2011 National Outdoor Tug of War Championships - Lincoln
Video coverage of the event by the Young Journalists Academy:
National Outdoor Tug of War Championships 2011 - Teams competing:
Senior Men - Lincoln, Alford, Norton, Sheen, Bosley, Holland, Two Dales, Team Army, Felton Eccles, Tavistock, Widecombe, Sandhurst, Oxney Vines Cross, Forge Lane.
Senior Ladies – Sheen Ladies, Bedford Ladies, Holland, Woodton
Junior Men – Gloucester and Somerset ACF, Leicester, Northants and Rutland ACF, Lincoln ACF
Junior Ladies (demonstration event) – Gloucester and Somerset ACF, Leicester, Northants and Rutland ACF
This years national outdoor tug of war championships were held in Lincoln at the Sabroan Barracks. The event was organised with the assistance and support of Captain Rob Holland and the Lincolnshire Army Cadet Force. The venue was good, and despite the dry weather experienced in this area, the ground cut up nicely allowing for some good competitive pulling. The weather remained largely dry for most of the day with only one heavy downpour during the 560 kilos event. Photo: Championships Officials
The championships opened with the mens catchweight and ladies 560 kilos events. Four teams competed in the catchweight competition, which was pulled under TWIF rules, meaning that each team pulled each other, before a semi-final cross over. Sheen started strongly with a 2 ends to 0 win over Sandhurst, whilst Bosley and Holland drew 1-1. Sheen then defeated Bosley, and Holland defeated Sandhurst. Bosley then defeated Sandhurst by 2 ends to 0, and Sheen defeated Holland. Photo: Holland Ladies.
The semi finals saw the top team pull the fourth placed team, and the second placed team pull the third placed team. Sheen defeated Sandhurst by 2 ends to 0, and Bosley earned a hard fought 2 ends to 0 win over Holland to make the final. Sandhurst and Holland were left to fight it out for the bronze medal. Despite being very light in this weight, Sandhurst held their own very well, however Holland proved to be that bit stronger on the day, and won through by 2 ends to 0. Sheen and Bosley met again in the final, but Sheen again proved to very strong in this weight and went on to win the gold medal by 2 ends to 0. Photo: Woodton Ladies
The ladies 560 kilos event was contested by four teams this year – Bedford, Sheen Ladies, Holland Ladies and Woodton Ladies. The competition was very good, and like the catchweight competition, the teams pulled each other in a group points competition before contesting semi-finals and finals. Sheen and Bedford both beat Holland and Woodton by 2 ends to 0 each going into their head to head at the end of the group stage. Holland defeated Woodton by 2 ends to 0 in a good group match, whilst Sheen Ladies edged out Bedford Ladies by 2 ends to 0 to finish top of the group. Photo: Sheen Ladies
In the cross over Sheen defeated Woodton by 2 ends to 0 and Bedford defeated Holland by 2 ends to 0. Holland and Woodton contested the bronze medal match, which was won by Holland Ladies by 2 ends to 0. The final was a keenly contested match between Sheen and Bedford. Sheen took the advantage on the first end by beating Bedford to the drop. Bedford worked hard to get themselves back into the pull, however Sheen maintained their advantage to take the first end. He second end again saw Sheen try and take the early advantage, but Bedford tried hard to fight back and get some lifts in against Sheen. As Bedford looked to be getting themselves into it, Sheen got their momentum going again and went on to take the second end and the gold medal. Photo: Lincoln TOWC
The 640 kilos event followed, which was a competition split into two groups. Home team Lincoln were looking to get to the final again on home soil, having finished second in the event last year, and Felton Eccles were looking for their fifteenth 640 kilos title in 16 years. Felton progressed to the semi-final after finishing top of their group ahead of Sheen who finished second. Alford finished third in this group after some excellent pulling, taking the scalps of Sandhurst and Holland on the way. Group 2 was keenly contested, with Bosley eventually finishing top of the group ahead of Two Dales. Lincoln missed out on a spot in the semi finals after being defeated by Two Dales first on, and drawing 1-1 with Bosley. Tavistock finished fourth in this group ahead of Team Army. Photo: Wood Treatment Bosley
The semi finals saw Felton Eccles defeat Two Dales in a very fierce pull by 2 ends to 0, and Sheen defeated Bosley by 2 ends to 0. The bronze medal pull off was a close pull, and saw some very determined pulling by Two Dales which resulted in them taking the bronze medal ahead of Bosley by 2 ends to 0. The final saw Felton Eccles take on Sheen. Felton had already defeated Sheen in the group, however the incentive of a gold medal always ensures that a final is not so straight forward. Felton however managed to stand firm on the first end to take the advantage. On the second end, Felton started to take advantage, with Sheen then starting to throw in some big lifts in return, however Felton managed to keep taking the rope to secure their 15th 640 kilos gold medal in 16 years. Photo: Two Dales.
