Grappling with traditions

Once every three years, pairs of men meet in sawdust rings to test their strength, balance and ability to throw their partner to the ground. The Federal Wrestling and Alpine Games Festival is the most prestigious event for Swiss-style wrestling.

This content was published on August 31, 2013 - 15:00

As a photo editor I am responsible for the editorial use of photography at SWI swissinfo.ch and our collaborations with photographers. When the opportunity arises, I take a camera and accompany one of our journalists. I trained as a photographer in Zürich and began working as a photojournalist in 1989. I was a founder of the Swiss photographers' agency Lookat Photos in 1990. A two-time World Press Award winner, I have also been awarded several Swiss national scholarships. My work has been widely exhibited and it is represented in various collections.

The festival also features other unique Swiss sports – hornussen and stone throwing – as well as the best yodellers, flag-throwers and alphorn players in Switzerland.

In August 2007, swissinfo.ch photographer Thomas Kern documented the federal festival held in Aarau.

All images : Thomas Kern

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.