From: The Woodstock Sentinel-Review
Cory Smith - Sports reporter
Monday July 04, 2005
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Zorra men finish 2nd in 720K division
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EMBRO - Almost 112 years after five Zorra farmers cemented their place
in history, the tug of war championship continues to be the staple of
the Embro Highland Games.
The story of those farmers has become legend since their win in the
world championships on Aug. 3, 1893, when they defeated their old rivals
from Chicago. The older, lighter Zorra men were underdogs, and after
splitting the first two pulls, managed to hang on long enough to win the
third pull and the title of world champion.
The distinction has inspired generations of families who have competed
since, making tug of war a popular spectacle in the community. |
“What’s kept it alive is the excitement. It’s such a great
sport,” said Ron Totten, a highland games tug of war committee member
and a 40-year-veteran of the sport. “When you see the number of people
pulling with all their might on the rope, that’s exciting.”
The value of watching teams of men and women try to pull a rope further
than the other might sound slow to some people, but not for those who
compete and the fans that packed the bleachers all day. There’s a
certain strategy in tug of war, and it’s watching a team execute that
strategy in a battle of strength and endurance that captivates
enthusiasts of the sport.
“You have to be pulling at the same time,” said Bluewater’s Ted
Hoffman. “The height of the rope is very important. You have to keep
constant pressure; you don’t want to heave on it. Most amateur teams
heave.”
Hoffman has competed at the World Championships, and on Friday was part
of the co-ed division-winning team as the “point,” the person at the
front of the rope.
“It’s definitely a rush,” he said. “Sometimes you hear the
command and your arms and legs are hurting, but you get some adrenaline
and keep going.”
Just like the competition itself, the teams in Embro Friday were some of
the best the country has to offer. Many of the teams competed last year
the world championships in Rochester, Minn. and all of them are expected
at the Canadian championships Aug. 6 in Grand Bend. |
Bluewater team undefeated champs in Men's 720K
Division
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Army team from Petawawa makes its 2005 debut at
Embro event.
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“It looks like a lot of eyes are on us,” said David Milligan, a
member of the Army team from Petawawa. “I hope we win a few pulls to
make it look good on Canada Day.”
The Army squad came the furthest of all competitors Friday, joining
teams from Bluewater, South Easthope, Zorra, Nissouri, Ellice, Peel and
Toronto, and Milligan noticed the difference in tug of war popularity
compared to the bigger cities.
“Where we’re from, it’s not that popular yet,” Milligan said.
“It’s growing, but here it seems to be passed through
generations.” |
Tug of war pulls generally last anywhere from 30 seconds to a few
minutes, but sometimes can be as gruelling and grinding as over five
minutes. The longest pull Deb Gropp ever witnessed came at the Stratford
Fall Fair, a seven-minute pull between South Easthope and Ellice. Gropp,
a member of the Ontario and Canadian tug of war boards, wasn’t pulling
for her South Easthope team this year due to injury, but has been in a
pull that lasted a couple of minutes. It was the longest 120 seconds of
her lifetime.
“It felt like an eternity out there in the dead heat,” she said.
“Your legs are burning, your arms are burning, your stomach - you have
to keep it perfect,” she said, “or you’ll be hunched over and
that’s how you lose your end and the other team takes advantage.”
It’s the strategy and simplicity of the pulls that appeals to
competitors and fans alike. For many in the sun-soaked bleachers,
attending the championships is a yearly tradition, but that hasn’t
stopped the fan base from growing.
“I love sports of all kinds and this is such an unusual sport,
really,” Kitchener native Bale Robert said. “I don’t know anywhere
but here that this takes place.
“It’s a team effort and to see them working together and to be
coached - obviously they have a strategy - they suddenly give it all
they’ve got.”
With 17 countries at the world championships last year, it might
surprise some that tug of war is a global event. But that’s hardly
surprising to Totten, a former puller and coach and now a co-ordinator
and announcer. |
Nissouri Ladies finish first in women's
catchweight division
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Forty years after being introduced to the tug of war,
Totten still romanticizes about it and can barely contain himself.
“This is the first ever event I came to see … it’s just so darn
exciting I can barely stand still,” he said before introducing the
ladies’ invitational teams.
The 1893 team “is something that’s kept it going. It’s something
they look up to.”
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Bluewater Men - 2005 Catchweight Champions
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