Hoylake RNLI to take on Hoylake Sailing Club in traditional Boxing Day Tug o’War

The event is free to watch and the perfect way to blow away the Christmas cobwebs. It takes place at 12 midday on Friday 26 December outside Hoylake RNLI lifeboat station on North Parade, followed by refreshments in Hoylake Sailing Club.

The friendly competition was established in 1972 by Arthur Slater of Hoylake Sailing Club and Hoylake RNLI Coxswain Danny Triggs. Over 50 years later, it is now a cherished festive favourite in the local community calendar.

Hundreds of spectators gather each year to watch the two teams battle it out for the coveted Slater Trophy: a small teapot that bears the name of the winning team stretching back to the start of the competition.

This year’s event follows the sad passing of Terry Slater in October. Terry’s husband Arthur co-founded the tournament and she had presented the trophy bearing her family’s name each year to the winning team. The tournament will continue in tribute to them both.

The humble trophy started life in the boardroom of Cammell Laird shipbuilders in the 1960s when the Polaris programme’s Resolution-class submarines were under construction in Birkenhead. The teapot was thrown out, dented and dull, into a McDermott’s sprout box and 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 'Lifeboat'. So began over five decades of local competition, normally celebrated afterwards with a toast to the participants in the Sailing Club.

Donations will be welcomed from visitors at any of the collection points in support of the charity’s lifesaving mission over the Christmas period.

RNLI lifeboat crews across the UK and Ireland will be on call 24/7 throughout the Christmas period. On average, RNLI lifeboats launch over 100 times during the Christmas period every year. In 2024, Hoylake RNLI’s volunteers were called out on Christmas Eve.

Whatever winter weather throws at them, RNLI volunteers will be ready to battle the elements to save lives at sea. These rescues, and others all year round, are only made possible by the RNLI’s generous supporters. Your own Christmas gift to the RNLI will keep the charity’s crews prepared and protected, helping to fund the essential kit, training and equipment.

To make a donation to the RNLI’s Christmas Appeal, and help the charity to continue its lifesaving work, visit: RNLI.org/WinterAppeal

Media contacts

For more information, please contact:

Dan Whiteley, Hoylake RNLI Lifeboat Press Officer on 07799 851 316 or email [email protected]

Claire Fitzpatrick-Smith, RNLI Regional Communications Manager on 07977 728 315 or email [email protected]

RNLI Press Office on 01202 336789

Key facts about the RNLI

The RNLI is the charity that 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 146,700 lives.

Learn more about the RNLI

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Contacting the RNLI - public enquiries

Members of the public may contact the RNLI on 0300 300 9990 (UK) or 1800 991802 (Ireland) or by email.