Latest news with #TugOfWar
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Carlisle man wins gold at World Games
A MAN from Carlisle has won gold in the World Games, a multi-sport event for sports and disciplines that are not in the programme of the Olympic Games. The games take place every four years, like the Olympics, and have been held in Chengdu, China, this year. Joe Birch, a joiner from Carlisle, won a gold medal at the games in Tug of War, as Team GB beat the Switzerland team in the final. Joe said: "I'm so emotional, when you put so much sacrifice, so much discipline and so much training into something, and then you feel the elation knowing it paid off, you can't describe it. "It's possibly not even sunk in yet." Many sports from the World Games have been integrated into the Olympics, as the Olympic committee watches the evet closely. The gold medal that Joe received has a pendant within it that can be made into a necklace, to be passed onto the younger generations to inspire future athletes in a specific sport. He said: "That set me off a bit, I have two wonderful young kids , and I hope I can inspire them." The World Games are seen as the pinnacle of the Tug of war sport, and the qualification process is difficult. Joe Birch celebrating the win (Image: Joe Birch) Joe said: "You have to win at the English National Championships, and then make sure you finish in the top six of the World Championships. "To get to the games was even an achievement in itself, but to get to that level is years and years of work, it doesn't just happen overnight." Joe has been participating in the sport for over 15 years, he began while he was in his Young Farmers club. Joe said: "90 per cent of 'pullers' come through Young Farmers, so we are very lucky in Cumbria to have such a fantastic Young Farmers structure." Joe works for Kirkaldy and Roe, a building and construction company in Carlisle, who support the gold medal winner by allowing early finishes and days off to travel to competitions and training.
CTV News
6 days ago
- Sport
- CTV News
Dashwood, Ont. tug of war team heading to overseas tournament
Members of the Bluewater Youth Tug of War team practice for an International Tug of War tournament in the Netherlands, seen near Dashwood, Ont. on July 28, 2025. (Scott Miller/CTV News London) With each practice, the Bluewater Youth Tug of War, based out of Dashwood, Ont., is getting themselves ready to take on some of the best tug of war teams in the world. 'It's a huge deal for us. We're going to the Netherlands. It's a different country,' said 16-year-old Brock Hoffman. 'So, we know that the competition is going to be really high over there.' Hoffman is one of 10 members of the Bluewater Youth Tug of War team heading to the International Tug of War Tournament in the Netherlands on Aug. 30. Very few North American teams ever get to participate, but this group of 10- to 17-year-olds, who train bi-weekly near Dashwood, have won the last three U23 North American Tug of War Championships, so they're eager to take on stiffer competition overseas. Bluewater Tug of War youth team Members of the Bluewater Youth Tug of War team practice for an International Tug of War tournament in the Netherlands, seen near Dashwood, Ont. on July 28, 2025. (Scott Miller/CTV News London) 'It's the future of tug of war in Canada,' said Coach Ted Hoffman. 'Hopefully we can get it to grow to what some of the countries like Switzerland and the Netherlands have, with memberships in the thousands. But you've got to start here.' Bluewater has always had a strong senior tug of war team, but building up a junior squad has been a slow and steady process, convincing kids they don't need to be 250 pounds of pure muscle in order to participate. Bluewater Tug of War youth team Members of the Bluewater Youth Tug of War team practice for an International Tug of War tournament in the Netherlands, seen near Dashwood, Ont. on July 28, 2025. (Scott Miller/CTV News London) 'It's more about technique and having multiple people on the rope. More people on the rope that you can fit underneath the weight limit, the better you are,' said 16-year-old Bryce Jeffrey. 'It's really all in the legs. You just have to pull what you can,' said 14-year-old Kinley Skinner. Coach Hoffman added that the sport is completely inclusive. 'You just have to be strong for your weight, whether it's 100 pounds or 300 pounds, you're accountable for every pound of that on the rope,' he said. 'And that goes towards your team weight. It's all relative, right?' Bluewater's youth tug of war team leaves for the Netherlands in a couple of weeks, as they ready to represent Canada at the world's biggest tug of war competition for kids. Bluewater Tug of War youth team Members of the Bluewater Youth Tug of War team practice for an International Tug of War tournament in the Netherlands, seen near Dashwood, Ont. on July 28, 2025. (Scott Miller/CTV News London) 'Being able to tell people that you're going to represent our country is the coolest thing. Feels so awesome,' said 14-year-old Grayson Soudant. 'I'm really excited. I feel like it's a good opportunity for teamwork, and just to represent Canada,' said 13-year-old Danica Jeffrey. Brock Hoffman said the team is very excited to show what they've got. 'We're going up on like, the world stage and against a whole bunch of other countries around the world, so it's just a bigger deal,' he said. You can follow the team's journey and see the numerous local businesses that have supported the squad on Facebook.
