Philippine Traditional Games

Tug of War
Group 10

Origin and History

There is no specific time and place to pinpoint the origin of tug of war. The
contest of pulling a rope originates from ancient ceremonies and cults, which are
found all over the world, such as in Egypt, Burma, India, Borneo, Japan, Korea,
Hawaii and South America. The ancient tug of war was performed in various styles.
In Afghanistan, teams used a wooden stake instead of a rope to pull. In Korea,
children clasped their arms around each other’s waists to form a living tug of war
chain. Tug of War was not only a team sport. In several countries a man to man
version of tug of war existed. The Canadian Eskimos still have a tug of war contest
known as ‘arsaaraq’. It’s a tug of war contest with the pullers sitting on the ground,
using a short rope. The one who pulls his opponent over from his seated position is
the winner.

Tug of War is one of the most ancient games known to man and there is
evidence that it was played across the ancient world including ancient Greece, Egypt
and China. Also known as rope pulling, tugging war and war of tug, it remains today
a popular sport that pits the strengths of two teams against each other and is
practiced in some form in almost every country in the world. Many of these countries
have their own national governing bodies and there is an international body too
known as the Tug of War International Federation which has over 50 countries
affiliated with it.

Number of Players
Each tug war team consists of 8 members, all of whom cooperate to pull the
rope. Despite looking like quite a simple sports, there is some technicality of it, with
team members utilizing a rhythm to help pull the rope in an effective way. This is
done with the help of a driver, who is not a member of the team but is in effect like a
coach and they give orders of when to pull and when to rest from the sidelines.

Materials Needed
The rope is the most important piece of equipment and this should be
approximately 11cm in circumstances and should be at least 33.5m long with plain,
whipped ends. Other pieces of equipment that participants may use include
specialist boots, elbow, back and knee, supports as well as belts to support the back.
Mechanics
 From two teams of at least 6-8 people each.
 Line both teams up on their respective ends of the rope.
 Each team gets on either side of the rope and tries to pull the other team
across the ground marker. When any body part of the team crosses the line,
the game is over the opposite teams wins.
 The team that gets pulled over the ground marker loses.

Playing Area
The game has to be played on a flat grassy patch of land. A line referred to as
a center line is marked on the playing zone and the rope is placed in a manner that
its center mark should align the center marked on the ground. On either sides of the
rope at the distance of 4 m from the center line, 2 more marks need to be made. This
is the point where in the first member of each team will stand.

Point System
In Tug of War, there is no scoring as such like you may see in other team
games such as American Football or Soccer. However, because teams are pitted
against each other usually in a best of three match, there is a form of scoring, in that
the winner of the match must win two out the three pulls to win the match.

Members:
Faith Hannah Onlos
Jane Calizo
Diana Rose Ytang
Genesis Apare