Grasmere Lakeland Sports and Show Wants Tug of War to Make a Comeback

Grasmere Lakeland Sports and Show is striving to put Tug of War back on its Sports programme’s schedule, so as to support the ambitions of young Cumbrians wanting to compete on the global stage.

To do that, the Sports needs determined and competitive men and women to come together now and commit to entering a team in a Tug of War contest.  That team could be drawn from a village community, a family network, workmates, a or another sort of group.  Whatever its composition, that team could win a prize this August.

Grasmere Lakeland Sports and Show recognises Tug of War as a sport with a tradition that deserves to be preserved and also appreciates the resurgence the sport is enjoying, on an international stage.  That opens up opportunities to travel the globe whilst competing, if people have the opportunity to practise the sport in Cumbria. 

Newly formed tug of war teams would be able to get three or four months of practice in before Grasmere Lakeland Sports and Show on Sunday, August 24.  That should help hone the skills and get everyone pulling in the same direction!

This is a sport with roots in many ancient cultures, from ancient Greece and China to Egypt and India.  Chinese warriors were trained using a tug of war rope some 7000-10,000 years ago.  Around 500 BC, athletes started to take tug of war up as part of their training regime.  By the 15th century, it was a popular feature within tournaments held in French chateaux.

The modern version was hugely popular in the late 19th and early 20th century, at the time when Grasmere Lakeland Sports and Show was establishing itself as a rural show serving the farming community and, particularly, Lakeland hill farmers.  The first Tug Of War event recorded at Grasmere Sports was in 1879, when a team formed by one of the leading wrestlers won the title.

By 1886, a team from Westmorland was taking on a team from Cumberland, for some local rivalry.  By 1892, it was village versus village, as Troutbeck took on Grasmere.  Over the years that followed, villages such as Elterwater, Cartmel Fell, Langdale, Ullswater and Witherslack all had teams competing. 

The backdrop to this was also a global recognition of the skills and power required to win a Tug Of War contest.  The event was an Olympic sport from 1900 to 1920, appearing at the Olympics held in Paris, St Louis, London, Stockholm and Antwerp, during this period. A team from Great Britain triumphed and took Gold in both London (1908) and Antwerp (1920).

The decision to remove the event from the Olympics may well have led to its removal from the Grasmere Sports programme.  A Tug Of War contest did take place in 1928 but was then absent from the sporting events at the show for many decades.  It did not reappear until 1998, when the Stoneybeck Inn, Penrith, lost to the Masons Arms team from Strawberry Bank, Cartmel Fell.  The following year, the latter won again and completed a hat-trick in 2000, vanquishing a team from the Brown Horse, Winster.  Since then, Tug of War has reappeared periodically at Grasmere Sports but the time to make it a permanent fixture is now. 

Grasmere Lakeland Sports and Show is keen to stage a contest in 2025, recognising that the sport has strong roots in the farming community and that the opportunities to expand horizons, for young people who embrace the sport, are significant.  The one Tug of War club currently in Cumbria is the Upper Eden Tug of War Club – with competitors who enjoy all the benefits of competing in a wide variety of places on the map.  

Tug of War reappeared as a World Games event in 2022, with Great Britain winning gold in the Mixed Tug of War.  It will feature early in August, at the World Games in Chengdu, China, just weeks before Grasmere Lakeland Sports and Show, with the most successful six teams from last year’s championships staged in Mannheim, Germany taking part.  Shortly after Grasmere Sports, World Championships will be staged at the University of Nottingham (September 4-7).  

“If teams register and show a desire to enter, we will have a winner’s trophy at Grasmere Lakeland Sports and Show this year, to allow some keen individuals to have the kudos of taking a title, just as their predecessors from places like Elterwater, Langdale, Keswick or Witherslack once did, in yesteryear,” say Grasmere Lakeland Sports and Show Chairman, John Hibbert. 

“We’d like to encourage teams to form now and start practising their technique, learning moves such as the power walk and dynamic positioning and how to launch an attack and counter attack, using the information they can find on the Tug of War Association website.  With training, will power and strong team spirit, we could see some sterling performances but also perhaps ignite a desire to take up the sport and help keep it alive for the future.  Preserving such tradition is what Grasmere Lakeland Sports and Show is all about.”

Grasmere Lakeland Sports and Show will run the Tug of War contest if two or more teams enter by pre-registering. Whilst it cannot run a contest in distinct weight categories, it would love to see mixed teams, of men and women competitors, as well as all-male and all-female teams, with a team consisting of eight pullers.  Should it achieve that goal, more than one trophy will be on offer but pre-registration is key.  To register a team, please contact Show Manager, Ian Tripp, on manager@grasmeresports.com

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Editors notes

Grasmere Lakeland Sports and Show is an iconic event taking place in the heart of the English Lake District on the August Bank Holiday weekend. Its long historic roots date back to 1868 and it is renowned for its fell running, hound trails and Cumberland and Westmorland wrestling competitions, as well as being a fantastic family day out.