History of the Tug of War International Federation (TWIF)
With the creation of national federations, the need to organize international competitions grew sharply. The initiative to create TWIF belonged to George Hutton, a representative of the British association, and in cooperation with representatives of the Swedish association, the idea was put into practice in 1960.
Rules
The rules under which the new international federation held its competitions were based on the rules used in competitions during the Olympic period.
TWIF competitions
The first international tug of war competition took place in 1964 in Malmö (Sweden) — the "Baltic Games," in which TWIF was represented by 4 countries: Great Britain, Sweden, the Netherlands and Denmark.
After the "Baltic Games," the first European Championships were held in Great Britain (London) in 1965. From then on, the championships were held regularly until 1975, when non-European countries joined TWIF, and as a result the first World Championships were held in the Netherlands.
Today TWIF is a recognized federation uniting 35 members and several candidates. TWIF is one of the 29 sports not included in the Olympic program that have official recognition from the International Olympic Committee. As an international sports federation, TWIF is a full member of the General Association of International Sports Federations (GAISF).
Tug of war is included in the program of the World Games, held since 1981 under the patronage of the International Olympic Committee; the most recent took place in Germany (Duisburg) in 2005. World and European Championships are held regularly.
Organization and management
The highest body of TWIF is the annual congress, made up of the full members. The congress elects the Executive Committee.
The Executive Committee is the administrative body of TWIF. The Executive Committee directs the activities of TWIF and represents it in international organizations. The governance of international sport is coordinated by a commission made up of representatives of the three main sports organizations: the IOC, GAISF and ARISF.
Holding competitions and championships
Tug of war competitions mainly use two systems: knockout and round robin.
In a knockout system, only the winners of the previous contest advance to the next round. This system therefore allows the largest number of participants to take part in a competition. Its drawback is that young and inexperienced teams are usually eliminated in the first round. With this format, such teams do not gain experience and may become disillusioned with the sport.
In a round-robin system, each team competes against all the other participants. Under this system, the number of participants is usually limited to 10 teams. If this number is exceeded, the number of matches may be so large that it becomes impossible to hold them within one day. However, more and more clubs are speaking out in favor of round-robin competitions, since this format clearly shows the participants' progress and the results are more objective.
National championships
National championships usually use a round-robin system, or a round robin (8 teams) followed by a knockout final.
World Games
The World Games are held in two weight categories: 640 and 720 kg, on a round-robin basis.
Refereeing
Competitions are refereed by three referees: a chief referee and two side referees.
Referees are qualified in three categories: 1, 2 and 3.
At international competitions held under the auspices of TWIF, refereeing is carried out by federation referees, who may be category 1 referees qualified by the TWIF commission.
