Tug of war words · Intermediate
The words that make the commentary make sense. They build on the beginner words.
I · Intermediate · 38 words · Step 2 of 2General terms
TWIF
The Tug of War International Federation, an amateur federation founded in 1960 that sets the rules and runs the world and continental championships. It belongs to the association of Olympic-recognised federations and to the World Games association. India is among its member associations.
See also: Tug of war
Categories
Teams compete as men, women or mixed, and in the senior, under-23 and junior groups, outdoors and indoors. The mixed team is written 4 x 4, for male and female pullers.
See also: Groups
Age limits
Juniors are eligible from the start of the year they turn 14 to the end of the year they turn 18. Under-23 pullers go from the start of the year they turn 16 to the end of the year they turn 22. Seniors, men and women, are eligible from the start of the year they turn 16.
Teams, weights and weigh-in
Stamping
After weigh-in the chosen pullers are marked with an indelible stamp so officials can check who is pulling. Pullers must be in the shorts or leggings they will pull in so the stamp can be seen. A coach may change pullers until stamping, if the class limit is not passed.
Substitution
A team may replace one puller, for tactics or injury, but only after weigh-in and after the first end of the first match it pulls. The replaced puller cannot pull again in that weight class, and a second change is not allowed. If a second puller is injured the team may go on with seven, but never with fewer than seven. The substitute's weight can use up any room left under the class limit.
See also: Weight class, Weigh-in, Pull
Coach and trainer
The coach directs the team's pulling. The trainer or attendant looks after the team before and after pulls, may not talk to the pullers while they are pulling, and stands where the judge directs.
See also: Judge
Equipment and the pulling area
Rope markings
Tapes on the rope that the judge can adjust if the rope stretches. Outdoors there are five: one at the centre and one 4 m and one 5 m either side of it, in three colours. Indoors there are three: the centre and one 2.5 m either side, in two colours. The outer tapes show where pullers may grip.
Pulling area
Outdoors a flat, level grass surface with one centre line. Indoors a surface approved by TWIF that gives enough grip to ordinary indoor shoes, recommended 36 m long and 100 to 120 cm wide, with a centre line and two side lines 4 m either side of it.
Sport dress
Uniform sports clothing. Shirts must be the same colour (sleeves may differ), shorts must be the same colour, and leggings the same colour as each other. If any member wears shorts, all must. Knee stockings or socks must be one colour. Cap, visor or bandana in the dress colours is allowed.
Protective belt
A belt used to protect the skin or support the back. Soft elasticated or woven belts go under the clothing, rigid belts on the outside, with the support centred on the back and the fastening in front. The rope must never run between the belt and the body, and a belt worn loose can count as locking. A rigid belt's support is at most 150 mm wide.
Anchor protection
Padding the anchor wears under the shirt to guard the ribs and back and stop the rope riding up. It may not reach below the hips, may not be thicker than 5 cm, and may not have hooks or grooves that clamp the rope. A recommended anchor vest weighs at most 5 kg.
Resin
A sticky substance allowed on the hands only, to help grip the rope. Indoors it may only be used if the sports hall allows it, and then only as the judges direct.
See also: Rope
Shoes
Outdoor shoes have a heel flush with the sole and no more than 35 mm high including the sole (and a metal plate of up to 6.5 mm), with a non-metal sole plate at least 6.5 mm thick. Indoor shoes are ordinary sports shoes with a rubber sole not more than 20 per cent longer or wider than the bare foot, and only a clean dry cloth may be applied to the sole.
Pulling technique
Take the strain
The judge's command to put enough tension on the rope to make it taut. Outdoors each puller may make one foothold with the heel or side of the extended foot at that point, but not before.
The ruleHow does a tug of war pull start?Infringements and cautions
Sitting
Deliberately sitting on the ground, or not getting straight back into the pulling position after slipping.
See also: Pulling position
Leaning
Touching the ground with any part of the body other than the feet.
Locking
Any hold that stops the rope moving freely, such as a loose belt that lets the rope run between the belt and the body.
