After featuring in the Olympics from 1900 to 1920, the Tug of War International Federation is trying to get it back to elite level once again.
The federation want to bring back its popularity, sparking something in the hearts of Nottingham residents this year, by holding the Senior European Championships and Under 23 World Championship in September.
Alan Knott of the UK Tug of War Association said: “The University of Nottingham will be hosting the event at their Highfield campus. There is no charge to come. There will be some seating available and pop up stands and the public can all hop on the tram and come along to see what’s going on.”
The tournament will be open to men’s teams, women’s teams, and mixed teams who will be competing for gold, silver and bronze medals in different weight categories from at least 20 different countries in Europe and around the world.
Alan added: “Tug of War was in the Olympics until they took out loads of team sports like cricket and rugby too. The sport is still recognised by the IOC (International Olympic Committee) so last time we applied to be back in was Tokyo but if you’re not in the Olympics it is harder to secure the funding.”
This year’s competition celebrates 60 years of the European Championships. Alan said: “The anniversary will be marked in some way but we are still planning things.”
“It is a great opportunity for people to see a top level tug of war competition, something which people in the area may not have seen before”
Alan Knotts, Spokesperson for Tug Of War Association
“There is certainly a lot more to tug of war than what people normally think, and preparing for this event takes weeks, months and years of hard work and preparation.”
Watch the Tug of War European Championship and the Under 23 World Championship at the University Of Nottingham from the 4th to the 7th September.
