The squad puts all their effort into it: It is important to prevent being pulled over a center line. Tug of war is a sport that requires full concentration. Why he has many followers in the south and what the consequences of the corona pounds are.
Horben (dpa / lsw) – Shortly before it goes to the rope, the men become restless. One calls for resin to get a good grip on the thick rope. Sweat is on the men’s faces. Water drips from the soaked caps.
Coach Thomas Hug cheers on his team: “Don’t get caught in the back, otherwise it won’t work! Just stand still, we can do it!”. The referee gives a command, 16 heels are threshed into the dry, dusty ground. Hug kneels on the rope, keeps looking around at the opponent and shouts commands.
Hug has been a tug-of-war in Horben near Freiburg from the very beginning. In 1985 he was one of the founding members of the Feuerstein Horben (TCH) tug of war club. Today, the 56-year-old coaches the team whose squad also includes one of his sons. Tug-of-war is a tough sport, as Hug says, “The whole body from the neck area down to the big toes is engaged during this tug.”
It became clear a few weeks ago when the state league made a stop in Horben that the tug of war is not about a simple showdown. When the command “rope up!” sounds, the teams pick up the rope – eight people on each side. There are markings four meters to the left and right of the middle of the rope. The goal is to drag the opponent’s marker over the center line of the floor. A straight posture is what matters, says Hug. And the team has to move synchronously. Sounds easy. But that has to be practiced again and again.
With the command “Clamp!” the tug-of-war hammer the heels of their shoes into the ground. Only once, otherwise there is a warning – and after three violations of the rules, disqualification. “You have to be on point and focused and use every muscle in your body to do it all,” says Hug. Observed from the outside, one might think that this would destroy knees and lower back. But if done correctly, the only consequence is sore muscles. One who has it all: “A great, beautiful pain. Then you know that you would have done something.”
According to the German Lawn Power Sports and Tug-of-War Association (DRTV), there are around 600 to 700 active tug-of-war players nationwide, most of them in the south. The association itself is also based in Bitz (Zollernalbkreis). The sport has spilled over from Switzerland to southern Baden, explains DRTV sports director Axel Herre. Although there are also a few hobby tournaments in the north from time to time. “But the tug of war is at home in Baden-Württemberg and Bavaria.”
According to the association for the promotion of former Olympic sports, Retrolympics, tug of war is one of the oldest sports of all. Wall paintings showing teams of boys pulling a rope are already known from ancient Egypt.
From 1900 to 1920, tug of war was even an Olympic sport. Germany competed only once: at the 1906 Olympic Games in Athens – and promptly won gold. According to Retrolympics, the squad included track and field athletes, gymnasts, weightlifters and a wrestler, who pulled the rope almost on the side and only started training on the crossing. They would have defeated the team of Greek sailors and dockers, who were considered unbeatable. The victory became a national event at the time, reports Werner Lehmann from the club.
In 1920, the International Athletics Federation gave up tug-of-war, as explained by the German Olympic Sports Confederation, citing DRTV Honorary President Gunter Fahrion and the International Tug-of-War Federation. After the First World War and a global economic crisis, the number of competitions and athletes should be reduced in order to find organizers.
Today – with the modern rules and different weight classes – tug of war is part of the World Games for sports that are not part of the competition program of the Olympic Games. A few weeks ago in the USA, the German mixed team won the silver medal. In 2024 the world championships are planned in Mannheim. Otherwise, tournaments in this country are held at national or state level.
Hug from TC Horben says strength in thighs, torso and upper body is required to survive the tug-of-war. “It’s not enough just to pull the rope.” You also have to do something during the week.
This also applies to a diet. Hug explains that the weight limits at the tournaments are a big hurdle. So far, the men have competed in the class up to 640 kilograms, i.e. an average of 80 kilograms per person. Now – even after Corona – the maximum weight in the tug-of-war league has been raised to 680 kilos.
Six to eight weeks before the season, the team is usually 20 or 30 kilos over it, says Hug. “And then the boys go and starve themselves. In the beginning it was relatively easy when they were 18, 19, 20. Now it’s a little bit more difficult.”
A few hours before the tournament there will be a weigh-in. And then ate and drank. But not the wrong thing, warns Hug. And not too much, so that the body does not need all the energy for digestion. At TCH they serve spaghetti bolognese. “They all like that.”
