The future of Tractor Pulling in the United Kingdom

The future of Tractor Pulling in the UK

Question, is the SWTPA breakaway from the BTPA a good thing for Tractor Pulling in the UK a good thing for the sport? All things considered I have to say the answer is yes! It has certainly sparked of a very lively debate on the UKTP Board (click here to view the topic). Hopefully it will also make the BTPA committee wake up and smell the coffee... The problems have been there for a long time for all to see, but simply closing down their Board to prevent critical comments being posted does rather smack of burying their collective heads in the sand and saying "What problem, we don't see any problems" rather than addressing them as a matter of some urgency. It is a shame that free speech was one of the casualties.

No, I do not believe all the BTPA committee are stupid and short sighted. I have a great deal of respect for likes of Andy Miller and Peter Clarke (who earned a great deal of respect in his discussion with a number of Independents after the AGM), however clearly all is not well in the State of Denmark!

Many of the problems stem from the fact that the BTPA, although it is the official national body for Tractor Pulling in the UK is, in reality, totally controlled by the NWTPC, which is not a very healthy state of affairs. There are far too may vested interests at stake which has resulted in the alienation of many Pullers who are not members of the NWTPC, notably the SWTPC!

For a number of years the senior members of the BTPA have concentrated on competing Europe to the detriment of Pulling in the UK as a whole. The BTPA grass roots of the sport have atrophied and all but died... The only area of growth is within the Independent sector with new Pullers being built at an ever increasing rate. Most of the long established Independent Pulling venue's are always oversubscribed with a long waiting list.

At this years BTPA AGM one of the committee stated that the Association had more than enough Pullers and had no need of Tractors from the Independent side to pull at their events. That may well have been true, but what he seems to have overlooked is the fact the Independent sector is a breeding ground of new talent who learn the ropes, their craft and engineering skills. It is quite possible that some or our young up and coming Independent Pullers are future European Champions with the right training and guidance.

Ever since I started commentating I've been trying to find a way to bring the two sides together (BTPA & Independents) so that both could Pull at the same venue. The German model is a classic example. On the Saturday the Independents Pull the Sledge and on the Sunday it is the DTTO machines hooked up to the Sledge. The Dutch do very much the same thing with the NTTO 'Sport Classes'. Sascha Mecking (oldspook) who runs 'Pullingworld' has posted some very informed comments here on the UKTP Board.

Now back to the question in hand, the matter of the SWTPA breakaway. To be honest this is not something that happened overnight. As with most of these 'falling out' incidents, the roots of this schism date back over a number of years and the present Sledge certification issue only represents the tip of a rather large iceberg. I have already touched on the matter of the SWTPC alienation earlier in this article.

In the past, even though the SWTPC Bristol Pull (North Somerset Agricultural Society - Wraxall) was one of the major BTPA events of the season, many of the bigger Pullers have been notable by their absence, leaving the Club understandably feeling rather badly let-down. If Pullers from the South West could make the trip up to Great Eccleston they clearly found it hard to understand why the reverse could not happen.

You can well understand the reluctance of the 'Total Friction' crew to rush into a major re-build in order to comply with the latest ETPC rules. Currently (end on March 2008) only one European Sledge (The Belgian 'De Stille Genieter') is actually fully licensed. The problems with the Dutch Sledge ('Keep Moving') at Ahoy simply highlighted the issue and only serves illustrate what can go amiss if someone gets their sums or design wrong. The main frame rails are going to cost a lot of time and money to modify for a second time. Neither of the German Sledges are ready to compete and heaven only knows what is happening in the rest of Europe. Jan Buitenhuis and the rest of the ETPC Technical Committee must be scratching their collective heads...

Now you're probably asking yourself why do I think the breakaway is a good thing. Several reasons: -

Hopefully it will make the BTPA finally sit up and take notice of what is really happening to Tractor Pulling in the UK.
Because the SWTPA does not penalise Pullers for attending non-sanctioned (e.g. Independent events) it will open the sport up far more and bring more Pullers into the regulated arena. Providing the Pullers comply with the safety and build rules they will be able to pull at both SWTPA and Independent events.

i Note: If a BTPA Puller runs at a 'non-sanctioned' event (not BTPA approved) the driver will be subject to a 1-year and 10-day ban. This is an ETPC ruling.

More Tractor Pulling events will be added to the UK calendar to the benefit of both Pullers and Pulling Fans.
From an outsiders perspective the establishment (both official and unofficial) is long overdue for a major shake up. Many Pullers on both sides of the divide would do well to have a long hard look at the revised dynamics of the sport.

Having said this there is a grave risk that all that will actually happen is that the opposite ends of the Pulling spectrum will simply retrench and retreat even further into their respective cocoons and pretend that if they ignore the major issues they will simply go away! Not a snowballs chance in hell. Great Eccleston last August changed all that forever!

It may take a few years for the whole thing to sort itself out but hopefully one unified ruling body which caters for and cares for every part of the Pulling spectrum will eventually emerge. FINGERS CROSSED! It would be nice to think that we could all pull in the same direction...