Tug of war

Tug of war or tug o' war, also known as rope pulling, is a sport that directly pits two teams against each other in a test of strength.

Two teams of eight, whose total mass must not exceed a maximum weight determined for the class, align themselves at the end of a rope (approximately 10 centimetres in circumference). The rope is marked with a "centre line" and two markings four metres either side of the centre line. The teams start with the rope's centre line directly above a line marked on the ground, and once the contest (the "pull") has commenced, attempt to pull the other team such that the marking on the rope closest to their opponent crosses the centre line, or the opponents commit a foul (such as a team member sitting or falling down).

There are tug of war clubs in many countries, and both men and women participate.

The sport was part of the Olympic Games from 1900 until 1920, but has not been included since. The sport is contested in the World Games. The Tug of War International Federation (TWIF) organises World Championships for nation teams biannually, for both indoor and outdoor contests, and a similar competition for club teams.

The term may be used as a simile to describe a demonstration of brute strength by two opposing groups, e.g. in a war or between two departments of a company. Often, there is a third party who is as the rope in a tug o' war.

Trivia

The biggest and longest rope used for a tug of war is the one used for Naha Oōtsunahiki on September 10th. It is 200 meter long and weighs more than 40 metric ton.

External links

• TWIF (or here to avoid very large Flash animation)
• Tug-o-War for Children