The Swiss voice in the world since 1935

Thousands attend bicentennial of Swiss Shooting Sport Federation

Over 20,000 shooting fans celebrated the 200th anniversary of the Swiss Shooting Sport Federation (SSV) in Aarau, northern Switzerland, at the weekend. The three-day celebrations ended on Sunday with a parade through the old town of Aarau.

+ Get the most important news from Switzerland in your inbox

The SSV celebrated the victory of Chiara Leone, who won a gold medal at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris in the women’s 50m rifle three positions competition. Federal Councillor Albert Rösti and the Olympic champion took part in a parade in a carriage through Aarau.

Other Swiss Olympic medal winners in shooting events were also honoured with standing ovations. These included Audrey Gogniat (bronze, Paris 2024) and Nina Christen (gold and bronze, Tokyo 2021).

+ How Switzerland combines a passion for guns with safety

The Shooting Sport Federation is not just about sport, said Rösti in a speech at the ceremony on Sunday.

“In Switzerland, shooting is part of society and the state – and an expression of our culture of freedom,” he declared. “I don’t think it’s an exaggeration to say that one wouldn’t exist without the other.”

+ Switzerland, a nation of gun lovers

On Saturday, rifle and pistol shooting finals took place with 800 club and amateur athletes competing against experienced shooters.

Translated from German by DeepL/sb

This news story has been written and carefully fact-checked by an external editorial team. At SWI swissinfo.ch we select the most relevant news for an international audience and use automatic translation tools such as DeepL to translate it into English. Providing you with automatically translated news gives us the time to write more in-depth articles.

If you want to know more about how we work, have a look here, if you want to learn more about how we use technology, click here, and if you have feedback on this news story please write to english@swissinfo.ch.

Popular Stories

Most Discussed

News

ICRC says the next few days will be "decisive" for aid to Gaza

More

ICRC says next few days will be ‘decisive’ for aid to Gaza

This content was published on The next few days will be absolutely decisive if the Geneva-based International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to continue providing aid in the Gaza Strip, said its director-general Pierre Krähenbühl.

Read more: ICRC says next few days will be ‘decisive’ for aid to Gaza
Nestlé: French authorities order withdrawal of filtration

More

French authorities order Nestlé to remove its filtration system

This content was published on Authorities in the south of France have served formal notice to Nestlé Waters, a subsidiary of the Swiss food giant, to "withdraw within two months" its microfiltration system for its Perrier mineral water.

Read more: French authorities order Nestlé to remove its filtration system
The referendum against the introduction of the e-ID is successful

More

Switzerland to hold referendum on introducing electronic ID

This content was published on The Swiss are set to vote on the introduction of e-ID after the Federal Chancellery confirmed enough valid signatures were submitted by opponents of the federal law on electronic identity.

Read more: Switzerland to hold referendum on introducing electronic ID

In compliance with the JTI standards

More: SWI swissinfo.ch certified by the Journalism Trust Initiative

You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!

If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.

SWI swissinfo.ch - a branch of Swiss Broadcasting Corporation SRG SSR

SWI swissinfo.ch - a branch of Swiss Broadcasting Corporation SRG SSR