Tug of war officials at the end of their rope

Many sports activities take place during the Sinhala-Hindu New Year in April. Among some of the robust sports activities on the cards during the festive season is tug of war. It is also considered as one of the traditional sports activities in this island.

- By Manjula D. Phillips

With another Sinhala-Hindu New Year festival being celebrated, people have loads of memories of tug of war events being carried out. Along with the tug of war events, there were other cultural and national sports events that were also worked off in many parts of the country.

Tug of War is a contest where physical strength, endurance and team spirit is displayed. Two teams engage in this pulling contest and the one that pulls the other team a stipulated distance (forward) emerges the victor.

In Sri Lanka, tug of war is practised in schools and as a community event. Physical strength plays a big role in which team succeeds, but there have been occasions when the underdog wins, thanks to better skills.

The sport is also popular in other parts of the world. Those who engage in this sport are either professionals or amateurs. According to historians and sources in the sports circle, tug of war is considered as one of the oldest sports in world history. Its presence many centuries ago is confirmed through the discoveries in the Egyptian tomb engravings. These engravings portray Egyptian boys participating in the sport over 4000 years ago. It is believed the term Tug of War originates from the German words 'toga werra'. It had been recorded in the history books as a royal sport in several ancient civilizations in countries such as China, Egypt and Greece.

Gaining popularity in Europe