When tug of war becomes a big festival for students and young workers

Tug of war – a game that helps connect the community.

Dinh Xuan Thien is a diligent employee of a textile company, accustomed to the repetitive noise of sewing machines and industrial fans in the warehouse every day. One day, that hard and somewhat boring life was broken when Thien and other colleagues of the company, including managers, team leaders and workers, decided to register to participate in the 2025 Youth Tug of War Championship.

Originally a familiar folk game recognized by UNESCO as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2015, tug of war has been elevated to a large-scale sports competition with the 2025 Rockstar Energy Drink Cup Youth Tug of War Championship. Taking place from October 14 to December 6, 2025, including 8 competition stages, with 7 regional qualifying rounds and 1 final round, the tournament brings together more than 100 teams with nearly 1,500 athletes and about 20,000 spectators at the competition venues.

Before the competition day, Thien said the whole team was nervous. They got up at 6:30 to leave, and by the time they arrived and checked in to receive their gifts, everyone felt more relaxed and ready to step into the arena. Thien and his teammates' opponents were students, but he didn't think this would be an easy match.

“Many people think that tug of war is a sport of strength. At first, we thought so too, and were confident that we would defeat our opponents. However, we soon realized that tug of war also requires tactics, reasonable team formation, and synchronous, rhythmic coordination,” Thien said.

Thien and his team were excited on the tug of war field.

Hoang Ngoc Minh, a second-year student at Dai Nam University, shares the same view. “The way of distributing force, willpower and solidarity are also very important,” Minh said, “So tug of war is also a game of intelligence and team spirit. Students have the same chance of winning as workers.”

Similar to Thien's team, Minh and his friends overcame the time barrier, looking for gaps in their study schedules to practice. According to Minh, the 2025 Youth Tug of War Championship provides an opportunity for everyone to improve their sportsmanship, exercise, and exchange, increasing solidarity.

Of course, it would be great if the team went far and won the prize. “The prize is the motivation, the destination of sports competitions,” Minh smiled when talking about the total prize value of the tournament up to 540 million VND, along with more than 1.2 billion VND in gifts for the audience and sideline activities.

But both Minh and Thien expressed that everyone was not under heavy pressure in terms of achievements, because the journey at the 2025 Youth Tug of War Championship was a valuable experience, when everyone had a beautiful time together, sharing every drop of sweat and laughter.

As Mr. Pham Ngoc Tuan - representative of the Organizing Committee emphasized, the tournament is not only a competition, but also a youth festival, where students and young workers can exchange, experience, and spread the spirit of "strength - endurance - solidarity" of the new generation. Here, each pull not only demonstrates physical strength and tactics, but also symbolizes will, solidarity and belief - the lasting values of Vietnamese culture.

Source: https://tienphong.vn/khi-keo-co-tro-thanh-ngay-hoi-lon-cua-sinh-vien-va-cong-nhan-tre-post1795433.tpo