On Oct. 5, UTM kicked off this year’s Homecoming events with the first rounds of the Rope Pull competition at Pacer Pond.
The event continued every day at 4:00 pm with the exception of the championship matches which began at 3:30 pm on Oct. 9.
While it is unknown who actually started these extreme tug-of-war events, the first documented pull was in 1970. Rope Pull is very important to the Greek community on campus. Long practices and injuries are almost bound to happen each year.
In the early years of Rope Pull, there were hardly any rules. The one rule many alumni recall is the Spoon Rule, which stated the holes participants pulled from had to be dug with a spoon. Due to the many injuries Rope Pull can encompass, the rules the participants abide by now are for their safety.
Today, holes are 8 inches deep, 18 inches long and 8 inches wide. Teammates’ holes are exactly 4 feet from one another. The men pull against each for 20 minutes and the women pull for 8 minutes.
Charley Deal, Assistant Vice Chancellor of Alumni Relations, serves as the “pit boss” and makes sure the teams stay safe and legal.
The first competition of the week was between Chi Omega and Zeta Tau Alpha. Chi Omega won the match and landed their seat in the championship pull at the end of the week. Pull 2 was between Alpha Omicron Pi and Sigma Alpha. Sigma Alpha took tape and placed their advancement to Pull 3 on Tuesday.
The fraternities that started pulls on Monday were Sigma Alpha Epsilon and Sigma Phi Epsilon. Sigma Alpha Epsilon won and advanced to Pull 2 on Tuesday. Sigma Phi Epsilon moved to Pull 4 on Thursday for 3rd place.
On Tuesday in the sorority division, Alpha Delta Pi pulled against Sigma Alpha. Sigma Alpha won and advanced to the championship pull against Chi Omega. Alpha Delta Pi moved on to pull against Zeta Tau Alpha for 3rd place on Friday.
Pull 2 in the fraternity division consisted of Alpha Gamma Rho and Sigma Alpha Epsilon. Alpha Gamma Rho won and advanced on the championship pull. Pi Kappa Alpha and Kappa Alpha Order pulled second, and Pi Kappa Alpha won which allowed them to advance and pull against Alpha Gamma Rho.
Zeta Tau Alpha and Alpha Delta Pi pulled for 3rd place on Thursday. Zeta Tau Alpha beat Alpha Delta Pi and secured their spot.
On Oct. 9, Chi Omega took on Sigma Alpha and won the sorority division. Sigma Phi Epsilon took on Kappa Alpha Order and won for 3rd place as well. The pulls were accompanied by a big crowd and lots rain. Alpha Gamma Rho pulled Pi Kappa Alpha and won the fraternity division.
Sorority winners in order are Chi Omega in 1st place, Sigma Alpha with 2nd place, with 3rd place going to Zeta Tau Alpha.
In the fraternity division, Alpha Gamma Rho took home 1st place, followed by Pi Kappa Alpha in 2nd place, and Sigma Alpha Epsilon in 3rd.
