There will be three schools teams representing South Africa at the World Championships in Nottingham, England in September, following the completion of the recent 2025 Under-19 Tug-of-War Nationals, writes MARK LEMKE.
Qualifying for the global showpiece were the Under-19 girls team from Melkbosstrand High School, the Under-19 boys from Hoër Landbouskool Oakdale and the Under-19 mixed side from Drostdy High School. All three two schools are in the Western Cape – from Cape Town, Riversdal and Worcester, respectively.
The girls team from Melbosstrand High School made history by winning gold at the national championships, not losing a single round all the way to the final and becoming the first girls team from the school to be selected for the World Championships. South Africa has previously won a gold and a bronze at the World Championships in this category and the side from Melkbos will be looking to match the success of the teams that came before them.
The boys from Hoër Landbouskool Oakdale are no strangers to the world stage. They have competed in 14 World Championships and have been crowned champions for the past three years to take their total to eight golds at the event. After winning the 2025 Nationals, Oakdale will be looking to make it four in a row on the world stage by bringing home another gold medal to South Africa.
The mixed side from Drostdy High School, made up of four boys and four girls with two reserves, picked up a gold medal at the national championships which will send them to England in September. The mixed team last competed at the World Championships in 2019, where they won gold. They are back after a six-year absence and determined to pick up where they left off.
These three school teams all have high expectations of what they can achieve at the 2025 World Championships. With the competition starting on 4 September, the sides have four months to prepare as they look to make South Africa proud.
