Page 51 - 1RHA 2024

1st Regiment Royal Horse Artillery
The 2024 Tug Of War (TOW) season was bleak for 1RHA due to operational commitments, exercises and other commitments. No 1RHA Team had been on the Army circuit all season until the day prior to The Gunners Championship when Bdr Birkett who had just returned from OP CABRIT highlighted the Gunners Championship couldn’t be missed and something needed to be done.
He single handedly grabbed a 1RHA team consisting of fellow B Battery SP who had only just returned from OP CABRIT, SP from Ch TP due to deploy to OP CABRIT and pullers from the Army Ladies to form both male and female teams who competed in five weight categories on the day.
The team were very nervous because they had no prior training as a team and all who have ever tried TOW know the sport is more than just a test of physical strength; it is a sport that embodies teamwork, strategy, and men- tal toughness. Each pull is a collective effort, requiring precise coordination and underlying determination but despite the early on nerves the 16 1RHA TOW warriors were victorious and came away with four trophies:
• 520 kg female winners
• 4 x 4 runners up
• 600 kg mixed runners up • 560 kg female runners up
This is a brilliant result for the team and has certainly set the starting point when 1RHA fully return to the Army TOW circuit in the 2025 season.
Sgt Broatch, Bdr Birkett, LBdr Rutter and Gnr Hadley have all been selected for the Gunner team since the Gunners Championship and are set to compete in the Inter Corps Championships in late July 2024.
Gnr Hadley and Gnr Rutter have also been competing within the Army Ladies tug of war squad this season. At the national championships, Gnr Hadley competed in the 520kg, 540kg and 560kg category. Gnr Rutter competed in the 520kg and 540kg. The team achieved silver in the 520kg and bronze in both the 540kg and 560kg catego- ries, qualifying to represent England at the British and Irish championships in August 2024.
Tug of War Staff Sergeant S Broatch
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