During the 640 kilos weight class the junior weight classes were held. Defending champions Sandhurst were unable to field a team at the event this year, which meant that their would be new youth champions for 2011. Leicester and Northants ACF sprung the first surprise of the day by taking the gold medal in the junior 530 kilos weight class ahead of Gloucester and Somerset ACF, who had been winning most of the junior weight classes in the run up to the national championships. Photo: Holland TOWC
The junior 560 kilos weight class was another keenly contested youth weight class. Gloucester and Somerset ACF won all of their group matches ahead of Leicester and Northants ACF and Lincoln ACF without losing an end. A final was then contested between Leicester and Northants ACF and Gloucester and Somerset ACF. Gloucester and Somerset ACF took the advantage on the first end and moved Leicester and Northants ACF over the line to take their first step towards their first ever gold medal. Gloucester and Somerset then took the second end off a very determined Leicester and Northants ACF to take the junior 560 kilos title. Photo: Felton Eccles TOWC
A tug of war demonstration event took place for the junior ladies teams with Gloucester and Somerset ACF and Leicester and Northants ACF taking part. Leicester and Northants have had an established team set up over the past couple of years for junior ladies, having fielded junior ladies teams at past GENSB tournaments. This previous experience showed as they managed to beat Gloucester and Somerset ACF in both the 520 kilos and 560 kilos weight classes. We are hoping to run weight classes for junior ladies teams in future events, so anyone interested in setting up junior ladies teams are encouraged to do so. Photo: Alford TOWC
The mens 560 kilos event followed, which was again split into two groups. Norton finished as winners of group 1 ahead of Oxney, and Sandhurst finished as winners of group 2 ahead of Forge Lane. In the semi finals, Norton defeated Forge Lane by 2 ends to 0, and Sandhurst won a very keenly contested semi final against Oxney by 2 ends to 0 with Oxney making a couple of costly slips which Sandhurst did well to take full advantage of. The bronze medal match was a good battle between the two Sussex teams of Oxney Vines Cross and Forge Lane. Despite a great effort from Forge Lane, where on many occasions they put in some good lifts against Oxney, Oxney stood firm to take a well earned Bronze medal by 2 ends to 0. The final was yet another showpiece between Norton and Sandhurst. Norton held their angles well to take a long first end off Sandhurst. For the second end, Sandhurst opted to make a substitution to add a fresh pair of legs to their team to try and get back into the final. Again after another long end, and a resilient effort by Sandhurst, Norton took the win and the gold medal. Photo: Gloucester and Somerset ACF
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The Ladies 520 kilos weight class was contested alongside the mens 720 kilos event. Three teams contested this weight class – Holland, Sheen, and Bedford. Both Bedford and Sheen defeated Holland in the group rounds, meaning that both clubs would pull each other again in the final. The final this time was much closer than the final of the 560 kilos event with both teams favouring this weight class as their strongest weight. The final was close between these two very experienced ladies teams, however this time, Sheen Ladies made it two gold medals on the day to take the ladies national championships title off Bedford. Well done to all of the ladies teams who took part on the day, making a good advert for ladies tug of war. Photo: Forge Lane
