FARMERS are set to show their strength as they compete in the English National Outdoor Tug of War Championships next weekend.

The Tug of War Association’s event is to be held at Offwell Village Hall near Honiton.

It takes place on Saturday, June 15 and will feature several different weight classes for men's teams, ladies' teams, junior teams and mixed teams.

The teams will be competing for gold, silver and bronze medals at the event, with the winning teams qualifying to represent England at the 2024 World Championships in Germany in September and the British and Irish Championships being held in Melton Mowbray in August. 

Teams from all over England will take part in the event, including some who represented England at the 2023 World Championships in Switzerland, where the England won four bronze medals from the international events with these medals being won by England's junior, under 23 and senior teams.

The event will also showcase the Lincoln and Bedford Ladies tug of war teams, who won gold medals for Great Britain in the tug of war events at the 2022 World Games held in the USA.

The World Games are held every four years for sports recognized by the IOC that are not part of the full Olympic Programme. The next World Games will take place in Chengdu, China in 2025, with this World Championship being a qualifying event for the World Games.

More local interest in the event will come in the form of the Honiton and Anstey Tug of War teams. The Anstey team this year includes three members of the England Under 23 team who won bronze at the 2023 World Championships in Switzerland and the team are also the reigning NFYFC national tug of war champions. They are expected to be strong contenders for medals in some of the weight classes on offer on the day. 

Alan Knott, spokesperson for the Tug of War Association said: "We are delighted bring he English National Outdoor Tug of War Championships to Devon, and we expect a high level of competition this year. We last held the event here in 2017, and the championships will showcase the strength, teamwork, and skill of the participating teams, and we're excited to see what they can achieve. We're confident that the Offwell will provide an excellent venue for the event, and we wish all the teams the best of luck."

Entry to the event will be free for spectators with competitions starting from 9.30am and running through the day.