Town’s sporting champions are feeling the pull of history
DID you know that International Tug of War Day took place this week?
And did you also know that a team from Macclesfield has been world champions?
If your answer to both these questions is ‘yes’ then you are probably a member of Bosley Tug of War Club, who have a long and proud tradition in the sport.
The club wants to mark International Tug of War Day, which was on Friday, by encouraging more people to take part in the rope-pulling pastime.
Alan Knott, from the cub, says Cheshire has always been a hotbed for the sport.
He said: “An industrial area with a surrounding rural hinterland meant that there were lots of hardy miners, steel workers, farmers and quarry men who were used to physically demanding work. Of course, local rivalries then flourished, providing clubs with the competition they needed to spur them on to the top.”
Bosley won the World Championships in
Holland, in 1975, and the following year in South Africa, as well as the European Championship on home soil in 1981.
The club was founded in
March 1915 by Alex
Brown when he joined fellow farmers together to form a team called ‘Cookies Eight’. A name change to Bosley Farmers was the first of several and former school master Sam Holland was brought in as coach.
A training regime of putting a rope around an oak tree and attaching it to milk churns paid dividends and the team cleaned up at various competitions in the north midlands. Eventually the club affiliated to the Amateur Athletic Association (AAA), winning the AAA title for 20 consecutive years from 1958-78. This led on to international success, which continued into this century with a world silver medal in 2000.
Most recently
Bosley claimed two gold medals at the national indoor championships in 2019 before the Coronavirus pandemic struck in 2020.
Alan said: “The sport has certainly evolved since the early successes experienced by the Bosley tug of war team, with men’s, ladies’, junior, under 23 and mixed competitions now taking place.
“The team still competes at a good level today, and for the first time in 2019, competed with ladies in the team in the mixed weight class at the national championships.
“The club very much hopes to be back on the rope when the government allows, and is always looking to welcome new members to the team to keep its successful traditions alive.”
For more information contact Alan on 07976 591222 or email alan_p_ knott@hotmail.com.