Nottingham is to host the 2025 World Outdoor Tug of War Championships on 4 – 7 September 2025.
The tournament will be open to men’s teams, women’s teams, and mixed teams who will be competing for gold, silver and bronze medals in different weight categories. The event will also stage the 2025 World Junior and Under 23 Tug of War Championships, where again, there will be weight classes for men’s, women’s and mixed teams in these age categories.
The highlight of outdoor tug of war is the clash of sheer power between the two teams. Athletes seek an optimal foothold in the ground by digging in their heels and using that as their pivot, seek to apply force to the opposing team using a combination of pulling the rope with the upper body, and pushing their legs into the ground to try and move the opposition.
The event is expected to draw around 1,500 – 2,000 participants from at least 20 countries.
The four days of competition will take place on the University of Nottingham’s Highfields Sports Complex, and the competitors will be housed at the main University Campus, although a number of visitors to the championships are expected to use other local hotels across the City. The venue will also be easily accessible to spectators with direct trams available from the City Centre to the venue.
Contestants at the event will weigh in on 3 September, and will then spend four days battling it out at international club level on the Thursday and Friday (4 and 5 September) with full international competitions taking place on the Saturday and Sunday of the championship (6 and 7 September).
Alan Knott, spokesman for the English Tug of War Association, who are organising the event on behalf of the Tug of War International Federation (TWIF) said: “We are delighted to bring the World Tug of War Championships the City of Nottingham. It gives us a great opportunity of showcasing our sport to a wide audience”.
“We have hosted World and European Tug of War Championships in England before, and this is the second time that we will be bringing a major tug of war competition to Nottingham, having last hosted the European Tug of War Championships in Nottingham way back in 1973.
“It is a great opportunity for people to see a top level tug of war competition, something which people may not have seen before – there is certainly a lot more to tug of war than what people normally think, and preparing for this event takes weeks, months and years of hard work and preparation.
“The 2024 World Outdoor Tug of War Championships took place in Mannheim, Germany, and England tug of war teams came away with a total of 1 gold, 4 silver and 2 bronze medals across the club and
international competitions, so we are hopeful that we can benefit from home advantage and come away with some more World Championship medals on home soil in Nottingham with the backing of lots of supporters”.
Christine Bailey, Assistant Director of Sport at the University of Nottingham added: “It’s fantastic to see this event take place here in Nottingham. The University of Nottingham and Nottingham Venues has a strong track record of hosting major sports events, and we are delighted to play our part in bringing this competition to England. As a global university, we are proud to welcome athletes and supporters from around the world to our campus and the city of Nottingham. This event will bring with it significant social and economic benefits to our local community and further enriches the vibrant sporting scene here.”
You can follow the event on social media (Facebook and Instagram) by searching for @tugofwar2025 and further information about the event and how to travel to the event can be found at www.tugofwar2025.com.
Posted on 07 May 2025
