British and Irish tug of war championships are hailed success

More than 500 competitors turned up Wyboston Lakes at the weekend for the British and Irish Tug of War Championships.

The first day of the competition saw A and B teams from each of the five competing nations - England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland -battling it out in various weight divisions for men’s, women’s and junior teams.

This event turned out to be one of the most competitive British and Irish championships for a number of years, organisers said, with no one nation dominating the overall results.

The event saw England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales all come away with a medal, with England and Wales getting three gold medals each, and Scotland and Ireland getting one gold medal each.

Tug of War Association spokesman Alan Knott said: “It was a superb weekend of competition. It is a long time since we have had a competition 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

“We are always looking for new teams and new pullers - male and female - to take up the sport of tug of war, so if you think ‘yeah, I might like to have a go at that’, then please visit the Tug of War Association website or search for @englandtugofwar on social media.”