Leader Live
09-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Leader Live
Paul McCartney's tribute to ‘dear friend' and ‘incredible' artist Brian Clarke
Sir Brian designed the cover for the former Beatles star's 1982 solo album, Tug Of War, and was remembered as the 'most important artist working in stained glass' by London's Heni gallery, where some of his work is displayed, as it announced his death. The artist is best known for his work at the Al Faisaliyah Centre in Riyadh, the Royal Mosque of King Khalid International Airport in Saudi Arabia, and the 14-metre-high, stained glass pavilion, The Stamford Cone in Connecticut, having painted his first window at the age of 17. A post shared by Paul McCartney (@paulmccartney) Sir Paul said in a post on Instagram: 'Brian Clarke was a dear friend of our family whom we had known for years. Sadly, he passed away recently but we all have lovely memories of the times we had together. We always laughed. 'Brian often had some great artistic endeavours to show or talk to us about. He made some stained glass windows for us and did a great collaboration with Linda using her photographs to make stained glass pictures out of. 'He was commissioned to make stained glass for Bahrain Airport (Concordia), Stansted Airport (a collaboration with Sir Norman Foster), and Queen Victoria Street Arcade in Leeds, and these are just some of the works he was famous for. 'Ever since I met him in the 70s with Robert Fraser the art dealer, we always had the best times together. We will all miss him but have fond memories of him to cherish and his incredible artwork to remind us of Brian himself.' Across his 50-year-career, Sir Brian also created stained glass for commemorative works including the Holocaust Memorial Synagogue (Neue Synagogue) in Darmstadt, Germany, and also designed an artwork in 2010 for the Papal Chapel of the Apostolic Nunciature in London, for Pope Benedict XVI's state visit to the United Kingdom. A post shared by HENI (@heni) The artist was born in Oldham, Lancashire, into a working class family, with his father, Edward, a miner, while his mother, Lilian, worked at the local cotton mill, according to his official website. He was knighted in the 2024 New Year Honours, telling PA at the time: 'I'm feeling very surprised and grateful really. It's wonderful to get noticed for one's work, but to get honoured for it too is really very encouraging.' A statement from Heni, announcing his death on Saturday, read: 'A visionary artist and cherished friend, he will be missed.' Other celebrities to pay tribute to the artist included TV presenter and pianist Jools Holland, who said Sir Brian was an 'extraordinary and dear man' in a post on Instagram.
