60 Fun Facts About Tug of War

In formal tug of war, how many pullers make up each team?

The team's total weight must also stay under the limit for its class.

Roughly what circumference must a competition tug of war rope have?

It must be free of knots or anything else that could serve as a handhold.

How far from the centre line are the two markers on a competition rope?

A team wins by pulling the marker nearest its opponents across the centre line.

What is the foul called when a puller drops an elbow below the knee?

Touching the ground for a prolonged period is another foul.

The rope must pass under which part of the body during a pull?

Hauling it over the shoulders can be ruled a foul.

What is the team member called who walks alongside the rope shouting when to pull and when to rest?

The rest command is called 'hanging'; the driver often waves a hat or handkerchief in rhythm.

What is the tug of war term for the command to dig in and hold rather than pull?

Once the opponents tire, the driver shouts 'pull' for a runaway finish.

Which physical property explains why heavier pullers have an advantage?

Too little friction and a puller's feet simply slide, however hard they haul.

According to the OED, what did 'tug of war' originally mean before it named a rope game?

Only in the 19th century did it come to mean the rope-pulling contest.

Before the 19th century, what was the rope-pulling game commonly called in Britain and America?

The modern name only took over in the 1800s.

A Tang dynasty book says the state of Chu used tug of war for what purpose?

Emperor Xuanzong later staged games with ropes over 160 metres long and more than 500 people on each end.

Emperor Xuanzong of Tang's giant tug of war games used ropes up to how long?

Each side had its own team of drummers to urge the pullers on.

The ancient Greek names for the game, such as helkystinda, all derive from a verb meaning what?

One version, dielkystinda, was apparently played with no rope at all, perhaps with the teams holding hands.

A 12th-century stone relief showing tug of war survives on which Indian monument?

It is on the west wing of the temple in what is now Odisha.

Which Native American people are recorded as sometimes using tug of war to settle disputes?

Legends elsewhere describe Vikings pulling animal skins over fire pits as a test of strength.

Between which years was tug of war an Olympic event?

It was counted as part of the athletics programme, and the IOC dropped it when streamlining the Games.

Why could the United States take all three tug of war medals at the 1904 Olympics?

The United States swept all three medals in 1904 and Britain did the same in 1908.

The gold medal team at the 1900 Paris Olympics was a mixed team from which two countries?

One of the six Scandinavian pullers, Edgar Aabye, was a journalist covering the Games.

Why did the United States team withdraw from the 1900 Olympic tug of war?

Three of the six Americans were competing in the hammer at the same time.

The 1900 French tug of war team included a puller born in which South American country?

Francisco Henríquez de Zubiría is often confused with his Haitian-born rugby teammate Constantin Henriquez.

How many pullers made up each team at the 1904 St. Louis Olympics?

Teams had six in 1900 and eight from 1908 onwards.

Under 1904 Olympic rules, an undecided tug-of-war pull went to the team ahead after how long?

The contests were held on turf with no shoes, and a win needed a six-foot pull.

At the 1908 London Olympics, all three medal-winning teams came from which profession?

City of London Police beat Liverpool Police in the final, with the Metropolitan Police 'K' Division third.

What did the Americans protest about after losing their 1908 Olympic tug of war to an English police team?

The Liverpool men were pulling in their service boots; the protest was dismissed and the Americans withdrew in disgust.

Which team won the 1908 Olympic tug of war final?

They took the first two pulls against Liverpool.

The 1908 US tug of war team included which famous hammer thrower and later three-time Olympic champion?

Shot-putter Ralph Rose and hammer thrower Matt McGrath were also on the rope.

The 1912 Olympic tug of war came down to a single match. Which team represented the host nation, Sweden?

They beat a British team drawn from the City of London and Metropolitan Police.

How did Sweden win the second pull of the 1912 Olympic final?

Sitting on the ground disqualified them after a long stalemate.

Which museum received the gold medal won by Britain's 1920 Olympic tug of war team?

The whole team were City of London Police officers; 1920 was the last Games to include the sport.

Which body governs tug of war internationally?

It runs indoor and outdoor World Championships for nations and clubs every two years.

Since 1981, tug of war has been contested at which multi-sport event for non-Olympic sports?

It has been part of the event since the first edition in Santa Clara, California.

Which British body governed tug of war until 1984?

The Tug of War Association was formed in 1958 and the Tug of War Federation of Great Britain in 1984.

