GRAND BEND, ON - August 6, 2005
The
2005 Canadian Tug-of-War Championships were held on August 6th at
Oakwood in Grand Bend, Ontario. This year the tournament was
organized by the the Canadian Tug-of-War Association and the Bluewater
Team from Dashwood, a community located a few minutes north-east of the
venue. All known tug-of-war teams from across Canada were invited
to attend but only teams from Ontario participated at this year's
competition.
The championships began in
1978 in Timmins, Ontario and had been an annual event until 1998 when
they were last held at the Western Fair in London, Ontario.
Originally organized by the Ontario Tug-of-War Association using their
rules, this year's competition was under the auspices of the Canadian
Tug-of-War Association which uses TWIF rules.
The morning's program was open
to all women's teams that successfully weighed in at 520K, 560K and
catch- weight classes and to all men's teams in the 560K, 600K, 640K,
720K and catch-weight divisions.
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WOMEN'S 520K EVENT:
The Zorra
Ladies won the Women's 520K competition by default as there were
no other teams present to challenge them at the event in that
weight category. Coach Jack Matheson (front row, far left)
had been preparing this young team for a challenge in the 520K at
this tournament and so, along with the members of his team, were
disappointed to be the only group to weigh-in for the class.
The majority
of the women's events throughout Ontario are in the catchweight
division where there is no maximum weight limit however it is hoped that
recent interest in the 520K and 560K classes will spur other clubs
to take part in these classes in the near future.
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Zorra 520K Team
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Nissouri Ladies 560K Champions
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WOMEN'S 560K EVENT:
Although initially not planning
to participate in the Women's 560K Division, the Nissouri Ladies
jumped into the competition at the last minute and immerged
champions of the division defeating teams from Bluewater and
Zorra. Complete results were as follows:
| TEAM |
WINS |
LOSSES |
POINTS |
RANK |
| Nissouri |
4 |
0 |
6 |
1 |
| Zorra |
2 |
3 |
2 |
2 |
| Bluewater |
1 |
4 |
1 |
3 |
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WOMEN'S CWT EVENT:
Catchweight, the most popular
division in Ontario, brought some keen competition at the Canadian
Championships this year. In the end, it was Bluewater that
finished on top with Zorra and Nissouri tied for second. Because
Zorra had defeated Nissouri in their match 2 to 1, Zorra was
awarded second place in the division.
The final results were as follows:
| TEAM |
WINS |
LOSSES |
POINTS |
RANK |
| Bluewater |
4 |
1 |
5 |
1 |
| Zorra |
2 |
3 |
2 |
2 |
| Nissouri |
2 |
4 |
2 |
3 |
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Bluewater Ladies Catchweight Champions
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Bluewater Wins Men's 600K by Default
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Bluewater Wins Men's 640K by Default
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Bluewater was the only club to
field teams in the Men's 600K and Men's 640K weight classes.
As a result they were declared winners by default in both of those
divisions. Because of the popularity of catchweight (unlimited
weight) at Canadian tournaments, there has been little activity in
the lighter weight classes here.
In world competitions, the Men's
640K is the most popular event on the program. At last year's
World Championship Tournament in Rochester, MN., there were 15 teams
from around the globe that participated. In that division,
Bluewater represented Canada and finished 7th.
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MEN'S 680K EVENT:
The Men's 680K division was
only contested by two teams, Bluewater and South Easthope.
The former weighed in at 677K and the latter at 668K. The
Bluewater team had no problem in the match, winning the first end
in 15 seconds and the second in 46 seconds.
For South Easthope, it was their
first time this year to field a team in the 680K class.