Glasgow Times
09-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Glasgow Times
Paul McCartney's tribute to ‘dear friend' and ‘incredible' artist Brian Clarke
Sir Brian designed the cover for the former Beatles star's 1982 solo album, Tug Of War, and was remembered as the 'most important artist working in stained glass' by London's Heni gallery, where some of his work is displayed, as it announced his death. The artist is best known for his work at the Al Faisaliyah Centre in Riyadh, the Royal Mosque of King Khalid International Airport in Saudi Arabia, and the 14-metre-high, stained glass pavilion, The Stamford Cone in Connecticut, having painted his first window at the age of 17. Sir Paul said in a post on Instagram: 'Brian Clarke was a dear friend of our family whom we had known for years. Sadly, he passed away recently but we all have lovely memories of the times we had together. We always laughed. 'Brian often had some great artistic endeavours to show or talk to us about. He made some stained glass windows for us and did a great collaboration with Linda using her photographs to make stained glass pictures out of. 'He was commissioned to make stained glass for Bahrain Airport (Concordia), Stansted Airport (a collaboration with Sir Norman Foster), and Queen Victoria Street Arcade in Leeds, and these are just some of the works he was famous for. Sir Brian Clarke has died aged 71 (Jonathan Brady/PA) 'Ever since I met him in the 70s with Robert Fraser the art dealer, we always had the best times together. We will all miss him but have fond memories of him to cherish and his incredible artwork to remind us of Brian himself.' Across his 50-year-career, Sir Brian also created stained glass for commemorative works including the Holocaust Memorial Synagogue (Neue Synagogue) in Darmstadt, Germany, and also designed an artwork in 2010 for the Papal Chapel of the Apostolic Nunciature in London, for Pope Benedict XVI's state visit to the United Kingdom. The artist was born in Oldham, Lancashire, into a working class family, with his father, Edward, a miner, while his mother, Lilian, worked at the local cotton mill, according to his official website. He was knighted in the 2024 New Year Honours, telling PA at the time: 'I'm feeling very surprised and grateful really. It's wonderful to get noticed for one's work, but to get honoured for it too is really very encouraging.' A statement from Heni, announcing his death on Saturday, read: 'A visionary artist and cherished friend, he will be missed.' Other celebrities to pay tribute to the artist included TV presenter and pianist Jools Holland, who said Sir Brian was an 'extraordinary and dear man' in a post on Instagram.
Rhyl Journal
09-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Rhyl Journal
Paul McCartney's tribute to ‘dear friend' and ‘incredible' artist Brian Clarke
Sir Brian designed the cover for the former Beatles star's 1982 solo album, Tug Of War, and was remembered as the 'most important artist working in stained glass' by London's Heni gallery, where some of his work is displayed, as it announced his death. The artist is best known for his work at the Al Faisaliyah Centre in Riyadh, the Royal Mosque of King Khalid International Airport in Saudi Arabia, and the 14-metre-high, stained glass pavilion, The Stamford Cone in Connecticut, having painted his first window at the age of 17. A post shared by Paul McCartney (@paulmccartney) Sir Paul said in a post on Instagram: 'Brian Clarke was a dear friend of our family whom we had known for years. Sadly, he passed away recently but we all have lovely memories of the times we had together. We always laughed. 'Brian often had some great artistic endeavours to show or talk to us about. He made some stained glass windows for us and did a great collaboration with Linda using her photographs to make stained glass pictures out of. 'He was commissioned to make stained glass for Bahrain Airport (Concordia), Stansted Airport (a collaboration with Sir Norman Foster), and Queen Victoria Street Arcade in Leeds, and these are just some of the works he was famous for. 'Ever since I met him in the 70s with Robert Fraser the art dealer, we always had the best times together. We will all miss him but have fond memories of him to cherish and his incredible artwork to remind us of Brian himself.' Across his 50-year-career, Sir Brian also created stained glass for commemorative works including the Holocaust Memorial Synagogue (Neue Synagogue) in Darmstadt, Germany, and also designed an artwork in 2010 for the Papal Chapel of the Apostolic Nunciature in London, for Pope Benedict XVI's state visit to the United Kingdom. A post shared by HENI (@heni) The artist was born in Oldham, Lancashire, into a working class family, with his father, Edward, a miner, while his mother, Lilian, worked at the local cotton mill, according to his official website. He was knighted in the 2024 New Year Honours, telling PA at the time: 'I'm feeling very surprised and grateful really. It's wonderful to get noticed for one's work, but to get honoured for it too is really very encouraging.' A statement from Heni, announcing his death on Saturday, read: 'A visionary artist and cherished friend, he will be missed.' Other celebrities to pay tribute to the artist included TV presenter and pianist Jools Holland, who said Sir Brian was an 'extraordinary and dear man' in a post on Instagram.
