PORT BYRON, Ill. — Tugfest returned for its 2021 tug of war competition.
Illinois and Iowa battled it out in LeClaire and Port Byron. Illinois stationed in Port Byron while Iowa played in LeClaire. The rope spanned across the Mississippi river into each town.
The event brought in more than just locals.
“My family did it, my grandfather, my father, uncle. So I spent kind of a family thing,” Tug of war world championship player, Tim feller said.
Feller traveled from Wisconsin to watch the competition.
"We've driven as far as 11 hours in one day, to compete in tug of war. I've gone to 17 Different countries to compete. World Championships, European Championships."
After a year long break, teams spent extra time preparing for the event.
"We started training in May, like right after Memorial Day, we started training. We trained twice a week.” Player, Sara Jacobson said.
The competition had 11 different tug of war events, with 22 teams in total.
“This sport is very sportsman like. People don't get yelling, they don't get mad, you don't see anybody on the judges and you don't see anybody getting penalized for things,” said Feller. “We got high school kids, all the way up to someone who was 68.”
At the end, Illinois took home the win.