Written by Rob Scott-23 March 2023 Games Report
Doctors Rob Scott, Chef de Mission Match Report – Tug of War World Indoor Championships, 8-11 March 2023, Parkgate, Northern Ireland
TWIF, once again, laid on a well-organised, smooth-running event, and as always, it was a pleasure to be there to help out. My colleague Ranita Rasman, who was understandably nervous, was introduced by me to the main organising committee. They very quickly put her at ease, and by the end of the event, she was almost part of the TWIF team and had a clear understanding of the techniques and rules of Tug of War!
The event was held in a “converted” indoor bowls arena which turned out to be a fantastic space. Our team set up position was such that all the athletes had to pass by us to get to the competition floor, so our exposure was huge – as was their usage of us. TWIF has now got a flag for us so we can advertise our presence very easily. There is still some initial reticence to use us, but once a country has started coming, they generally all follow suit. Their reticence may be because they do not always understand that we are there for them and our service is free.
We met the Swedish delegation, who are hosting the next Indoor Championships in 2024, and it was good to be able to explain to them what we needed and how we worked, and a number of suggestions were made, which I hope we will see implemented. My main suggestion is that our presence is made clear to the athletes (not just the officials), and the fact that we are free – to all – could perhaps be better published.
Anton Rabe, the President of TWIF, is retiring in April, and his successor will be announced then. He has been a great advocate for us and always introduces us at the team briefing. I have known him since my first Tug of War in 2010, and I wish him well in his well-earned retirement. It is almost certain that I know his successor quite well, so the handover for us should be trouble-free. My thanks, as always, goes to the Secretary of TWIF, Maaike Hornstra, who constantly smiles and makes it all happen with apparent ease. We have a great professional relationship, and she is also now a good friend.
As far as chiropractic is concerned, our workload went through the usual troughs and peaks with a slow start mounting to a crescendo on Days 2 and 3, but on average, we saw 25 people per day. The Basque country seems to have embraced chiropractic with open arms, as they represented almost 50% of our patients. We treated a total of 96 people with a further 26 repeat visits – almost 25% of the athlete population.
Areas of treatment/complaint were largely in line with other Tug of War events, although the indoor version produces slightly different injuries as there is more stress on the calves and quads. Outdoor is more about tibialis anterior and hamstrings.
My thanks to Dynamic Tape, Mueller Sports for the tape and Renita for her hard work and diligence and my thanks to TWIF for making us welcome and once again letting us into their family.
