"Pick up the rope! Take the strain! Steady! Pull! When the referee barks those commands, eight adrenalin-fuelled competitors on each team muster every ounce of strength in their bodies and attempt to haul one another across the crumbling earth. Clutching a rope made of hemp or polypropylene, the first team to tug their opponents four metres from their starting position is the winner."
"No one knows when tug of war first started, but it has a rich history as the purest contest of human strength. Evidence shows that it featured in ceremonies and cults all over the world from Hawaii to Korea, Egypt to South America. For example, around the year AD1000, it can be found in the stories of Scandinavian and Germanic heroes from the so-called kraftige spiele or power games."
Tug of war pits teams of eight against each other as they pull on hemp or polypropylene ropes to haul opponents four metres from a starting position. Matches use two ends in round-robin stages and three ends in knockout rounds and finals. Competitors seek purchase with steel-plated heels while spikes are prohibited, and coaching staff guide and encourage as exhaustion sets in. Contests span multiple age and weight categories, from teens to competitors in their 70s. Teams from Switzerland, the Basque Country, Italy, Scotland, Ukraine and England appear in medal matches. The sport has deep global historical roots and featured in the modern Olympics from 1900 to 1920.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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