete in the 6 a side weight class, and wish for the event to count towards the qualification criteria for representing England, then they may borrow two pullers to compete in an 8 a side weight class with 7 pullers as a maximum of two pullers may be borrowed to be eligible to meet the criteria, with our rules allowing for teams to compete with 7 pullers in open competitions.
Entry to the hall each week is £2 per person (which includes raffle tickets) to help cover the costs of hall hire.
In advance of the first competitions, teams are asked to contact the TOWA secretary to confirm attendance and approximate number of weight classes that you think your team is likely to enter so that appropriate planning can take place in advance of the event to ensure that the hall is booked for the appropriate length of time.
The list of open competition fixtures prior to the national indoor championships are available on the fixtures page. Please note that the weigh in time for each competition is 9am, with competitions starting at 10am.
We are looking forward to another good indoor tug of war season!
4 members of the Royal Corps of Signals recently traveled to South Africa as part of the England Tug of War Squad to take part in the World Tug of War Championships.
Warrant Officer Class One Brian Mclean is a member of 11th (Royal School of Signals ) Signal Regiment and has been involved with military Tug of War for almost 23 years. He is key to the development of the sport within the Army as he introduces young junior soldiers to the sport whilst they are in training. He traveled to South Africa in an assistant coach capacity and gained valuable experience of youth Tug of War at International level which will aid with the development of the young soldiers he has under his command.
In addition to Brian, 3 other members of the Royal Corps of Signals recently traveled to South Africa as part of the England Tug of War Squad to take part in the World Tug of War Championships. Warrant Officer Class Two Jon Perks traveled over as part of his civilian club Felton Eccles who he competed for in the open competition before competing in the closed competition for England, winning a bronze medal in the 680kg weight category. Signaller Nial Lewis and Signaller Elise Kalaher are Phase 2 trainee soldiers who are currently completing their trade training after joining the Army in the past year. While pulling for 11th (Royal School of Signals) Signal Regiment this season on the Army circuit they both caught the eye of the England Junior team manager and were selected to represent England Juniors in South Africa and also competed in the open competition for Team ACF.
Congratulations to the above. A number of military teams and personnel have competed on the TOWA circuit over a great number of years and continue to do so. Many civilian clubs also take on military pullers after they have left the service, so if you are an ex-member of a forces tug of war team and want to remain involved in the sport, then please contact us to find a tug of war club near to you!
We have begun the process of revamping our web site to make it compatible with mobile and tablet devices.
We are still in the process of migrating data and information from our old web site to the new web site, so please bear with us whilst this transition takes place.
Please keep checking back for updates!
It is with regret that the Midland Area TOWA have had to cancel the above event, due to teams not informing the organisers whether or not they were going to attend the event.
Going forward, the Tug of War Association would like to remind teams that you should contact event organisers in advance of an event to confirm whether or not you are going to attend. A lot of organisation, time and expenditure is required to put on events, so co-operation with event organisers by all teams from this point forward would be appreciated. Thank you.
Visit the International News Page for a round up of a great weekend of tug of war.
We would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who helped to make this a success - from those who organised the event from the outset, all of the volunteers, Wyboston Lakes, all of the teams, all of the officials and all of the supporters. We had a great time! Here's to the next 60 years and beyond!