The mens 600 kilos weight class was the next weight to be contested. Again, split into two groups, the competition started with a bang. Group 1 saw Fleton Eccles and Sandhurst battle it out to a 1-1 draw, and Lincoln defeated Oxney in group 2 by 2 ends to 0 in very hard fought battle. Norton went through as winners of group 1, with Felton Eccles finishing as eventual runner up after receiving less cautions than Sandhurst. In group 2, and despite defeat to Lincoln, Oxney finished as winners, with Bosley coming through as runners up after losing to Oxney in their final pull of the group. Norton defeated Bosley in the first semi final with Felton Eccles defeating Oxney in the other semi final to make the final. The bronze medal pull off saw Oxney and Bosley meet for the second time. This time, Bosley took the first end by catching Oxney off guard from the drop. On the second end, Bosley got Oxney moving again, and then stopped, allowing Oxney back into the pull to take the second end. The same thing happened again on the third end, and Oxney took a hard fought bronze medal. The final saw Norton pull strongly again as they have done all year and they took the gold medal ahead of Felton by 2 ends to 0. Photo: Norton TOWC
The final weight of the day was the 680 kilos weight class. This weight can sometimes throw up a few surprises, being the last weight class of the day, with most clubs entering a team for their last chance of winning a medal. Like most of the weight classes on the day, this competition was again split into two groups. Sheen were the winners of group 1, ahead of Two Dales who finished as the eventual runners up. Norton were the winners of group 2 ahead of Felton Eccles who finished as group runners up. In the semi finals, Sheen defeated Felton Eccles and Norton defeated Two Dales. The bronze medal match was a good battle between Felton Eccles and Two Dales. Two Dales managed to lift Felton to their toes on more than one occasion, however the experience and determination of the Felton team enabled them to hang on and take the bronze medal by 2 ends to 0. The final between Sheen and Norton was a tense affair. Norton opted to try and outlast Sheen on the first end, however Sheen started to work Norton out of shape, and a good battle unfolded with Sheen taking the first end. The second end saw both teams battle hard again, but Sheen proved to be that little bit stronger on the day, and they took their third gold medal of the championship. Photo: Sandhurst TOWC
At the end of the championships, the presentations took place, firstly with the ladies weight classes. The medals were presented in memory of Lynsey Chipperfield, with presentations being made by her parents Stafford and Lynsey. Fittingly, the gold, silver and bronze medals were presented to clubs with whom she had previously been actively involved with – Sheen Ladies, Bedford Ladies, and Holland (with whom her fiancé Gavin is also a member). The presentations for the mens weight classes were made by the TOWA chairman Pete Dyer in the absence of the TOWA president Tony Martin who was unable to attend the championships as his wife Sue has recently undergone an operation. We wish Sue a speedy recovery. A presentation was also made to the chief judge, Mr. Vic Ludkin. The Tug of War Association would like to thank all of the teams and supporters for coming along and making the day a success, and we would also like to thank all of the officials, recorders, and marshals for helping the event run smoothly. We would also like to place on record our thanks to Rob Holland and the Lincolnshire ACF for helping to stage the championships. Photo: Duncan Craft (Sheen Ladies Coach) receiving the winners medals from Stafford and Lesley Chipperfield.
Good luck to all of the teams for the remainder of the outdoor season with the European Championships to look forward to in Minehead, Somerset. There is both the international event and open club competition taking place at this event. Any club team may take part in the open competition, so we look forward to seeing many English clubs at the event. Accommodation bookings, accreditation and weight entries are currently being taken, and early booking of accommodation is recommended. Please visit 
www.ec2011tow.co.uk for further information! Photo: Widecombe TOWC
Oxney Vines Cross
Team Army
Tavistock
Sheen
