The 2019 Tug of War Association English National Outdoor Tug of War Championships will be coming to Cumbria on Saturday 15 June 2019, with the Cumberland Show pulling off a major coup by winning a bid from the Tug of War Association.
Tug of war teams from all over England will be taking part in the event, which will see teams competing for the gold, silver and bronze medals in men’s weight categories, ladies weight categories, and junior weight categories. There will also be a mixed gender weight class up for grabs, with teams consisting of four men and four ladies each.
The event is being organised by the Cumberland Show Organising Committee in partnership with the English Tug of War Association (TOWA), with the TOWA having celebrated its 60th Anniversary in 2018. Each tug of war team will consist of eight pullers. The event is being organised in weight classes, with teams weighing in the night before the event.
The winning teams from the different weight classes that are held at the National Championships will go on to represent England at the Tug of War International Federation (TWIF) European Tug of War Championships, which take place in Castlebar, Republic of Ireland later in the year.
Amongst the teams competing will be Lincoln Tug of War Club who won four of the weight classes on offer at the 2018 National Championships, and Norton Tug of War Club who won two weight classes at the 2018 championships.
It isn’t just men’s team that will be showcasing their strength, but there will also be many ladies’ teams taking part as well.
Local interest in the event will come from the Carlisle based Upper Eden team who have a men’s and a ladies team, with the ladies’ team competing at their first national championship in 2018 finishing in 5th place. The men’s team won bronze in the men’s 560kg competition, and the men’s and ladies team joined forces to enter the mixed weight division where they also won bronze.
TOWA spokesman Alan Knott said: “We are very much looking forward to the National Tug of War Championships in Cumbria in 2019.
“Tug of War is practiced at a serious level by our competitors, and whilst being amateurs, a lot of training and practice is required to be successful, and that will be evident when people come along to watch the event.
“We will have teams that have won World and European Championship medals taking part at the event, which should make for a very exciting championship. English teams boast a proud record at international tug of war, with England having won many gold, silver and bronze medals over the past 50 years or so.
“This event will be used to select the teams that represent England at the forthcoming European Championships, so local people will get to see successful international athletes taking part, which should help to make this event even more exciting.
“Tug of war is a true team sport. The ethics or determination, hard work, sportsmanship, and friendship are unrivalled in any other sport. We hope that people come along to watch the tug of war championship at the Cumberland Show to give all of our tug of war teams as much support as possible, and hopefully everyone will learn something about a sport which they may not have seen practiced at a serious level before.”
Joe Birch of the Upper Eden Tug of War Club commented “We are all extremely excited at Upper Eden to see the National Championships come to the Cumberland Show. We have been training for over 3 years now and narrowly missing out on representing our country at previous Championships.
This year the team is as strong as ever and has gained vital experience over the last couple of years competing against some of the best teams in Europe and I hope we can go on to be successful in front of a Cumbrian crowd cheering us on’.
Jill Dunglinson, the Cumberland Show Secretary said: “We are delighted to be hosting this national sporting event. It will be a great addition to our Show with something different for our visitors to see as well as being a real honour for our County. With the weigh in taking place the day before it will be bringing a number of visiting competitors and supporters to Cumbria and to the Show itself which is a great thing all round.”
The Championships on Saturday 15 June 2019 start at 10.00am and will run throughout the day. The Show opens at 9am with a great variety of things to see and do for all the family ranging from livestock and horse competitions, crafts and local food to countryside skills demonstrations and a full packed entertainment schedule. Advance tickets are £11 available from April and Gate Price is £15, with children 16 and under gaining free admission. For more information visit www.cumberlandshow.co.uk.
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 to find out how you can get involved.
Location: East Park, Brisco, Carlisle, Cumbria, CA4 0RB
Schedule of Events:
The competition schedule is as follows (all timings are approximate start times):
- 10am – Men 640 kilos competition
- 11.30am – Men 560 kilos competition and Ladies 560 kilos competition
- 13.00 – Men 720 kilos competition; Ladies 520 kilos competition
- 14.00pm – Men 600 kilos competition
- 15.30pm – Men 680 kilos competition
- 17.00pm – Mixed 600 kilos competition
Who are the defending champions? – 2018 National Outdoor Tug of War Championships – Results Summary
Men 560 kilos – Gold – Norton (Staffordshire) – Silver – Oxney Vines Cross (Sussex) -Bronze – Upper Eden (Cumbria)
Men 600 kilos – Gold – Norton (Staffordshire) – Silver – Oxney Vines Cross (Sussex) -Bronze – York (Yorkshire)
Men 640 kilos – Gold – Lincoln (Lincolnshire) – Silver – Norton (Staffordshire) -Bronze – Felton Eccles (Somerset)
Men 680 kilos – Gold – Lincoln (Lincolnshire) – Silver – Felton Eccles (Somerset) – Bronze – Norton (Staffordshire)
Men 720 kilos – Gold – Lincoln (Lincolnshire) – Silver – Haldon (Devonshire) -Bronze – Holland TOWC (Staffordshire)
Ladies 560 kilos – Gold – Bedford Ladies (Bedfordshire) – Silver – Kilroe Ladies (Derbyshire) -Bronze – Haldon Ladies (Devon)
Ladies 520 kilos – Gold – Bedford Ladies (Bedfordshire) – Silver – Kilroe Ladies (Derbyshire) – Bronze – Army Ladies
Mixed 600 Kilos – Gold – Kilroe (Lancashire) – Silver – Lincoln (Lincolnshire) – Bronze – Upper Eden (Cumbria)
