HALDON tug of war team returned to Devon with a handful of medals following success at the British and Irish Outdoor Tug of War Championships.

The weekend of competitions was hosted by the England Tug of War during their 60th Anniversary year in Bedfordshire.

Teams from across England, Ireland, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales competed in the various weighted competitions across the two-day event.

The ladies and men’s team, which is coached by Mark Hutchings, travelled to Wyboston Lakes in Bedford on Friday, August 11, to weigh-in for the competition held over the weekend (August 12 and 13), with the Open and Closed championships held on Saturday and Sunday respectively.

Club captain of the ladies’ team, Emma Davie, said: “The teams have been training hard over the summer with at least two sessions a week at the training yard and additional evenings at the gym to improve strength and fitness.

"We have been concentrating on reaching our target weight with a healthy diet whilst working on the teams pulling technique and style.”

After winning the National Young Farmers’ tug of war finals in 2017, the teams have been concentrating on the tug of war association this year with competitions taking place all over the country, from Felton in Bristol to Cheshire Game Fair.

After competing at the England Tug of War Championships in Oxfordshire in June, the ladies team was invited to attend the British and Irish Closed Championships in August to represent England A in the ladies 560kg competition.

The group stage included England B (Bedford), Wales A (Trecastle), Wales B (composite team comprising of pullers from Cupids Hill, Glamorgan, Hermon and Ladis Pinc) and Scotland (Ayrshire).

After the group stage, Haldon reached the pull-offs where they pulled Wales B, winning 2-0. The finals against Scotland was a good pull, with both ends going to Haldon resulting in gold medals for the Ladies’ team.

Haldon Ladies went on to compete in the Open championships the following day, where they collected a bronze in the 520kg competition, silver in the 560kg competition and a very well-deserved bronze in the mixed 4x4 580kg competition after a five-end pull-off with York Tug of War Club.

The Haldon men’s team also attended the Open championships where it competed in the 560kg, 600kg and mixed 4x4 580kg with the ladies. The men pulled some good ends against clubs from England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland and Northern Ireland, and the team was placed third in its group for the 600kg competition finishing behind the gold and bronze medal winners.

Following that recent success, the team looks next to compete in the final competitions of the England Tug of War league, and at Widecombe Fair (September 11).

If anyone is interested in joining the Haldon Tug of War team for the 2019 season, contact Emma on 07835 253760.