More than just bratwurst, beer and cheap cigars: impressions of «Schwingfest» – the Alpine wrestling festival

On this Sunday afternoon in mid-May, there are around 2,500 visitors gathered on the festival ground of the 106th Cantonal Alpine Wrestling Festival in Oberwil, Basel-Country. The local Alpine wrestling club celebrates its 100th birthday this year. Schwingen – or Alpine wrestling – is a Swiss national sport, and it’s becoming increasingly popular. I see plenty of young faces on the festival grounds. The organisers of the [ESAF (the Swiss national festival of Alpine wrestling and herdsmanship)] are expecting around 400,000 visitors in summer. The ESAF, which is held every three years, will run from 26–28 August. This year, the municipality of Pratteln in the canton of Basel-Country will set the stage for the event – or, rather, set the sawdust ring where the fights take place. With numbers in the hundreds of thousands, it’s the biggest sporting event in Switzerland. But let’s get back to Oberwil for the cantonal festival for now.

Being sociable is crucial What’s okay – and what isn’t?

This is my first time at an Alpine wrestling festival. And I’m not particularly clued up when it comes to the sport itself. I know that the current «King of the Alpine Wrestlers» is named Christian, and that here, surnames are always used before first names. I know that people also call certain wrestlers «the baddies», although the winner brushes the sawdust from the loser’s back after every fight. Which doesn’t strike me as something a baddie would do. I know that the winner of the last fight – basically the final – won’t automatically become the overall winner. But I don’t know why that is. Something to do with a points system. I know that there are various moves, and that being sociable is important. And that’s where my schwingen-lingo starts to dry up. Just as well one of the festival’s main sponsors has plastered the grounds with «knigges» – copies of the sport’s handbook.

According to the handbooks, it’s okay to do the following during an Alpine wrestling festival: drink beer, stay until the last fight, wear an edelweiss shirt, use binoculars, wear a festival emblem, go to the festival bar multiple times, eat mince with Swiss macaroni, yodel, drink coffee with liquor, smoke cigarillos (the bendy kind), lift cowbells, eat nut croissants, smoke more cigars (the fat and straight ones this time), bring snacks.

What’s off limits? Littering, wearing a suit, ordering a glass of champagne, looking for the VIP lounge, throwing objects into the arena, criticising the referee, not wearing a festival emblem, wearing a tie, bringing an umbrella, complaining, booing the competitors, wearing high heels, going home before the final fight.

Seeing as I no longer smoke (bendy cigars or otherwise), am not much of a nut croissant eater, there’s no mince and Swiss macaroni at the festival restaurant, my binoculars are at home, I don’t possess an edelweiss shirt or a festival emblem and I can’t yodel or lift a cowbell, I decide to get a bratwurst and a beer. Then I mingle with the crowd.

Elite sport, celebratory vibes

In Oberwil, Alpine wrestling takes place in four rings. According to the rulebook, the area where the fight takes place is generally between 8 and 12 metres in diametre and is made of sawdust. A hundred and twenty-six wrestlers from different clubs and cantonal associations will make it to the final ranking list at the 106th Cantonal Alpine Wrestling Festival in Basel-Country (link in German). The best fighters at the festival are each presented with a crown of oak leaves.

I’ve barely had a chance to get myself comfortable with a beer and bratwurst at ring 3 when the fighters take a break. As it’s already 3 p.m., it’s time for the ceremonial bit – probably a routine part of any Alpine wrestling festival. If only I’d got out of bed earlier and come to the festival in the morning. After all, the fights have been going on since 8.15 a.m.

After various speeches by federal councillors, the president of the municipality and the head of the organising committee, the musical part of the ceremony starts. This involves yodelling, alphorn blowing and flag-waving. And even if I’m generally not part of this world, I’m touched by the dedication shown. It’s exactly the right setting for folk culture. In a word, it’s beautiful.

After that, the fights resume. The last bouts continue until two competitors make it to the final round. And they’re not just fighting for honour and crowns, but for tangible prizes. The winner receives a Simmental bull named «Galaxy» – not to be confused with Switzerland’s largest online retailer. We’ve got nothing to do with that. The bull was donated by a local butcher. Crude, some with an unkind view might say. There are also live prizes for second and third place from other sponsors. They’re called «Brunleua» and «Alterna». The remaining competitors are then allowed to choose something from the prize stall.

The final bout begins at 4.30 p.m. Streben Joel and Döbeli Andreas, both members of the Freiamt Alpine wrestling club, are to go head-to-head in the sawdust of Oberwil. Döbeli scores the win after 10 minutes and 8 seconds exactly, with a mixture of quick presses and downward presses. To be honest, I’ve no idea what the exact meaning of those terms are – but it looks spectacular from a distance.

That’s all from the 106th Cantonal Alpine Wrestling Festival in Oberwil. The 2,500 visitors slowly begin to make their way home. It’s plain to see there are lots of kids, teenagers and young adults among them. The sport gets a good reception from younger generations, too, and seems to be getting more and more popular. When I was a teenager, I would’ve been smirked or even laughed at, if I’d spent my Sunday at an Alpine wrestling festival. It was «uncool». Today, things are different. Younger generations seem to take a more relaxed approach to their own traditions. And that’s fine. After all, the combination of elite sport and local festival atmosphere creates a good vibe. In any case, I head home feeling pumped up. At the end of August, I’ll certainly take a little trip to Pratteln for the ESAF 2022. With binoculars and a festival emblem.

Immerse yourself in a new (sporting) world

Get out of your bubble and into some new experiences. Is Alpine wrestling old-fashioned or is baseball boring? And what really motivates grown men to play with model cars? Every now and then, I try to get to the bottom of these questions. You can see what I’ve written about this topic before below: