Tug of War England 2024

Hi, my name is Sophie Phillips, I'm a 19 year old Dairy Farmers daughter from Devon, I work and live on our family farm, with my parents.

I am a member of Anstey TOW club, which is closely linked to Anstey YFC, two little clubs set in the deepest of Exmoor. With a dedicated schedule of training and many sacrifices I have just secured a place to represent England on the under 23's Ladies Tug of War team.

This year The British & Irish competition from the 10th - 11th of August is held in Leicestershire, and World Outdoor Championships is held in Germany from the 5th - 9th of September. I have been fortunate enough to hold a position in our club mixed 4 x 4 team to represent at the British & Irish along side the u23's, then on to represent u23's and possibly the mixed 4 x 4 u23's in Worlds Germany.

The sport doesn't get a lot of coverage, but used to hold a place at the Olympics in 1920, the level of dedication to training, fitness, diet/weight is no less than any other athlete wishing to strive for a winning position.

Many of you would have taken part in TOW at many local gatherings for fun, and YFC over the years at County shows & Rallies. There is also an underworld of TOW, Friday night league, Open competitions, all encouraging young and old to take part.

The Tug of War association has no funding to help its athletes with costs, so it is up to individuals to gather sponsorship & funds to help cover some of them. This includes England kit both for competition and training, Specialist boots, fuel costs, Flights, trains, accommodation & food. Much of the training is held north of the country, I am 1 of 2 girls from south west to have achieved a position on the rope, so a 4 hr + journey is becoming quite regular at weekends, many stop overs so far have been hosted by family or friends dotted around the country, to try and keep my costs to a minimal.

I thank you very much for reading my story, if anyone wishes to follow and technology behaves its self, a live stream should be available on you tube.

Sophie x