See also: Rope
Illegal grip
Any grip other than the ordinary grip described for pullers and for the anchor.
See also: Anchor
Propping
Holding the rope where it does not pass between the body and the upper part of the arm.
See also: Rope
Wrong position
Sitting on a foot or a leg, or having the feet not extended forward of the knee.
See also: Sitting
Anchor position fault
The anchor holding the rope in any way other than the position the rules describe.
Side-stepping
Stepping outside the pulling track, lane or surface. Outdoors it means moving sideways out of the existing foot tracks so that neither foot is in them.
Footholds
Digging the heel into the ground to make holes before the judge says Take the strain. It is an outdoor infringement.
See also: Take the strain, Infringement, Judge
Ungentlemanly conduct
Behaviour that can bring the sport into disrepute, such as the coach or trainer gripping the rope, stepping onto the mat or field, or touching a puller to give extra hold. The judge can disqualify a team for it with no prior caution.
Inactivity
A deadlock, in which the teams do not make a real effort or poor ground makes the pull stall. The judge points to the watch as a warning and, if nothing changes, declares a no pull. After ten minutes of a pull with periods of inactivity, the chief judge tells the judge to call it. The pull is restarted on new or less broken ground next to the original lane.
Disqualification
A team that has had its two cautions in a pull and offends again loses the pull. A team can also be disqualified for ungentlemanly conduct with no caution, or for failing to follow the international rules. A disqualified team counts as having three cautions for that pull.
See also: Ungentlemanly conduct, Caution, Pull
Matches, pulls and scoring
Points competition
The qualifying round, a round robin in which every team meets every other once, so n teams give n x (n - 1) / 2 matches. Winning 2-0 scores 3 points, losing 2-0 scores none, and a 1-1 match gives each team 1 point.
Pull-offs, semi-finals and finals
The knockout matches, each won by the best of three pulls. A 2-0 win scores 3 points and 0 for the loser, a 2-1 win scores 2 points and 1 for the loser. The semi-final losers pull off for bronze and the winners meet in the final.
See also: Pull
No pull
A pull that does not count. It is declared when both teams infringe after two cautions each, both are inactive, both let go of the rope, or the pull is interrupted without a fault by either team (it is then retaken after a rest). In the points phase a no pull for infringements is not repeated: both teams score nothing and get three cautions for that end.
Judges and signals
Chief judge and weighmaster
The chief judge supervises the judges and substitutions, and with the referee and controller can expel a club or individual from an event for conduct that brings the sport into disrepute. The weighmaster is the judge in charge of the weigh-in and stamping.
Judge's signals
Each command and infringement has a hand signal, so that the match can be run without words. A whistle and a point show the winner of a pull; a whistle and crossed arms over the head change ends; a whistle and arms crossed in front of the body mean a no pull.
See also: Infringement, Pull, No pull
Competition structure
Championship format
A qualifying points round, then semi-finals and finals. With fewer than 12 teams in a weight class, all pull in one group and the top four go to the semi-finals (first v fourth, second v third); winners meet for gold and silver, losers for bronze. A class needs at least four teams to count as a world or continental championship.
See also: Weight class, Pull
Groups
With 12 or more teams in a class the qualifying round is split into two groups; the first and second of each group go to the semi-finals and the first of one group meets the second of the other. The number of groups grows with the entries: 4 to 11 teams one group, 12 to 22 two groups, 23 to 44 four groups and more than 44 eight groups.
Ranking tiebreaks
Teams level on points are separated in this order: the results between those teams, the most matches won, the fewest cautions, the lowest team weight on the weighing sheet, and finally a coin toss or draw.
World championships
From 2025 TWIF holds world championships both outdoors and indoors every year, and each year also holds world championships for junior and under-23 men and women.
See also: TWIF
Mixed 4 x 4
A mixed team of male and female pullers, written 4 x 4 in the rules. The weight limits are 580 kg for seniors, 560 kg for under-23 and 520 kg for juniors.