Hoylake RNLI and Sailing Club to face off in Boxing Day Tug O’War tradition

A festive tradition is set to return to Hoylake this Boxing Day.

The annual Slater Trophy Tug O’War takes place at 12.00pm outside the Hoylake RNLI lifeboat station on North Parade, on Thursday 26 December.

The friendly competition was established in 1972 by Arthur Slater of Hoylake Sailing Club and Hoylake RNLI Coxswain Danny Triggs. It is now a firm festive fixture in the local community calendar, celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2022.

Hundreds of spectators now gather each year to watch the two teams battle it out for the coveted Slater Trophy: a small teapot that bears the name of the winning team stretching back to the start of the competition.

The humble trophy started life in the boardroom of Cammell Laird shipbuilders in the 1960s when the Polaris programme’s Resolution-class submarines were under construction in Birkenhead. The teapot was thrown out, dented and dull, into a McDermott’s sprout box and found its way to Hoylake.

After the inaugural Tug O’War tournament in 1972, the teapot was discovered, polished and engraved with the name of the first winning team – the ‘Lifeboat’. So began over five decades of local competition, normally celebrated afterwards with a toast to the participants in the Sailing Club.

Donations to support the lifesaving work of the RNLI’s volunteer crews will be welcomed from visitors at any of the donation points. The charity celebrated its 200th anniversary in 2024 and is raising funds this Christmas to ensure future generations of lifesavers can continue the RNLI’s mission to save every one.

Over the last Christmas period, RNLI lifeboat crews across the UK and Ireland launched 120 times and saved the lives of two people. Whatever weather winter throws at them, RNLI crews are ready to battle the elements to save lives at sea. These rescues, and others all year round, are only made possible by the RNLI’s generous supporters. Your Christmas gift to the RNLI will keep the charity’s crews prepared and protected, helping to fund the essential kit, training and equipment.

To make a donation online to the RNLI’s Christmas Appeal and help the charity to continue its lifesaving work click here.

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