GIRLSONTHE
MARIA CROCE near Ayr, has been a member since 2010 after getting involved through the Young Farmers.
The plant nursery assistant, who is about to start work for the Department of Agriculture, explained that her boots had been adapted from old ski boots by Colin, who added plywood and Perspex to the sole to make them smooth.
Groom Sheona Reid, 20, from Fenwick, has been involved in tug of war for the last four years.
“It’s been good fun, a lot of good people and good memories you make. It’s really serious.
“No one thinks it is as serious as what we do. We’re training two nights a week and it’s intense training. Are we athletes? We like to think we’re athletes.
“The power is in your legs and core. People think you would have muscles in your arms – you do but they’re not big.
“Friends are quite surprised when I tell them what I do. I don’t think they think it’s as serious as we make it out to be.
“It’s quite an aggressive sport. I can have quite an angry face on the rope and come off all smiley and happy. I just get in the zone.”
No one worries about getting muddy and ending up with patches of hard skin on their hands.
Lorna Bennett, 29, from Howwood, works as a farmer but also has a very different line of w – as a fashion designer. She has been involved in tug of war sinc she was 16.
“I was in the Young Farmers a tried it out and liked it,” she said
“You need to be fit with a goo core. You need power in your leg you try to pull with just your arm you will burn out quickly.”
As well as rope training twice week with the club, she cycles a does general fitness training. Sh added: “I train six days a week – training as if I’m an athlete.”
Ayrshire Tug of War Club form in 2004 with the boys’ team concentrating on the indoor sid the sport. They then began to