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The 2021 Tug of War Association National Outdoor Tug of War Championships took place at the Grove and Wantage Extravaganza on Saturday 17th, with teams from as far afield as Cumbria and Sussex taking part in the mens, ladies and mixed weight classes, with each team in each weight class being formed by 8 team members. Each team was not allowed to exceed the weight limit in each weight class.
Around 250 competitors from 20 different tug of war clubs took part in the event over the course of the day, with a number of their supporters attending the event to cheer the teams on.
The men’s weight categories were dominated by the Lincoln team and the Oxney Vines Cross team from Sussex, with both teams winning three gold medals each, with Lincoln winning the 640kg, 720kg and catchweight divisions, and Oxney Vines Cross winning the 560kg, 600kg and 680kg divisions.
The ladies competitions saw Bedford Ladies crowned as national champions in all four of the ladies weight classes on offer at 500kg, 520kg, 540kg and 560kg.
The Lincoln team then went on to win their fourth gold medal of the day by winning the mixed weight category for the second year running after they defeated Upper Eden from Cumbria in the final.
“we had a great day” commented Tug of War Association Spokesman Alan Knott.
“whilst the weather was mixed and made the conditions difficult for teams at times, we had some great competition, and despite all of the uncertainty at the start of the year, it was great to see a lot of new teams and pullers taking part, particularly ladies teams, and it was great to see everyone enjoying some really tough competition, which was great for all of the spectators and visitors who came along to the event”
“the winning teams from the national tug of war championships will now go on to represent England at the World Championships in Getxo in the Basque Region of Spain in September, all being well, and we would like to take this opportunity to wish our England teams the very best of luck in their preparations for this event”
“finally, we would like to thank the Grove and Wantage Extravaganza Organising Committee, Grove Rugby Club and all of their volunteers for their assistance in helping us to stage this event. They made us feel very welcome and hopefully we will be able to return again in the future”
The Tug of War Association are always looking for new people to take up the sport and for new teams to form. Help and advice is always available from the Tug of War Association for people looking to get started. The Tug of War Association hopes that this event has helped to inspire more people to give the sport of tug of war a go.
For further information about the sport of tug of war, people are encouraged to visit the Tug of War Association web site at www.tugofwar.co.uk or you can follow The Tug of War Association on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram using the handle @englandtugofwar.
National Outdoor Tug of War Championships 2021 Results Summary
Mens Results
Men 560 kilos – Gold – Oxney Vines Cross (Sussex) – Silver – Lincoln
Men 600 kilos – Gold – Oxney Vines Cross (Sussex) – Silver – Upper Eden (Cumbria) – Bronze – Sandhurst (Berkshire)
Men 640 kilos – Gold – Lincoln (Lincolnshire) – Silver – Norton (Staffordshire) – Bronze – Oxney Vines Cross (Sussex)
Men 680 kilos – Gold – Oxney Vines Cross (Sussex) – Silver – Lincoln – Bronze – Felton Eccles (Somerset)
Men 720 kilos – Gold – Lincoln (Lincolnshire) – Silver – Felton Eccles (Somerset) – Bronze – Essex
Men Catchweight (no weight limit) – Gold – Lincoln (Lincolnshire) – Silver – Essex – Bronze – Bosley (Cheshire)
Ladies Results
Ladies 500 kilos – Gold – Bedford Ladies (Bedfordshire) – Silver – Upper Eden Ladies (Cumbria) – Bronze – Bedfordshire
Ladies 520 kilos – Gold – Bedford Ladies (Bedfordshire) – Silver – Melton Mowbray Ladies (Leicestershire) – Bronze – Upper Eden Ladies (Cumbria)
Ladies 540 kilos – Gold – Bedford Ladies (Bedfordshire) – Silver – Army Ladies – Bronze – Upper Eden Ladies (Cumbria)
Ladies 560 kilos – Gold – Bedford Ladies (Bedfordshire) – Silver – Melton Mowbray Ladies (Leicestershire) – Bronze – Army Ladies
Mixed Results
Mixed 580 Kilos – Gold – Lincoln – Silver – Upper Eden (Cumbria) – Bronze – Oxney Vines Cross (Sussex)
