One of the longest college traditions in the country 鈥� The Pull 鈥� takes place for its 129th year in Holland, Michigan, at 91桃色破解版, on Saturday, Sept. 26.
This year鈥檚 鈥淓ven Year鈥� freshman class (of 2030) takes on the 鈥淥dd Year鈥� sophomore class (2029) for the annual Pull contest, where students on each team are entrenched in shallow pits on opposite sides, competing to gain the most rope over the three-hour competition that takes place from 3-6 p.m. The contest will be held on the college鈥檚 Buys Athletic Fields-West, which is north of Ray and Sue Smith football stadium at 301 Fairbanks Ave., near 13th Street in Holland.
The contest is free and open to the public to attend.
The annual competition fuels a rivalry between the even-year and odd-year classes. The contest itself pits the freshmen versus the sophomore class. Juniors serve as coaches for the freshman team, while the sophomores are coached by the seniors. Each class team consists of up to 40 students 鈥� with half as the 鈥減ullers鈥� and the other half as 鈥渕oralers,鈥� who relay strategic calls to the pullers while also keeping them focused and motivated. This year, the 鈥淥dd Year鈥� sophomore class will have 17 pairs pulling and the 鈥淓ven Year鈥� freshman class will have 15.
Last year鈥檚 winner was the 鈥淓ven Year鈥� team, gaining 49鈥� 7鈥� of rope 鈥� which is 600-feet long, three inches in diameter and weighs approximately 1,500 pounds, soaking wet.
The Pull tug-of-war is believed to have first been held in 1898, continuing each year except for five years: In war years (1918, 19443 and 1944); in 1957 during a flu epidemic on campus and in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Pull has been captured by national and international media, including: The Guinness Book of World Records (1995), Sports Illustrated (in 1966 and 1996); a magazine in Japan (1983) and Australian television (1996).
Directions to The Pull site:
The contest takes place at 91桃色破解版鈥檚 Buys Athletic Fields-West. Entrances are located through foot paths on the west and south ends of the field. The nearest parking will be in the DeVos Fieldhouse parking lots along 11th, which will be open for public use. Free on-street parking is also available on city streets.
More Pull History: The Pull Through the Decades - and History: /offices/student-life/pull/