Tug of war
Tug of war or rope pulling is a team sport that is used to test the strength of two teams. The two teams pull in opposite directions on each half of a long rope. The winner is the team that pulls the rope to their side up to a specified mark.
Olympic tug-of-war was part of the program of the Olympic Games from 1900 to 1920 and is today considered a separate sport; earlier it was attributed to heavy athletics or athletics . The Tug of War International Federation (TWIF), founded in 1960, was recognized by the IOC in 2002 .
competition
Strength, endurance, technique and mental strength turn a hobby sport into a real high-performance sport, which is practiced by well-trained athletes on a national and international level. International competitions are held every year, on odd years European Championships in even years World Championships . The leading nations are Switzerland , the Netherlands , Ireland , Spain , Sweden and Germany .
Eight athletes face each other in competitions. Classification of weight classes (international): women (up to 480 kg, up to 520 kg, up to 560 kg); Men (up to 520 kg, up to 560 kg, up to 600 kg, up to 640 kg, up to 680 kg, up to 720 kg, over 720 kg).
A competition consists of a preliminary round and a final round. In the preliminary round, all teams in a group compete against each other. Two moves are played per encounter. For every move won, the winning team receives one point, the top four teams advance to the final round. There it will first be determined in a semi-final which two teams will contest the final. Then decision moves are made for 5th place and higher. Then the battle for 3rd place will be fought out by the losers in the semi-finals; the final takes place at the end of the competition. During the final round (semifinals, decision-making moves, finals), a winner must emerge from every encounter. If there is a tie after 2 moves, a decision move must be made.
The athletes' shoes must not have metal tips, the soles must be smooth and have a metal plate of max. 6.5 millimeters may be attached to the heel of the shoes. Athletes are not allowed to wear gloves. However, they are allowed to apply resin to their hands for easier gripping.
history
The rope pulling competition emerged from ancient ceremonies and cult acts . References to ritual origins have been found in Burma , India , Borneo , Korea , Hawaii , Congo , New Zealand, and New Guinea . At that time rope pulling served as a symbol of the struggle between good and evil.
Tug of war later developed into a sporting competition. A wall drawing in the tomb of Merera-ku in Saqqara ( Egypt ) indicates. In ancient Greece (from approx. 500 BC) rope pulling was mainly practiced as training for other sports. In the 12th century , tug-of-war competitions were held at the court of the Chinese emperor, and in the 13th and 14th centuries also in Mongolia and Turkey .
In western Europe, the tug of war is only detectable from around 1000; in Scandinavian and Germanic heroic sagas that tell of "powerful games". In the 15th and 16th centuries, the tug of war appeared in France and Great Britain . Sport was organized towards the end of the 19th century . First individual clubs were formed, then later associations. Tug-of-war was initially viewed as an athletics discipline.
Tug of war was an Olympic sport from 1900 to 1920 . The sport was then removed from the program because the IOC wanted to reduce the number of participants. Since the athletics federations no longer took care of the tug-of-war, independent clubs and regional associations were formed. In 1964 the world association TWIF (Tug of War International Federation) was founded. The first European championships were held in 1964, the first world championships in 1975. The World Tug of War Association has been participating in the World Games program since 1981 .
organization
Germany
The national umbrella organization in Germany is the German Lawn Power Sports and Tug of War Association (DRTV). There are also regional associations. Tournaments are held on a national or state level. German championships are held in the following weight classes: 720 kg, 640 kg (Bundesliga), 600 kg, youth (450 kg). At the state level there are national leagues in different weight classes. The maximum total weight of an entire team is given.
Switzerland
The Swiss Tug of War Association is the umbrella organization of the tug of war in Switzerland, with the cantonal associations of Aargau, Appenzell, Lucerne, Obwalden and Nidwalden, St. Gallen, Thurgau. The central president is Bruno Bischof. In Switzerland there are 25 tug-of-war clubs and a large national team with all weight classes.
The rope
The competition rope consists of the natural fibers manila (abaca fiber) , hemp or sisal . The rope diameter is 32 to 40 millimeters for two teams with eight participants each.