The Basque rural sport of rope pulling is known by what name?

It is played by many clubs and associations across the Basque Country.

Korea's traditional tug of war, juldarigi, is played with two ropes made from what?

The ropes can be 200 metres long, a metre thick and weigh 40 tons.

In juldarigi, the contest between the two sides of a village is often rigged in whose favour?

The result was read as an omen for the coming rice harvest.

Tugging rituals from Korea, Cambodia, the Philippines and Vietnam joined which list in 2015?

The four practices are juldarigi, lbaengteanhprot, punnuk and keo co.

In the Philippine tugging ritual punnuk, what do the men pull on in the Hapao River?

They grip it with hooked saplings; the winning group is said to get the better harvest.

The Cambodian tugging game lbaengteanhprot normally has which two teams facing off?

It is played at Cambodian New Year in village centres or monastery compounds.

The Naha Great Tug-of-War in Okinawa uses a rope weighing more than how much?

Guinness first logged it as the world's largest tug of war in 1997.

Before the Naha tug of war, two men dressed as Ryukyuan kings perform a ritual contest with which weapons?

They are carried down the rope on platforms hoisted on men's shoulders.

Kagoshima's Sendai Great Tug of War was reportedly started by a warlord to boost morale before which 1600 battle?

About 3,000 men pull a rope 365 metres long in the event nicknamed 'brawl tug'.

In Myanmar, tug of war forms part of the ceremonial cremation of whom?

The funeral pyres are tugged between opposing sides; a separate tug of war is a rain-making custom.

A New Zealand tug of war variant brought by Boston whalers in the 1790s has pullers in what position?

Teams of five compete at two clubs, in Te Awamutu and Hastings.

Which two towns pull against each other across the Mississippi River every August in TugFest?

The rivalry dates from 1987; two California towns, Stinson Beach and Bolinas, hold a similar pull across a channel every Fourth of July.

Which TV series ended each contest with a tug of war between celebrity teams from the major US networks?

Lou Ferrigno's May 1979 pull is remembered as the greatest feat in the show's history.

Which league added a five-a-side tug of war to its all-star skills competition in 2024?

It became part of the Pro Bowl Games.

Which former Beatle released an album called Tug of War in 1982?

Produced by George Martin, it included the Stevie Wonder duet 'Ebony and Ivory'.

Miami University's Puddle Pull, dating from 1949, is unusual because competitors are in what position?

Each team also has a caller who coordinates the pull; footholes are dug at 50 cm intervals.

A snapping rope is dangerous because of energy stored as it stretches. Which law describes that stretching?

When the rope breaks the stored energy is released as the ends whip back at great speed.

Where on a tug of war rope is the risk of injury from a snapping rope highest?

Specially engineered ropes exist to withstand the forces safely.

Roughly how many national bodies were affiliated to TWIF as of 2008?

The Home Countries and the Basque Country compete as separate teams.

In which country is tug of war known as tarik tambang and played at Independence Day celebrations?

The rope is called a dadung.

Whose May 1979 pull is considered the greatest feat in Battle of the Network Stars history?

The celebrity tug of war was the climactic event of every edition of the series from 1976 to 1988.

In Myanmar, tug of war is also used as a traditional custom to encourage what?

The rainmaking tradition called mo khaw dates from the reign of King Shinmahti in the Bagan era.

Japan's Sendai Great Tug of War in Kagoshima uses a rope roughly how long?

Around 3,000 men haul on the 'brawl tug' rope, a tradition said to date from before the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600.

The Underwater Tug of War Festival, some 380 years old, is held every January in which Japanese prefecture?

Japan's Kariwano tug of war in Akita is even older at more than 500 years and is a national folklore asset.

Which two Californian towns separated by an ocean channel hold a tug of war every Fourth of July?

Further east, LeClaire and Port Byron have pulled across the Mississippi every August since 1987.

The Hope College Pull in Michigan pits which two groups against each other across the Black River?

Forty students take part on the fourth Saturday after Labor Day each year.

The Peruvian children's show Nubeluz staged its tug of war on platforms suspended over what?

Teams of three simply tried to pull their opponents into the pool in the game called La Fuerza Glufica.

The US 'Oct-O Pull' rope lets how many participants compete at once in multi-way tug of war?

Its eight handles allow two-way, four-way and eight-way contests at camps, schools and churches.