Swiss ‘Schwingfest’ wrestling tournament to draw big crowds

Defending champion Christian Stucki signs autographs at the opening of the Schwingfest. ©keystone/peter Schneider

Switzerland’s top wrestlers are gathering for a national tournament that is expected to draw big crowds and big bucks for the best performing athletes.

The Federal Wrestling and Alpine Games Festival (Schwingfest) takes place every three years and is being hosted in Pratteln, near to Basel, this year.

Defending champion Christian Stucki will head a cast of 274 wrestlers, which include two Canadians and four Americans.

Historical records from afar back as the 13^th century show wrestlers taking part in trials of strength and agility. The action takes place in a sawdust ring where wrestlers grip each other’s shorts and try to throw their opponents onto their backs.

The national festival dates back to the end of the 19th century and is a major date in the Swiss sporting calendar, attracting a high level of media coverage. Crowds of up to 400,000 people are expected to attend the three-day event in person with many more watching on television.

Swiss wrestling can also prove lucrative for the top athletes. Last year, the best wrestlers collected around CHF2.2 million ($2.3 million) in endorsement revenues.

The winner of the tournament, or ‘king’, can expect to make several hundreds of thousands of francs per year, topping CHF1 million in income between Schwingfest events.

But the main motivation for participating is to celebrate Swiss custom and for the honour of competing. The tournament champion receives a bull – or ‘Muni’ – as the main prize and the top 15% of wrestlers get a wreath and a special title: ‘Eidgenoss’ or ‘Confederate’.