THE sport of tug of war comes to Great Yarmouth over the next bank holiday and promises fun-filled entertainment, as well as blood, sweat and tears.Yarmouth is hosting the annual Inter Counties competition, organised by the Tug of War Federation of Great Britain, and it's chairman, David Ling of Southtown.

THE sport of tug of war comes to Great Yarmouth over the next bank holiday and promises fun-filled entertainment, as well as blood, sweat and tears.

Yarmouth is hosting the annual Inter Counties competition, organised by the Tug of War Federation of Great Britain, and it's chairman, David Ling of Southtown.

“The sport used to be an Olympic sport,” explained David, 58. “And there are moves to get it back in there again.”

The event is on May Bank Holiday Sunday, May 24 at Broadland & Yarmouth RFC's ground in Cobholm.

Already eight teams have signed up from Staffordshire, Yorkshire, Buckinghamshire, Sussex and Leicestershire with four more possibles - including the sole Norfolk hope from Woodton.

Tug of war isn't a case of pitting a group of people against another group and each getting old of a rope and tugging like mad. It's an art and a technical sport and there are strict guidelines in place to ensure fair play.

For instance, there are seven different weights for the men pullers and two weights for the four men and four women teams, similar to boxing categories.

This year is the 25th anniversary of the Tug of War Federation of Great Britain and it is hoped the competition in Yarmouth will result in more teams being formed - especially in Norfolk.

As well as the action-packed contests, there will be refreshments and a licensed bar.

Anyone interested in forming a team, or wanting more details, can contact David on 01493 300223 or log on to www.tugofwarfederation.co.uk or www.theropemag.com