Pullers take the strain

Interviews: Richard Long
Pictures: Graeme Main

THE Army tug-of-war squad will be hoping to build on its progress of recent years when they take part in the world championships in South Africa next month.

Personnel will lock horns with some of the toughest competitors on the planet in a sport that is far removed from the stereotyped view of overweight men having some light-hearted fun at a village fete.

Gruelling training regimes ensure team members are in peak condition and Maj (Retd) Rob Holland, the Army coach and manager, believes it is one of the toughest activities a soldier can take part in.

“I always relate it to boxing training,” the former Royal Artillery man told SoldierSport. “It is the hardest sport anyone will do in terms of physicality.

“You have to be a very good team player and as an individual you have to be a winner.

“My saying is ‘train hard, win easy’. If you do hard work with the rope in training the competition becomes so much easier.”

Holland said a typical training day will include a six-to-eight-mile run as well as weights work, sprints and a two-hour rope session.

Army puller SSgt Vito Giaccone (RA) said: “It is hard. It is all about stamina and finding something extra when you have got nothing left.

“You just have to be stronger than your equivalent number on the opposite team. Training is not fun; it is harder than the competition itself.

“But once you start getting results it is a huge pick up. I was volunteered to take part and it grew from there. Once you master the technique it becomes a very addictive sport.”

Like most disciplines within the Army, the tug-of-war team has suffered due to the pull of operations and Holland hopes the South African trip will form a stepping stone to future success.

“We started getting the squad together two years ago and our aim was the world championships,” he explained.

“But over the last couple of years we have lost 60 per cent of that initial squad to operational commitments in Afghanistan, so we had to get replacements in.

“This will be about experience more than anything else. If we had the same squad we started with we would be knocking at the door of the national championships.

“The first year squad was unbelievable but Afghanistan took that all away from us.

“We are now building towards the European championships next year and some great youngsters are coming through.”

The tug-of war fixtures come thick and fast over the summer months with personnel pulling in inter-corps, Army and Inter-Services competitions as well as the Royal Highland Gathering.

They also flexed their muscles at the national championships and, although they did not win, the event gave a useful insight into what is needed to improve.

“If you imagine the Army football team playing Manchester United or Chelsea, this was the same for us,” Holland explained.

“The biggest difference is continuity. Some of those teams have been working together for 15 years. Our strength and fitness are second-to-none but continuity is the key.”

If you are interested in learning more about tug-of-war email aspt-resources-snco2@aspt.mod.uk