Hoylake RNLI and Sailing Club to go head-to-head in annual Boxing Day Tug O’War

The friendly competition was established in 1972 by Arthur Slater of Hoylake Sailing Club and then RNLI Coxswain Danny Triggs.

Since the tradition began, hundreds of onlookers have gathered outside the Sailing Club to watch the two teams battle it out in the sand for the coveted Slater Trophy; a small teapot which bears the name of the winning team stretching back 45 years.

This humble trophy started life in the boardroom of Cammell Laird shipbuilders during the 1960s when the Polaris programme’s Resolution-class nuclear submarines were under construction in Birkenhead. It was thrown out, dented and dull, into a McDermott’s sprout box which found its way to Hoylake.

After the inaugural Tug O’War tournament in 1972, the teapot was discovered, polished and engraved with the name of the first winning team - the Lifeboats. So began over 4 decades of friendly competition, often celebrated with a festive toast to the participants!

RNLI Coxswain Andy Dodd said: “It’s great to see what started out as a bit of fun has become a meaningful event in the community’s calendar. A tug of war is such a simple thing, but it’s so entertaining. I can barely remember a Boxing Day without it and it gets bigger and better every year!”

The event is free to watch and a great opportunity to walk off the Christmas lunch! RNLI volunteers will be collecting on the promenade so that members of the public can show their support for the lifeboat station whilst enjoying the Tug O’War.

The Royal National Lifeboat Institution relies on charitable donations and support from their local communities in order for its volunteer crews to continually fulfil search and rescue operations and save lives at sea.

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For more information please telephone Victoria Phipps, RNLI Volunteer Lifeboat Press Officer on 07709 391 253 or email [email protected]. Eleri Roberts, RNLI Regional Media Officer on 07771941390 or email [email protected] or contact RNLI Public Relations on 01202 336789.

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The RNLI charity saves lives at sea. Its volunteers provide a 24-hour search and rescue service around the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland coasts. The RNLI operates 238 lifeboat stations in the UK and Ireland and more than 240 lifeguard units on beaches around the UK and Channel Islands. The RNLI is independent of Coastguard and government and depends on voluntary donations and legacies to maintain its rescue service. Since the RNLI was founded in 1824, its lifeboat crews and lifeguards have saved over 146,000 lives.

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