CROWDS of more than a thousand gathered to watch a national tug-of-war competition as the hosts continue to pull together to find a new home after they were forced to leave their old one.
Large crowds gathered to watch the All UK tug-of-war tournament at Nunnery Wood Sports Complex in Spetchley Road, Worcester hosted by Worcester Themmadi on Saturday (July 13).
In total 17 times registered, including four women's teams, and crowds included the new Labour MP for Worcester, Tom Collins, who presided, and city councillors, including the Green Party's Andrew Cross and Katie Collier and Labour's Elaine Willmore. The team captain is Shiju Alex and the manager Jose Mathai.
The winners in the men's walked away with prize money of £1,301 and the runners up with £801 but organisers and participants said the competition was more about community and family than anything else.
Cllr Andrew Cross said: "What an amazing day this was. It was not just a competition but a community celebration. The Worcester Themmadi ladies' team were victorious, beating Liverpool.
"The Themmadi men's came a close second to Tunbridge Tuskers. The atmosphere was amazing and food was fantastic. With facepainting and bouncy castles, it was truly a family-friendly and fun day."
The achievement is even more significant for Worcester Themmadi as they still have yet to find a new base to train. Although they are able to create their own weight rig to train for competition, they need private land, preferably outdoors, to be able to train safely.
Worcester City Council removed weight training gear from Shap Drive Community Centre in Warndon on June 20 after complaints that a child had been injured, leaving the team of 22 without anywhere to train.
Thomas Mathai Kondoor of Worcester Themmadi said each team of seven had to have a combined weight of no less than 580kg. The style of tug-of-war originated in southern India but has been brought to countries across the world, including in the US, Canada and New Zealand, by people from India.
He said: "It was a very successful tournament - and we finished on time."
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Mr Kondoor, one of the managers of the team, estimates that between 1,000 and 1,500 people attended, the third competition Worcester has hosted. The style of tug-of-war is from Kerala in India which is where members of the Worcester Themmadi come from.
"You have to be extremely strong to do it. It's about strength, stamina and technique. We are still desperately looking for somewhere to do our weight training," said Mr Kondoor.
He said he was 'very proud' of the team and felt they could have won the competition if they had been able to train and had a dedicated base in the two weeks before the tournament began.
"We are like a family," he said, describing the team.
A Worcester City Council spokesperson said in a previous statement: "We are supporting the tug-of-war team to find a more suitable and sustainable training venue, following a range of complaints received in connection with their training arrangements at Shap Drive."
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