THE Tug of War Federation of Great Britain dominated a corner of Ashbourne Recreation Ground on Sunday, taking their usual space within the Ashbourne Highland Gathering.
Holland tug of war
The annual tournament, always a popular highlight of the Federation’s fixture list, saw an incredible 15 teams turn out to enjoy the near-perfect ground conditions and thrill crowds with the closefought competition.
Organisers say they were “knocked out” to have as many teams at the event, and especially to see competitiors trekking over from Northern Ireland — the current champions, Leos Boys.
Representing Derbyshire at the tournament — which ran well into the evening — were Melbourne, Two Dales, Bakewell and Ashbourne’s Hanging Bridge.
From Staffordshire, competitors flooded in from Holland, Barton, Leek and Sheen Ladies and they were joined by Lutterworth from Leicestershire, Triple F from Buckinghamshire and Totham Bull from Essex.
From Yorkshire, teams arrived called Loftus and York, while a team called Diesel Power competed from Cheshire, and Irish Visitors Leos Boys made up the 15.
There were seven weight classes on the day, and 720 kilos winners were Holland with runners-up Two Dales.
In the 660 kilos category, the winners were Holland and the runners-up were Sheen Ladies.
At 600 kilos, the winners were Two Dales and the runners-up prize went to Hanging Bridge.
In the 680 kilos, Holland again took the win from runners-up Bakewell, and in the 600, Sheen Ladies took the honours over runners-up Holland.
In 640 kilos, the winners were Leos Boys and runners-up were Triple F. The catchweight competition was won by Holland and the runners-up were Two Dales.