Tug-O-War

We are delighted to be teaming up with Wragby Show & Country Fayre with our  Tug-O-War Challenge. Teams of 8 can enter on the day or by email in advance to annepierce.1961@gmail.com. The Tug-O-War Challenge will take place from 3PM and we encourage entries from all ages and genders. Categories will be confirmed on the day, depending on entries, but we expect adult male/female/mixed; teenagers male/female/mixed and children . Prizes to winning teams! 

The objective of tug of war is to pull the opposing team a distance of four metres from a fixed centre point.  There are marks on the rope to determine  when  this has been achieved.  The rope has a red mark in the centre of the rope and two white marks, each 4 metres to the left and right of the centre mark. There are also two blue marks, each 1 metre from the white marks (i.e. 5 metres from the centre mark) – the first puller of each team will start at the blue mark. The seven remaining pullers on the team should each line up behind the lead puller, leaving a gap of a little more than arms length from the person in front. The last puller is the anchor. 

The winning team will be the one who pulls the white mark of the opposing team over the centre line 

Pullers grip the rope with their bare hands. No knots or loops should be tied in the rope, and the rope should not be wrapped around any limbs. 

Teams are not allowed to suddenly let go of the rope and deliberately cause the opposing team to fall over !

Each match is a best of three end pull. The team that wins two ends is the winner. 

Teams are not allowed to sit on the floor. 

Each pull is officiated by a judge who stops and starts the pull. 

The judge will be in charge and stand at the centre. They will get the pull started by saying “Teams are you ready” 

Once both teams have confirmed that they are ready, the judge will shout “pick up the rope” 

Both teams pick up the rope. The judge will then say “Take the strain” 

Both teams should lean back slightly (but not pull the rope) to make the rope taught. The judge will check the centre mark of the rope is level with the centre mark on the ground. 

The judge will then say….“Steady” – teams should be ready, while the judge makes a final check that the rope is still in the centre. The judge will have both hands in the air at this point and will then shout 'Pull'! and drop their hands. Both teams should lean back quickly and start to pull. During the pull, the judge will check both teams to make sure they don’t sit on the floor or commit other infringements.  

When one of the white lines passes the centre line, the judge will declare the winner.

Thanks to the  UK Tug of War Association for the information.