I'm sticking to my Swiss sports; unique as the land they come from--where champions are true champs

Many people have asked me where I found all the varied activities I have enjoyed. The obvious answer is the Internet.  Ah, but where on the Internet?  The normal travel websites, Rick Steves' site OR Switzerland sites (which are quite comprehensive), and word of mouth.  

And one more item I discovered in CH.

Shortly after arriving, I would be standing in line at the Kiosk to purchase my Fanta, Sprite, or Mineral Wasser no gas, and I would see adults come in and purchase 10-20 of these little blue packets at a time.  
 
After a couple of times, I asked the clerk what they were. "They are a kid's toy."  So I didn't think anything of it.  But every time I stopped, adults were buying these.  Swiss adults, not tourists.  So I asked again at another Kiosk and was told they are stickers and are collected like baseball cards until you have your sticker book entirely filled up.  That sounded interesting.  So I started participating in the Meine Schweiz (My Switzerland) sticker program.

Some of my Swiss friends laughed at me.  I have had to buy them surreptitiously or pretend they are for my children.  (lol You who know me know that to be untrue.  I don't care what anyone thinks about me.  I bought them for me.)  The trick is to buy from different Kiosks, getting a different mix of stickers. The entries for each sticker provide background information about that item, 2-3 paragraphs of information--in German.  (I have to take the item from the sticker and then go to the Internet for information about it in English.)

A Kiosk is like 7-11 or Circle K in America.  They are in every train station and all around town.  Every bus stop, practically, has a Kiosk. And, stereotypically, they are mostly run by Auslanders (foreigners with thick accents).

As I travelled across CH, it was natural for me to pick up sticker packets (you get 5 stickers in each envelope with one sticker being a pretty foil sticker).  I found that in a cluster of packets from a different city that I traveled to, through, or just changed trains in, the stickers would be several that I still needed.  Yes, some repeaters, but mostly new ones that I didn't have.  Then after finally getting some elusive ones, I filled my book.  It was a thrilling moment.

But one more sticker remains and I don't have it.

There is a golden foil sticker.  Yep, a golden ticket.  And they are only going to put out 1,000 of them for the whole country.  I haven't found one yet.  And every time I buy a few packets, the song line, "I've got a golden ticket" keeps running through my mind.  And my one wish is that I can find one before I leave this beautiful country. Help me, Charlie and Grandpa. Willie, step in for me.


 
But this Meine Schweiz sticker campaign has been a source of information about every aspect of CH you can imagine.  From the sticker suggestions, I have sampled the products, the chocolates, the dishes.  I have been to many of the points of interest depicted on the stickers.  And I have been seeking opportunities to experience the various Swiss sports shown on the stickers.

This blog is about the Swiss sports I have been lucky enough to find a competition to go to while I've been here.
The hornet's sting is painful, but you can swat it away

One of the sports I saw on a sticker was Hornussen.  I looked it up on YouTube and there were a few good videos about it.  Then I found an actual Hornussen tournament to go to and started asking my expat friends if they wanted to go with me.  "Hornussen?  What's that?"  Some, even though they had lived here more than 10-15 years, hand no idea the sport existed.  I never ran into it in all my Internet searches.  Even on the Swiss websites--unless you specifically are looking for it you won't find it.

 Hornussen is played in a very large field. It is usually played in a tournament setting. The "home" team comes in and sets up the field.  This takes quite a bit of work since the hitting apparatus is elaborate.  Starting from a vacant farmer's field, the team will clear a large square area, keeping the sod in a pile to replace when the tourny is completed at the end of the day.

The next step is to dig a trench-like hole to put the frame of the batting device in.  It is anchored in the ground and is a curved heavy metal beam/rod which the swatter slides along as it heads toward hitting the hornuss. The hornet (hornuss) is the shiny puck-like (only not as flat, more sphere-like and oblong) object, held stationary in place like a tee by some putty-like substance.

Once the batting or swatting area is set up, the team takes the giant wooden paddles and heads out almost 100-150 yards down the field, which is marked off with a line on either side of the "alley" where the hornuss must stay when hit, or it is out of bounds and a point for the other team.

Essentially, Hornussen is hitting a puck-like object into the air with a swing which is like a golf-swing and it sends the hornuss (Swiss German for wasp or hornet) flying at incredible speeds.  The team is hundreds of yards away and their job is to swat the hornuss out of the sky before it lands or a point is scored.  

 The players have large wooden paddles that are flat and they are allowed to swing them and throw them at the hornuss.  From across the field you can hear when they have swatted it out of the sky since there is a knock on the wood as contact is made.

There are often injuries due to getting hit with a swinging paddle or one that has been thrown.  Sometimes you are hit with the sting of the hornuss and it does sting.  The "batter" swings with all his might using a flexible wand-type instrument that is very long.  It resembles the flexibility and bend-ability like a fishing rod, only it has a special swatting tube at the end of the flexible "bat."  If the hitter is not careful, the very long rod will swing around and snap at him as well.  Many batters have been stung by the swing while learning their craft.

The day was beautiful and the scenery was incomparable.


 



A swinging party in CH ain't what you think it is

And it's actually called Schwingen, and you do it at a Schwingfest, usually.  It's Swiss wrestling.  The wrestlers are Schwingers and they are not sorted to any weight class.  The sorting goes according to points.  I saw several opponents face off with someone that clearly out-weighed them by 50-60 pounds.  Some of the smaller schwingers held their own or out-scrapped their heavier challenger.  Even so, the system leaves itself open to comments about whom was matched up with whom (and those comments have been known to be voiced).