Rope length and 5 markings:
| outdoors | in the hall | Remarks | |
|---|---|---|---|
| length | 33.5 to 35.0 meters | 32.0 to 35.0 meters | depending on the size of the hall |
| scope | 100 to 125 millimeters | About 32 to 40 millimeters in diameter | |
| Marking red | center | center | in the middle of the rope |
| White marking | 4 meters each | 2 meters each | on each side of the center mark |
| Yellow marking | 5 meters each | 2.5 meters each | on each side of the center mark |
Load on the rope
The playground equipment is exposed to significant stress during the tug of war. If ten adults apply a tensile force of 800 Newtons each on each side (corresponds approximately to the weight of 80 kg), the piece of rope experiences a total force of 8 kN between the groups. If you pull suddenly, the force can increase 2.5 times - the rope then has to withstand loads of up to 20 kN, which corresponds to the weight of two tons. A new rope with 40 kN tensile strength would then have to be used for a safety factor of 2 . In large-scale tug-of-war with hundreds of participants, the total load - even with children - is significantly higher. A load calculation is required here, from which the requirements for the rope result.
Hemp or hemp plastic ropes are suitable , which have a low stretch and do not snap back if they tear. A DIN-tested rope made of long hemp with a diameter of 32 mm offers a tear strength of 70 kN and the grip strength required for standard competition. If the participants don't just let go of the rope, the risk of fall injuries can be reduced.
Accidents
Accidents in tug-of-war are statistically very rare. At official competitions and tournaments of the DRTV, where attention is paid to compliance with the rules, accidents are practically impossible. The risk of injury is also very low for trained people.
On the other hand, there have been repeated accidents in hobby tournaments or free competitions (record attempts or similar) that were not organized by tug-of-war clubs because the possible dangers were either not known or were not taken seriously. Tug of war accidents can essentially be traced back to two causes:
- Rope tear due to overload
-
- Participants falling on each other or on the ground can be seriously injured.
- Rope ends that snap back from the point of the crack can exert tremendous forces, especially with elastic ropes, throw people through the air and cause very serious injuries. Spectators are also at risk if the distance is insufficient.
- Wrong rope position
-
- Rope slings around body parts can lead to bruises and even amputation.
Major accidents:
| place | country | date | root cause | episode |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Harrisburg | Pennsylvania | June 13, 1978 | Rope break | Five young people lost fingertips or entire fingers, 200 others were injured |
| Lenzburg | Switzerland | May 12, 1984 | Rope break | Record attempt with 800 participants, one fatally injured |
| Western ear | Germany | June 4th 1995 | Rope break | Two 10-year-old boy scouts were fatally and 102 others were injured, some seriously |
| Chattanooga | Tennessee | June 9, 1995 | Rope loop | a man's hand was severed in a rope loop around his wrist |
| Taipei | Taiwan | October 25, 1997 | Rope break | two men had their arms cut off |
| Australia | September 2002 | ? | An 11-year-old boy had several fingers cut to the bone and almost severed | |
| Denver | Colorado | October 12, 2007 | Rope loop | Two teenagers lost their hands |
| Digby | Nova Scotia | October 25, 2010 | Rope loop | One man lost four fingers |
| El Monte | California | 4th February 2013 | Rope break | a boy and a girl had several fingers severed |
| Budapest | Hungary | 17th September 2013 | Rope break | seven students injured, three of them seriously |
See also
Web links
- Tug of War International Federation (int. Association)
- German Lawn Power Sports and Tug of War Association (national association)
- Swiss Tug of War Association (national association)
- Map of Germany " Tug-of-war clubs " No. 3/2018 by ZEITmagazin, January 10, 2018
Individual evidence
- ^ Tug of War International Federation at www.arisf.org. (No longer available online.) Archived from the original on June 7, 2012 ; accessed on February 24, 2012 .
- ↑ Competition regulations of the German Lawn Sports and Tug of War Association (DRTV)
- ^ Judgment in the case of a tug of war. Archived from the original on January 7, 2013 ; Retrieved March 21, 2011 .
- ↑ Teens recovering after losing fingers during tug-of-war match ( Memento from February 7, 2013 in the Internet Archive ), Associated Press (reprinted in National Post ), February 5, 2013. (English)