In the past tug-of-war sport had been a very popular sport at American Universities, but after tug-of-war was no longer part of track and field, the sport almost faded away. It was revived in the mid-west, where it had been very popular on the universities. The US Association joined TWIF in 1979 and  participated for the first time in a TWIF World Championship 1980 and took part in almost every World Championship since that year, adding to a total of 110 international competitions. The women's teams participated twice in the indoor discipline in World Games, both times winning the bronze medal. In 2004 the women's team won the World title in the outdoor discipline. Beyond the tug-of-war event in the Olympic Games in 1904 and the World Games in 2001, the USTOWA hosted 3 World Championships, one in Oshkosh and two in Rochester. Mr Johnson, who assisted Bob Pulfer in joining TWIF, is currently TWIF Secretary General, a position he has occupied since 1987.