Tug of War International Federation

The Tug of War International Federation (TWIF) is the international governing body for the sport of tug of war.

Tug of War International Federation

Tug of War International Federation Logo
Formation	1960
Type	Sport
Headquarters	Jellum, Netherlands
Membership	75 countries
President	Dan McCarthy (Cork, Ireland)
Website	www.tugofwar-twif.org

Members

Regions

1. Asia: 22
2. Oceania: 1
3. Africa: 12
4. Americas:
5. Europe:

Member countries

Due to national organization and historical rivalry, certain countries are listed below as individuals, rather than as members of a larger political union. For example, the Home Countries compete as separate nations, and the Basque Country has its own team.^[1]

Country	Member name	Ref
Australia	Australian Tug of War Association	[2]
Azerbaijan	Azerbaijan Tug of War Sports Society Public Association	[2]
Basque Country		[2]
Belgium	Belgische Touwtrek Bond	[2]
Brazil	Brazil Tug of War Association	[2]
Brunei Darussalam		[2]
Cambodia		[2]
Cameroon	Tug of War Cameroonian Federation	[2]
Canada	Canadian Tug of War Association	[2]
Channel Islands		[2]
China	Chinese Tug of War Association	[2]
Chinese Taipei	Chinese Taipei Tug of War Association	[2]
Colombia		[2]
Democratic Republic of Congo	TUG OF WAR DRC COD	[2]
Czech Republic	Czech Republic Tug of War Association	[2]
Denmark		[2]
Dominican Republic	Dominican Republic Tug of War Association	[2]
England	English Tug of War Association	[3]
Estonia		[2]
Finland		[2]
France	French Tug of War Association	[2]
Gambia		[2]
Georgia		[2]
Germany	Deutscher Rasenkraftsport- und Tauzieh-Verband [de]	[2]
Ghana	Ghana Tug of War Association	[2]
Greece	Hellenic Tug of War Federation	[2]
Haiti		[2]
Hong Kong		[2]
Hungary	Hungarian Tug of War Association	[2]
India	Tug of War Federation of India	[2]
Iran	Iran Tug of War Association	[2]
Ireland	Irish Tug of War Association	[4]
Israel	Israel Tug of War Association	[2]
Italy	Federazione Italiana Sport del Tiro alla Fune	[5]
Japan	Japan Tug of War Federation	[2]
Kenya	Kenya Tug of War Association	[2]
Korea	Korean Tug of War Association	[2]
Kyrgyzstan		[2]
Laos		[2]
Latvia	Latvian Tug of War Association	[2]
Lithuania		[2]
Macau	Tug of War General Association Macao, China	[2]
Malaysia		[2]
Malta	Malta tug of war Association	[2]
Mauritius		[2]
Mongolia		[2]
Morocco		[2]
Myanmar		[2]
Namibia	Namibia Tug of War Association	[2]
Nepal	Nepal Tug of War Association	[2]
Netherlands	Nederlandse Touwtrek Bond	[2]
Nigeria	Tug of War Association of Nigeria	[2]
Northern Ireland	Northern Ireland Tug of War Association	[2]
Pakistan	Pakistan Tug of War Federation	[2]
Philippines	Philippines Tug of War Association	[2]
Poland		[2]
Romania		[2]
Russia		[2]
Scotland	Scottish Tug of War Association	[6]
Serbia		[2]
Sierra Leone		[2]
Singapore		[2]
Slovakia		[2]
South Africa	South African Tug of War Federation	[7]
Sri Lanka		[2]
Sweden	Svenska Dragkampforbundet [sv]	[2]
Switzerland	Schweizer Tauziehverband	[2]
Thailand	Tug of War Thailand Association	[2]
Turkey		[2]
Ukraine		[2]
US	US Amateur Tug of War Association, Inc	[2]
Vietnam		[2]
Wales	Welsh Tug of War Association	[2]
Zambia		[2]
Zimbabwe	Zimbabwe Tug of War Association	[2]

Competitions

TWIF organizes world championships for national teams, U23 and club competition. Those are:

• TWIF Outdoor World Championships (biennially, even years) https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tauzieh-Weltmeisterschaft
• TWIF Indoor World Championships (biennially, even years) https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tauzieh-Weltmeisterschaft_(Halle)
• TWIF Outdoor Clubs Championships (biennially, even years)
• TWIF Indoor Clubs Championships (biennially, even years)
• TWIF Outdoor Junior Championships
• TWIF Indoor Junior Championships
• TWIF Outdoor U23 Championships
• TWIF Indoor U23 Championships

Since the first Baltic Games in 1964, the TWIF has organized the following competitions:

• Since 1965: European Outdoor Championships (every two years)
• Since 1975: World Outdoor Championships (every two years since 1986)
• Since 1981: World Games – Tug of War (every four years)
• Since 1991: World Indoor Championships (every two years)

European Tug of War Federation (ETWF)

On August 12, 2021, the European Tug of War Federation (ETWF), based in Sweden, was founded by several European federations at the headquarters of the Polish Tug of War Federation. Its goals include improving communication between tug-of-war nations in Europe, introducing new disciplines such as beach tug-of-war and individual tug-of-war, which already exist in Sweden, and advancing the goal of returning tug-of-war to the Olympics.^[8][9]

Currently (as of September 1, 2024), the following 15 nations are members of the ETWF: Ireland, Azerbaijan, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Germany, Israel, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Poland, Russia, Serbia, Sweden, Turkey and Ukraine.

Asian Tug of War Federation (ATWF)

14th Asian Indoor Tug of War Championships was held in Thailand at 2019.

See also

• Sport portal

• Tug of war at the Summer Olympics
• Tug of war at the World Games
• Association of IOC Recognised International Sports Federations