POINT PLEASANT BEACH – Despite having to reschedule due to the rainy weather, hundreds came out to watch the fourth annual intercoastal tug-of-war between Manasquan and Point Pleasant Beach.
The friendly rivalry consists of pulling a 1,200-foot rope across the Manasquan Inlet which stretches to about 500 feet. The winning team not only gets bragging rights, but a Mayor’s Trophy to celebrate the victory.
“It’s all about having a unique fun experience that not a lot of other towns can pull off,” event chairman Geoff Brown from the Manasquan Recreation Department said. “It’s also all about raising money for local organizations, for both towns’ Recreation Departments and of course Make-A-Wish. The work they do there is unbelievable.”
The event consisted of about nine heats, with nearly 300 tuggers participating for the cause. Point Pleasant Beach Recreation Committee Chair Lauren Schule said despite having to change the date last minute, crowds still joined to watch the tug-of-war.
“Due to the date change, we had to go down to nine heats because a lot of people couldn’t make the new date, so we had to combine teams to make the numbers work. We need at least 25 people on the rope to get the rope out of the water because it’s so heavy,” Schule said.
“I was so impressed with the event this year, especially with the last-minute weather change. It’s so important to remember that these are all volunteers who put this together, so a change like this resulted in a lot of extra work from our teams to pull this off for Make-A-Wish and for the Recreation Committees of each town… I truly believe that when you are helping support an organization like Make-A-Wish, people are willing to go out of their way to adjust their lives to help. I am constantly impressed by the volunteers and residents of our town to support events like this,” said Point Pleasant Beach Recreation Committee Ryan Simunovich, who is in charge of Operations for the event.
This year’s game was heated, going into intermission with Point Pleasant Beach in the lead with a score of 3-1. By the end of the day, Point Pleasant Beach took home the win with a final score of 6-3.
“Point Pleasant Beach took back the title this year, which made the event all the better! We saw some of the longest tug of war pulling times on record this year, and each heat was so competitive,” Simunovich said.
“The competition is great. It’s been great that every year we’ve been alternating winners, town to town. It will be an interesting year of trash talking to see who will win next year’s event since we’re tied,” Brown added.
This year, the two towns raised about $15,000 to donate to Make-A-Wish New Jersey. Since its inception in 2018, the Manasquan Inlet Tug of War has raised almost $100,000 for all beneficiaries combined.
Present at the event were New Jersey residents Sam and Antonio, who both received their wishes this year. Sam’s wish was to announce the 2022 NFL first round draft choice of his favorite team, the New York Giants. Sam also got to be the emcee the Tug-Of-War. Antonio’s wish was to join the ranks of his heroes and become a firefighter.
“We rely 100% on the benevolence of the community in order to bring our mission to life for children in New Jersey battling critical illnesses,” said Tom Weatherall, President & CEO of Make-A-Wish New Jersey. “We cannot continue to restore hope in the lives of wish children and their families, right here in our own local communities, without the support of events like the Manasquan Inlet Tug of War. We are honored to be a part of this unique annual event, bringing local towns together and helping us change the lives of children right here in Monmouth and Ocean Counties.”
