Tug of war is a game played by both children and adults, using a rope. The players organize into two teams who pull on opposite ends of a rope, with the goal being to to pull the other team over a marked boundary.
An Egyptian wall engraving from around 2500 BC depicts the oldest known tug-of-war contest.
There is evidence of tug of war games in ancient China as long ago as 500BC.
In Norse mythology, Loki tied one end of a rope to a goat and the other end around his testicle and began a game of tug of war.
According to The Oxford Dictionary, the phrase “tug-of-war” originally meant "the decisive contest; the real struggle or tussle; a severe contest for supremacy". It was first used for an athletic contest between two teams who haul at the opposite ends of a rope in 1893.
Tug of war was an Olympic event until after the 1920 Olympics. Multiple teams from countries were allowed, which is how the U.S. won bronze, silver, and gold in 1904.
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| Pixiebay |
There is evidence of tug of war games in ancient China as long ago as 500BC.
In Norse mythology, Loki tied one end of a rope to a goat and the other end around his testicle and began a game of tug of war.
According to The Oxford Dictionary, the phrase “tug-of-war” originally meant "the decisive contest; the real struggle or tussle; a severe contest for supremacy". It was first used for an athletic contest between two teams who haul at the opposite ends of a rope in 1893.
Tug of war was an Olympic event until after the 1920 Olympics. Multiple teams from countries were allowed, which is how the U.S. won bronze, silver, and gold in 1904.
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| Tug of war competition in 1904 Summer Olympics |
The podium was occupied by three teams from the same country again at the 1908 Games in London, when, the London City Police took gold, the Liverpool Police silver and K Division Metropolitan Police bronze. The Americans accused the British of cheating, claiming the police boots had illegal spikes. The British promptly challenged them to a rematch in socks but the offer was turned down.
During the tug of war at the 1900 Olympics, a journalist was drafted into Scandinavia's gold medal winning team. The team from the Racing Club de France, representing France, defeated a mixed team consisting of three Danish and three Swedish athletes.
In the 1912 Olympics in Sweden, the host nation took gold, Great Britain took silver, and no one won bronze because only two teams showed up.
The Tug of War International Federation was founded in 1960 and is the international governing body for the sport of tug of war. It is based in Orfordville, Wisconsin and has 53 member nations.
During the tug of war at the 1900 Olympics, a journalist was drafted into Scandinavia's gold medal winning team. The team from the Racing Club de France, representing France, defeated a mixed team consisting of three Danish and three Swedish athletes.
In the 1912 Olympics in Sweden, the host nation took gold, Great Britain took silver, and no one won bronze because only two teams showed up.
The Tug of War International Federation was founded in 1960 and is the international governing body for the sport of tug of war. It is based in Orfordville, Wisconsin and has 53 member nations.
In 1978, 2,300 students at Harriesburg Middle School in Pennsylvania tried to set a world record for the largest tug of war game. Instead, disaster ensued. The 2,000ft long braided nylon rope snapped, recoiling several thousand pounds of stored energy. Nearly 200 students lay wounded, four with severed fingertips, hundreds more faced second degree burns.
In international competition the rope must be at least 33.5m long with a circumference between 10cm and 12.5cm.
For the various weight divisions, teams of eight are weighed together on eight-person scales.
Canadian Inuits hold a version of tug-of-war called “aarsaraq” which is played sitting down. The winner is the one who pulls his opponent over from his seated position.
February 19 is celebrated annually as International Tug of War Day.
Daily Express
In international competition the rope must be at least 33.5m long with a circumference between 10cm and 12.5cm.
For the various weight divisions, teams of eight are weighed together on eight-person scales.
Canadian Inuits hold a version of tug-of-war called “aarsaraq” which is played sitting down. The winner is the one who pulls his opponent over from his seated position.
February 19 is celebrated annually as International Tug of War Day.
Daily Express
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