Ricardo Mackenzie, Western Cape’s Provincial Minister of Cultural Affairs and Sport, attended the World Tug-of-War Outdoor Championships at the Hartenbos Amphitheatre last weekend, publicly celebrating the province’s role as host of a 16-nation international competition. Mackenzie shared multiple posts on his Facebook page highlighting his pride in the performances and the significance of staging the event in the Western Cape.
The championships ran from Wednesday, 16 September through Saturday, 19 September, drawing national and club teams across multiple divisions and weight categories. The event structure separated club competitions from the world championship finals, with club matches filling the earlier portion of the week and the title bouts contested on Friday and Saturday.
South Africa’s men’s U23 squad, competing in the 600 kilogram weight class, delivered a dominant performance to claim first place. Chinese Taipei finished second and the Netherlands third. The result placed South Africa at the top of an internationally competitive field that included teams from Basque Country, China, Germany, Italy, Scotland, Sweden, Belgium, England, Ireland, Lithuania, Pakistan, Switzerland, and Zimbabwe.
The women’s divisions told a more varied story. South Africa’s women’s U23 team, competing at 500 kilograms, secured third place behind Chinese Taipei in first and Basque Country in second. In the 540 kilogram women’s senior finals, Chinese Taipei again took top honours, with Sweden second and Basque Country third. South Africa finished sixth in that category.
Meanwhile, the men’s senior and mixed divisions produced results spread across several nations. Switzerland won the 640 kilogram men’s senior finals ahead of England and the Netherlands. In the senior mixed 580 kilogram category, Belgium finished first, South Africa second, and Germany third.
Domestic participation was substantial. Approximately 20 clubs from across South Africa competed, with representation from the Eden district including Hartenbos, Oudtshoorn, and Riversdale. The two-tier format allowed clubs to measure themselves against both domestic and international opposition before the world championship rounds.
The Hartenbos Amphitheatre hosted the full span of competition without incident, positioning the Western Cape as a workable venue for large-scale international sporting events. Whether the province will seek to attract further world-level tug-of-war competition remains an open question, particularly given the minister’s visible enthusiasm for the outcome.