The Olympic sport of tug-of-war | Life

On your marks, get set, up!” And the tug of war begins. For many years, tug-of-war was a popular event at school sports days and family reunions.

Okanagan towns and community groups had their own teams that competed for physical superiority and boasted about outdoing their defeated competitors, while those on the sidelines cheered and offered their advice and encouragement.

In the early 20th century, tug-of-war was a hotly contested event at five Olympic Games: 1900 (Paris), 1904 (St. Louis), 1908 (London), 1912 (Stockholm) and 1920 (Antwerp). The 1916 Olympic Games, to be held in Berlin, were canceled because of World War I (1914-18). England and the United States heavily dominated the Olympics tug of war, sharing the majority of medals awarded at those five Olympics.

Canada did not send tug-of-war teams to any of the Olympics. Nevertheless, the tug of war was popular in this country. It had a large following in Kelowna, perhaps a reflection of the community’s ‘Englishness’, as some of the British-born commoners eagerly emulated what was popular in ‘mother England’, including tug-of-war.

In the early 20th century and well into this century, tug-of-war was a well-known event, conducted at the ‘fun’ level and extending to what might be considered ‘semi-professional’. This is evidenced by the two photographs provided by the Kelowna Public Archives that accompany this article.

The first photograph shows three well-dressed Edwardian women and a man holding a tug-of-war rope. This picture, taken around 1910, was taken at the Cadder House, the home of the Thomas Willing “TW” Stirling family in Kelowna. Although the names of the three women and the man are not known with certainty, it is likely that they were members of the Stirlings or friends of that family. The photographer was George Henry Ernest “Huddy” Hudson who left us a treasure trove of photographs of the Okanagan Valley views, life and culture in the early 20th century.

The second image, also from around 1910, takes the sport of tug of war to a more serious level and shows five men with a small trophy presented to them in recognition of their success in their chosen sport. The three men in the back row were Archie Edwards (1884-1961), Ian McCrae (1888?-1951?), and Archie Johnson (1889-1977); The men in the front row were Maxwell “Max” Jenkins (1881–1972) and Simon Tackett “Sam” Elliott (1864–1931).

Tug of War caught the attention of print media in the Okanagan Valley. Kelowna’s two weekly newspapers often included the results of the tug-of-war in their coverage of local sporting and social activities. Tug of war has been a mainstay of many local sports days, including Victoria Day (24 May).

The May 27, 1909 issue of The Orchard City Record (page one) reported on that year’s Victoria Day celebrations, which took place in Kelowna City Park:

“…The tug of war was the next (event) between the fire department team and the police team. The fire brigade won, but had to fight the football team for the decisive victory. The result was in favor of the fire brigade, who carried the honor before them…”

The Thursday, August 3, 1911 edition of The Orchard City Record (page 1) reported the tug-of-war results of a recent regatta and sports day at Naramata:

“A tug-of-war was arranged, and here (Naramata) a good sport was offered, of an impromptu nature, but nonetheless greatly enjoyed by all. The competing teams were Naramata Sawmill, Penticton, Kelowna and Naramata. The mill and Kelowna won their heats and eventually the Kelowna boys were all out and presented with a very nice trophy for their steadfast pull.”

It is tempting to speculate that the photograph of the five Kelowna men and their tug-of-war trophy could be the event that took place in Naramata in the summer of 1911. Describing their winning trophy as “a very pretty cup” makes that possibility all the more enticing, but further research is needed.

Men – usually five or ten in number – selected for the tug-of-war teams were of course among the fittest and therefore best suited to take on the challenge of the sport. Local attorney John Ford Burne (1867-1938) was a perennial favorite as a member of the Kelowna tug of war team. Known to friends as “Fat” – a reference to his size – John Burne was often called upon to be the anchorman of the Kelowna team, with the conclusion that it was very difficult to defeat a team led by a man of his impressive stature was carried .

Max Jenkins, who can be seen in one of the photos accompanying this article, was a member of the Kelowna Fire Department for many years. He was in very good shape and was widely considered Kelowna’s strongest man.

This claim is made credible when Max Jenkins was asked to move a heavy piano up a flight of stairs.

Jenkins surveyed the situation and realized that moving a heavy piano up the steep flight of stairs required an extra-human effort. His solution to the problem was to get on your hands and knees at the bottom of the stairs. Max Jenkins enlisted the help of some of his friends and climbed the stairs, crawling on his hands and knees, the piano strapped tightly to his back.

The piano reached its destination on the second floor, and Max Jenkins added another arrow to his quiver of stories celebrating its incredible strength.

“WorkSafeBC” would definitely not have been impressed.

The author thanks Tara Hurley, Kelowna Public Archivist, for her kind assistance in locating photographs for this article.

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This article is part of a series submitted by the Kelowna Branch, Okanagan Historical Society.

Further information is welcome at PO Box 22105, Capri PO, Kelowna, BC, V1Y 9N9.