Young Cumbrians made their club and country proud at an international sporting event earlier this year.
Competing at the Tug of War World Championship 2024 were several Cumbrian teens who are part of the Upper Eden Tug of War Club.
Coached by Joe Birch, the teens, in boys, girls, and mixed teams travelled to the event in Mannheim, Germany, to compete against clubs around the world and as part of a national representation against other countries, like South Africa, Switzerland, Belgium, and China.
The competitors qualified at the national championships this June in Devon, winning their weight categories.
The club and athletes saw success with the mixed team placing third internationally and the girls placing second while winning the club competition.
For Cumbria’s only registered tug-of-war club and its coach, it’s a sign of immense pride.
“It’s a great reward for the amount of work they put in.
“They put in a colossal amount of time in the gym, on the road, with trainers, a lot of gritty determination,” Mr Birch explained.
As the sport isn’t mainstream it’s not well known the amount of training, and what specific training, goes into this sport.
Mr Birch said: “Realistically, those girls have been training for three years.
“This is the third World Championship that we've been to and every year we've been getting a little bit better.
“I've been getting better as a coach - the staff behind the scenes with our preparations have got better over the last three years.
“Physical training started in February - preseason, doing gym work, CrossFit classes, and then rope work started in March.”
The dedication is not just physical, but financial, as the sport is mostly self-funded, which makes victory even sweeter.
“In some ways, it's a relief when they do well.
“It's all right for me to be pulling a 17-year-old girl to one side and say, “Look, I think you've got amazing potential, and I'd like to go to the World Championship, however, it's going to probably cost you £700”, for that girl to then go back to her parents and convince her parents to go.
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“So to get the reward is just a huge relief for me as a coach that I believed in them and it was the right decision because there's nothing worse that a parent who spends all that money and it doesn't work out.
“They consider it a waste of time.
“It was a huge relief that it was worth every penny.”
Beyond sporting achievement, the boys and girls will have benefited socially and built life skills.
“Those juniors will have formed bonds across the country from both competitions week in, week out, and they'll have created friendships from other nations as well by going to these national tournaments,” Mr Birch concluded.
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