Okinawa, Japan. (December 8, 2024): Who came up with the ridiculous idea of two groups of people on opposite ends of a rope pulling against each other? In this photo by Lance Corporal Aaliyah Hunt, Marines and Sailors compete in a tug-of-war contest, a “game” that dates back centuries.

Historians say the game originates from ancient ceremonies and cults in Egypt, Burma, and India and similar contests appeared in Japan, Korea, Hawaii, and South America. The earliest evidence of the tug of war in Western Europe is around 1000 AD in Scandinavia and Germany in what were called “power games.” Tug of war contests can even be traced to the courts of Chinese Emperors in Mongolia and Turkey.

Today’s tug of war community is serious about the sport and there are rules. Tug-of-war contests are held between two teams of eight competitors and the rope must be forty yards long exactly. The Judge (yes, one is required) issues three commands, “Pick up the rope,” “Take the string,” and finally “Pull.” The contest is decided by the best two out of three pulls.

Don’t think there isn’t a great deal of strategy involved either. The best athletes of each team are usually the ones first in line, acting as “anchor,” followed in size until the last person who wraps the rope around their body. The rules say the combined weight of these members should not exceed the weight determined for their particular category. The judge can even call fouls or issue disqualifications for misbehavior in a match.

Tug of war was even an Olympic sport from 1900 to 1920 but was removed along with thirty other sports for lack of interest. Matches started up again in 1960 when the English established the Tug of War Association. In 1999 the Tug of War International Federation , of which the Tug of War Association is a member, filed suit to demand the sport’s return to the Olympic Games.

To tug of war enthusiasts, this is a serious sport.