The arena usually has 2-3 wrestling areas set up.  That means, three huge circles (about 15 yards in diameter) comprised of sawdust which is at least 8-10 inches thick are waiting for the combatants. The wrestlers wear almost anything to wrestle in--jeans, T-shirts, edelweiss shirts, button down shirts, long-sleeve, short-sleeved, sweats, etc.  Over their pants, they wear special shorts made of heavy canvas which are very loose (one size fits all) that is tightened around the waist by a leather belt.  Many wrestlers roll the legs up into very short rolls. There is a pile of these shorts and each wrestler picks one pair of shorts out of the pile and puts them on over their clothing.

This is the opening stance.

 In order to win a bout, you have to grab the belt or pants of your opponent and pin him on his back.  One hand must be on the belt or pants and his shoulders must both touch the sawdust covered mound.  Schwingers use the shorts/belt as a means to grab or throw their opponent. Sawdust gets everywhere and flies all over during a bout.  Traditionally, the winner will brush off the back of the loser.  There are three judges--two sitting at a table ringside and one standing right next to the wrestlers, awarding points for holds, throws, etc., like in American wrestling.

The reason for the very unique look to the wrestling is due to the requirement to have your one hand on the pants or belt of the opponent.  Prior to the start, the referee will make sure each wrestler has both hands on the belt of pants of the challenger.  Sometimes there is some power wrangling even before the referee gives the signal to start.

I found this sport fascinating.  Hardly any schwingers wore any protective head gear, unlike American wrestlers.  Although, a few of the younger schwingers did wear the ear guards found on school wrestling teams.  The schwingers are tough.  They roll around in sawdust, throw each other face down into it, and it gets everywhere.  It can't be pleasant.  I don't even want to imagine what that feels like, going down your shirt or your pants. Ouch.  Sawdust. You know there's got to be miniature splinters to deal with.

Traditionally, schwingen began between farmers and herders in the alps.  It was a competition to let off steam and ease differences between them.  The prize for winning is never money.  It is goods of some kind.  The winner will get this bull or that tractor, something like that.  Additionally, they are accorded high honors of recognition.  If they win a big tournament, they are Schwingen King.  

There were several of them in attendance at the Schwingfest I went to.  Kids were going up to them and asking for their autographs.

Notice the writing on the backs.  The yellow is the really important champion participating in the tourny.

The schwingers took this sport very seriously, wrestling to bring pride and honor back to their canton (CH is divided into 26 cantons or states).

As an added treat, there was a couple who came and played their alphorns and two Swiss men, dressed in traditional Swiss ceremonial dress, demonstrated another Swiss art, that of flag waving and throwing.  It is beautiful.  Enjoy.

The Ultimate Swiss Sports Star and I got to see him play!

Picture of Helen, taken from my seat.

 Every year there is a very prestigious Swiss tennis tournament called Swiss Indoors.  It just so happens that it took place at the end of October.  My friend Helen mentioned it and said that she had tickets, was it anything that I might have interest in? I was thrilled with the idea and Helen helped me get my ticket online.  The miraculous thing is....Helen purchased her ticket a month earlier, I randomly scouted the last few available seats (there were only single seats here and there), and selected the best seat--one on the aisle.  It wasn't until we got there on the Opening Day that we discovered our seats were across the aisle, only three rows apart.  Crazy!

Roger Federer, native Swiss son and resident of Basel, is the heroic icon of Swiss sports. He is currently ranked #2 in the world and he was set to play his first round on the Opening Day. 
I sat next to a handsome kid named David who was wearing some very cool Roger Federer Logo clothing which he says he got when he made a donation to a charity Roger supports.

Swiss Indoors opens like a miniature Olympics (it had even a special presentation to Swiss Olympic athletes) with a beautiful ceremony that involved an orchestra, a local pop singer, and pyrotechnics.  

Previously, there was a poll for the Swiss to vote on their all-time favorite Swiss Olympian to commemorate 100 Years of Swiss Olympics. These three were honored:  Vreni Schneider (skier), Simon Ammann (ski jumper), and Edith Wolf-Hunkeler (Paralympics Champ in multiple sports).

 Then, the flames were lit and the young ball chasers and line watchers carried them in as a procession.  It was beautiful.

The design they formed with their lit torches?  Of course....a Swiss flag-shaped cross.  The Opening Ceremony was very inspiring and I was not disappointed.  It heightened the moment when Roger Federer would come out and begin his match.

He played Benjamin Becker, and it was a very tough match.  Ultimately he won that match, but had to settle several days later for second place overall.  A blockbuster final saw reigning champion Federer take on Argentina’s Juan Martin Del Potro and relinquish his title reluctantly over three sets.

At the end of the match on Opening Day, a triumphant Federer was interviewed by the local press on the court and it was streamed to the Jumbotron screens.  NO ONE left.  Not one person left the arena after the match.  Everyone stayed to watch Federer talk.  He is extremely loved here.

From my friend Helen, I understand that Federer goes to local festivals with his wife and kids and is always gracious to the public, signing autographs when asked.  But, the Swiss way is to respect each other's privacy so I am willing to bet the Federer family enjoys events without constant interruption. 

And that is a bit of the sporting world in Switzerland.  Very classy and unique, just like the Swiss.  Born of tradition and the "old ways" are honored and reinforced as each new tournament gets underway.

I loved it.