What it takes to make the team in all-girls tug-of-war
TAIPEI, Taiwan -- At the academically prestigious Jingmei Girls' Senior High School in Taipei, the tug-of-war team is busy winning international medals.
The girls are sweeping competitions despite being shorter than their foreign competitors and usually the youngest at major events like the Tug of War International Federation's matches.
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Led by coach Kuo Sheng since 2003, the team’s most recent haul brought home four gold and two silver medals in February from the TWIF's 2006 World Indoor Championships in the Netherlands.
“Tug of war is not popular nor is it an Olympic sport, but as long as you dedicate time to practice, you can still achieve good results,” Kuo told Mashable.
Making the team is another route for girls from low-income families in rural areas to enroll at Jingmei. However, tug-of-war doesn't qualify as an athletic scholarship, so the girls have a regular academic load on top of practices, unlike other sports teams at the school.
“They have less time to train and less time to rest,” said Kuo. “It’s just a trying situation.”
Lee has gone from 56 kg (124 pounds) to 66 kg (145 pounds), despite Taiwan’s social standard of beauty being set under 50 kg (110 pounds)
For 16-year-old Susan Huang, a freshman from Central Taiwan who has been training for tug-of-war since the third grade and whose goal is to make the national team, giving up is not an option. Enrollment eligibility is contingent on them staying on the team until graduation.
“My parents didn’t receive higher education,” said Huang. “They hope that I can go to a good school and get a good job in the future.”
Vicky Lee, the team’s 18-year-old captain, who only started training in the ninth grade, was recommended by her middle school teacher.
“I don’t think a lot of girls will choose this sport since they can’t accept having to gain weight or getting calloused hands,” Lee said.
Rigorous training
To make the weight class for competition, some members gain weight while others are required to slim down. Since joining the team, Lee has gone from 56 kg (124 pounds) to 66 kg (145 pounds), despite Taiwan’s social standard of beauty being set under 50 kg (110 pounds), regardless of height.
The team is encouraged to have dinner plus a late snack after practice. On the other end of the scale, Lee has seen a rising senior shrink from 103 kg (227 pounds) to 76 kg (168 pounds).
Every year in July, around 10 new team members are taken in after try-outs and the seniors on the team essentially become guardians to incoming freshman since it’s mandatory to live in dormitories provided by the school, bonding them like family.
The training under Coach Kuo is strict, exhausting and filled with lots of tears, leading to at least three or four students dropping out every season.
“We need the coach to be strict so we can improve,” Lee added. “Coach Kuo has a lot of pressure too, taking care of so many of us.”
Sisterhood of the rope
Team camaraderie, which both Huang and Lee mention with glee, is a sisterhood that helps them conquer tough days.
During this year’s training, the team consisted of 34 members. But for competition, only nine -- one is a reserve -- are picked.
On Fridays, when classes end two hours earlier than usual, the corridors are filled with scurrying feet rushing to their respective extracurricular clubs.
Starting at 3 p.m., the team, which goes through rigorous practices twice a day that end late at night, sets up for their warm up in the courtyard for outdoor practice, directly across from the school’s revered flag team and honor guard squad.
Every practice starts off with a warm-up, consisting of individual pulls, where a load of iron plates is lifted through a pulley system, sometimes reaching 70 kg (154 pounds) per person, rotating through at least eight sets. Group formation training follows, striking a balance between strength and technique.
The sheer perseverance, dedication and hard work shows on their severely calloused young hands and marks of rope burn on the side of their bodies.
For Kuo, the best part about coaching is being able to send the girls off to their desired colleges.
“At the end, getting a 'thank you' from them is enough for me,” he said.
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Victoria Ho is Mashable's Asia Editor, based in Singapore. She previously reported on news and tech at The Business Times, TechCrunch and ZDNet. When she isn't writing, she's making music with her band
