MONROE - Tugging with the rope at his hip and digging his heels into the dirt is a common scene that plays out most weekends in the summer for Adam Grunder.
Grunder, 28, of Monroe, is one of 23 members on the Mount Vernon Tug-of-War team. The Mount Vernon team is primed for the national Tug-of-War Championships at 10 a.m. Saturday at the Green County Fair. The winner in each class will advance to the US Tug-of-War World Championships at Olin Park in Madison at the end of August. The championship event is sponsored by Colony Brands, which also sponsors the Mount Vernon team.
"In all of the sports I have been in, there has been one star person who can make the team shine," Grunder said. "(But) it takes eight guys doing the same thing and working together. I enjoy it because it's more about dedication and teamwork. It's more meaningful because it's in Monroe, and I'm from Monroe."
The Mount Vernon team started as a tug-of-war club in 1926 and joined the US Tug-of-War Association in 1973.
"It's one of the oldest sports known to man," Grunder said. "It's been in competition since the Egyptians. It's a show of strength and endurance you don't see anywhere else."
Grunder is excited Colony Brands is sponsoring the six-team national Tug-of-War Championships. The Mount Vernon team is expected to compete in the 580-kilo, 640-kilo, 700-kilo, catchweight and co-ed classes of the competition. The Mount Vernon 580-kilo team went to Switzerland and finished fourth place in the world competition.
"We have been training pretty hard," Grunder said. "We have a dedicated group of guys. I expect it to be a pretty good competition. I feel like we should be able to do well in all of those classes."
Each tug-of-war team requires eight participants. In the co-ed class, they use four men and four women. It's more than just luck when it comes to tug-of-war.
"The big commitment to the sport is the technique," he said. "To be able to perform you must have the right technique. You need to have the rope on your hip and dig your heels in. If the ground is soft, it may not work as well. With different ground conditions it may pull differently. You need to have hand strength and endurance."
Setting up the order for a tug-of-war competition requires more than just eight people going out and grabbing the rope. If it's a high-to-low-type rope, the Mount Vernon team puts the taller power pullers in the front to use them like a wedge, Grunder said. The 580-kilo team has pullers of various heights and strength dispersed on the rope.
The pullers on the Mount Vernon team have targeted weights they want to get down to so they can be the most successful in competition. Grunder runs the morning before each competition. He watches what he eats and monitors the water he drinks.
"I'm always eating healthy," Grunder said. "I make sure I'm as close to the weight I need to be. We set goals (for weight) for ourselves and make sure that happens."
Grunder, 28, of Monroe, is one of 23 members on the Mount Vernon Tug-of-War team. The Mount Vernon team is primed for the national Tug-of-War Championships at 10 a.m. Saturday at the Green County Fair. The winner in each class will advance to the US Tug-of-War World Championships at Olin Park in Madison at the end of August. The championship event is sponsored by Colony Brands, which also sponsors the Mount Vernon team.
"In all of the sports I have been in, there has been one star person who can make the team shine," Grunder said. "(But) it takes eight guys doing the same thing and working together. I enjoy it because it's more about dedication and teamwork. It's more meaningful because it's in Monroe, and I'm from Monroe."
The Mount Vernon team started as a tug-of-war club in 1926 and joined the US Tug-of-War Association in 1973.
"It's one of the oldest sports known to man," Grunder said. "It's been in competition since the Egyptians. It's a show of strength and endurance you don't see anywhere else."
Grunder is excited Colony Brands is sponsoring the six-team national Tug-of-War Championships. The Mount Vernon team is expected to compete in the 580-kilo, 640-kilo, 700-kilo, catchweight and co-ed classes of the competition. The Mount Vernon 580-kilo team went to Switzerland and finished fourth place in the world competition.
"We have been training pretty hard," Grunder said. "We have a dedicated group of guys. I expect it to be a pretty good competition. I feel like we should be able to do well in all of those classes."
Each tug-of-war team requires eight participants. In the co-ed class, they use four men and four women. It's more than just luck when it comes to tug-of-war.
"The big commitment to the sport is the technique," he said. "To be able to perform you must have the right technique. You need to have the rope on your hip and dig your heels in. If the ground is soft, it may not work as well. With different ground conditions it may pull differently. You need to have hand strength and endurance."
Setting up the order for a tug-of-war competition requires more than just eight people going out and grabbing the rope. If it's a high-to-low-type rope, the Mount Vernon team puts the taller power pullers in the front to use them like a wedge, Grunder said. The 580-kilo team has pullers of various heights and strength dispersed on the rope.
The pullers on the Mount Vernon team have targeted weights they want to get down to so they can be the most successful in competition. Grunder runs the morning before each competition. He watches what he eats and monitors the water he drinks.
"I'm always eating healthy," Grunder said. "I make sure I'm as close to the weight I need to be. We set goals (for weight) for ourselves and make sure that happens."