Bluewater however has competed on many occasions in the 680K, the
most recent being in Monticello, WI (USA) on July 9th of this year
where they finished in third place. |
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MEN'S 720K EVENT:
Three teams took up the challenge
of competing in the Men's 720K division this year at the Canadian Championships. The team from Bluewater weighed in at 708K, South
Easthope at 696K and Zorra at 717K. The results of the
competition were as follows:
| TEAM |
WINS |
LOSSES |
POINTS |
RANK |
| Bluewater |
4 |
0 |
6 |
1 |
| Zorra |
2 |
2 |
3 |
2 |
| South Easthope |
0 |
4 |
0 |
3 |
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Bluewater - Men's 720K Champions
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Bluewater - Men's Catchweight Champions
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MEN'S CWT EVENT:
Although this division was
anticipated to draw a large number of entries from Ontario teams,
organizers were disappointed when only 4 (half the total number of
catchweight teams) showed up for the competition. The Army
team from Petawawa was publicly recognized for its efforts in
traveling over 6 hours to take part. The final results were
as follows:
| TEAM |
WEIGHT |
WINS |
LOSSES |
POINTS |
RANK |
| Bluewater |
699K |
4 |
0 |
6 |
1 |
| Army Team |
918K |
2 |
2 |
3 |
2 |
| South Easthope |
724K |
0 |
4 |
0 |
3 |
| Zorra |
756K |
2 |
6 |
2 |
4 |
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OPEN 680K EVENT:
Following the championship rounds,
a special "Open 680K Competition" was held where teams
were formed from any combination of players, male and female as long
as their aggregate weight was 680 kilograms or less. The only
other requirement was that no less than 6 players could compete on
each team. The purpose was to allow some of those teams that
regularly compete in catchweight, the opportunity to experience the
lighter style of pulling.
The result was a total of 8 teams
signing up to take part in a afternoon of fun and keen
competition. One of the teams (Mixed Nuts) was dropped from
the roster early due to a shortage of players leaving a competition
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Bluewater Special Open 680K Champions
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which produced a total of 21 matches. The following is a
summary of the afternoon's results:
| TEAM |
MEMBERS |
WEIGHT |
COMP'n |
WINS |
LOSSES |
POINTS |
RANK |
| Bluewater A |
8 |
639K |
Men |
14 |
0 |
21 |
1 |
| Blue Light |
8 |
653K |
CoEd |
12 |
2 |
18 |
2 |
| Zorra Men |
7 |
670K |
Men |
10 |
4 |
15 |
3 |
| South Easthope |
8 |
679K |
CoEd |
8 |
6 |
12 |
4 |
| Army Silverbacks |
6 |
677K |
CoEd |
6 |
8 |
9 |
5 |
| Jack's Girls |
8 |
N/A |
Ladies |
4 |
10 |
6 |
6 |
| Army Petawawa |
6 |
680K |
CoEd |
2 |
12 |
3 |
7 |
| Mixed Nuts |
7 |
670K |
CoEd |
0 |
14 |
0 |
8 |
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Kids Pose for Photo After "Junior
Tug"
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"KIDS' TUG" EVENT:
A group of children was invited to leave the grandstands during the morning event to
have a turn in pulling a junior tug-of-war match. This
type of competition has become very popular over the summer at
numerous venues throughout the province.
"Everyone is anxious to
promote the sport among the youth!" said Ron Totten,
treasurer of the Ontario league and official event
announcer. "The future of our sport lies with the
young people of today and we need to get the kid's involved
whenever possible!" |
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Bluewater team is to be congratulated on their efforts in
securing this year's site and for all of their hard work in
preparing the venue. The grounds were organized in a
professional manner that parallels any world class tug-of-war
event. The stage and sound system were "state of
the art" and teams had lots of space for parking and
setting up their rest areas in the groves of trees that
provided plenty of shade. Refreshments were available
for both spectators and participants and the washroom
facilities were adequate.
The village of Grand Bend,
one of Canada's most popular summer resorts, and Oakwood
Inn Resort and Golf Club, renowned for its high quality of
service and recreational facilities, provided the potential
for a perfect setting for this year's Championship
Event and it was therefore disappointing to have such a small
number of teams in attendance.
This marked the first time
in years for the prestigious tournament to be held, and the first
time under the auspices of the Canadian Tug-of-War Association
so it is understandable that there would be some growing
pains in reestablishing the event. Ideas and
suggestions are encouraged on ways to expand the
tournament to include more of the teams from all provinces who
field tug-of-war competitions.
Communications have been
established with representatives from Quebec, New Brunswick, P.E.I.
and British Columbia. It will only be by the
participation of more of our provincial colleagues that the event will achieve the level of status that is
desired by CATOWA.
Other matters such as
providing recognition to the winning teams in the form of
medals and/or trophies will also need the association's attention
in the future.
[MORE PHOTOS] |
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