Teams from across England will try to tug their way to success at the West Mid Show this year in the national outdoor tug of war championships.

Teams of both men and women will compete for gold medals at the West Mid Show ground in Shrewsbury during the event, on June 21 and 22.

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The event is being organised by the Tug of War Association and the winning teams will go on to represent England at the World Championships, which will take place in Sweden in September.

Some of the teams participating took part in the 2007 European Championships, which were held in Minehead, Somerset, including the Sandhurst tug of war team, which won the gold medal in the men’s 560kg event.

Alan Knott, spokesman for the event, said: “We are very much looking forward to the championships this year.

“Not only do we have European champions taking part at the event, but we are also celebrating the 50th anniversary of the English Tug of War Association and it is a privilege to hold our 50th national championship at the West Midland Show.

“The tug of war sport used to be organised by the Amateur Athletic Association in the early 1900s, but it was not until 1958 when The Tug of War Association was formed to organise the sport independently.”

The sport used to be a part of the Olympic programme until 1920, but was phased out along with other sports, such as cricket and rugby to reduce the number of competitors at the games.

It means that Great Britain is still the reigning Olympic champions at tug of war.

Mr Knott said: “We hope some day that tug of war will once again be part of the Olympic programme.

“It is a true team sport and the ethics or determination, hard work, sportsmanship, and friendship are unrivalled in any other sport.

“We hope that people come along to watch the tug of war championships at the show to give our tug of war teams as much support as possible.”

For more information about the sport of tug of war, visit the Tug of War Association website at www.tugofwar.co.uk