POINT PLEASANT BEACH – A friendly rivalry between two local towns has grown into a major fundraising event at the Jersey Shore.
The annual Manasquan Inlet Tug-of-War has been going strong for six years. Thousands came out to watch Manasquan and Point Pleasant Beach go head-to-head pulling a 1,200-foot rope across the Manasquan Inlet, which stretches to about 500 feet.
“The event was fantastic. The weather could not have been better,” event chairman Geoff Brown from the Manasquan Recreation Department said. “Every year we’re bringing in new people and it’s exciting. A tremendous event for both towns and both communities had a great time.”
The event consisted of about nine heats, with over 200 tuggers participating for the cause.
“For this year, we’ve probably had the best weather we’ve ever had. That resulted in an absolutely fantastic turn out. According to police estimated it was about 1,500 on each side. It was a really great day, our busiest event yet,” said event chairman Ryan Simunovich from Point Pleasant Beach Recreation.
During this year’s game, Point Pleasant Beach was leading 3-2 going into halftime. However, Manasquan won the last three heats to snag the win, 5-4.
“It came down to the last heat which was really exciting – Point Pleasant Beach High School football vs. Manasquan football. They tugged for almost 90 seconds, which was the longest tug of the day as well and ultimately, we lost on the beach side,” Simunovich said. “It was a culmination of a perfect day to come down to that last tug and really put a nice exclamation point on a great day for the Recreation Department and a great day for Make-A-Wish.”
Finishing it’s six year, Manasquan and Point Pleasant Beach are now tied for wins, each having three wins under their belts.
“It’s been a great back and forth over the past few years,” Simunovich added.
The winning team not only gets bragging rights, but a Mayor’s Trophy to celebrate the victory. All proceeds generated from the event will support the recreation departments of both Manasquan and Point Pleasant Beach.
In addition, the event incorporates the opportunity for participants to contribute to the Make-a-Wish New Jersey. In the past, they’ve raised around $15,000 for the cause.
“It’s been great each year, Make-A-Wish has been getting more and more involved as they are really seeing the benefits I think for exposure to their organization,” Simunovich said. “It kind of nicely ties home the whole message of what we’re doing. Every year Make-A-Wish has a bunch of their volunteers come to raise money and also increase awareness to what they do every day, which is just amazing work.”
Simunovich expressed how he’s excited to see the event grow to offer such a unique experience to its participants.
“Each year it’s getting better, and we’re still (learning) how to navigate a 500-foot tug-of-war across two towns,” Simunovich said. “Our hope is that we continue to learn how to give to Make-A-Wish as much as possible. And really to make sure our teams are having a great experience when they’re there. Probably the next level of an event for us overall is making sure the teams are really excited about coming year over year.”
“The vendors, the food, the band, the DJ, everything comes together really well and I think the event continues to improve,” Simunovich added.
