That event, won by Corrington, representing England, was on the Saturday.
On the Sunday, in the 680 kg club event, St Ouen again finished seventh out of eight and, in the lighter 640 kg category, they finished 13th out of 14.
‘Overall I was pleased,’ said coach Mick Vibert.
‘We’ve been training twice a week on our ground at the back of St Ouen’s Church since May, and you have to remember that the last time we competed was a year ago, in the same event.
Our problem last year, as well as this, has been lack of competition beforehand,’ he said.
‘We are the only tug-of-war club that exists, now, in Jersey, and the expense of competing on the mainland has meant that we haven’t been able to take part in any other UK tournaments.
‘So, overall, I was pleased to have won the number of ends we did.
In truth I didn’t expect to win any medals, when you consider we were taking on the likes of England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales.
‘And although we won’t be able to compete in any other UK competitions between now and the next UK championships, I don’t see any reason why we can’t send over a decent-sized team next year.’ Only a decade ago there were enough Island clubs to challenge St Ouen, but tug-of-war has since been in decline, although the westerners have attracted one new recruit, Glyn Monet, to their club in recent years.
So, to actually win any ends at all – each team pulls two ends at this level – says a great deal about the durability of the St Ouen Tug-of-War Club.
Squad: Michael Vibert (coach), David Whitel (judge), Desmond Nevitt, Paul Coutanche, John Munroe, Christian Vibert, Glyn Monet, Michael Rive, Daniel Le Bihan, Ian Le Maistre, Kenneth Rive.
