Podcast
Themen
- Was ist Hornussen?
- Welche Ausrüstung benutzt man?
- Wer spielt Hornussen und wo gibt es Vereine?
- Diversität im Hornussen
- Können auch Expats mitmachen?
Mit wem wir sprechen
Sandra Widmer, die in einem kleinen Dorf im Berner Emmental lebt, ist seit zwei Jahren für die Kommunikation im Vorstand des Schweizerischen Hornussen-Verbands verantwortlich. Mit etwa sieben Jahren begann sie selbst Hornussen zu spielen. Heute ist sie nicht mehr aktiv, aber seit über 20 Jahren Schiedsrichterin.
Über die Folge
Hornussen ist ein einzigartiger Schweizer Mannschaftssport, der in etwa mit Baseball oder Golf vergleichbar ist. Die meisten Teams befinden sich in Bern und Solothurn, aber es gibt Vereine in der gesamten Deutschschweiz. Hornussen zu spielen hat viele Vorteile:
- Diversität: Beim Hornussen ist jeder willkommen. Einige Spieler sind über 90 Jahre alt, andere haben körperliche Einschränkungen. Das ist kein Problem, da Anpassungen vorgenommen werden können. Ein Spieler hat beispielsweise bei einem Unfall einen Teil seines Arms verloren, spielt aber mit einer speziellen, massgefertigten Prothese weiterhin Hornussen.
- Zeit im Freien: Hornussen-Vereine haben ihre festen Spielfelder, und das jährliche Spiel findet im Spätsommer auf abgeernteten Feldern statt. Beim Hornussen verbringt man viel Zeit in der Natur.
- Der soziale Aspekt: Hornussen ist ein sehr geselliger Sport. Nach dem Spiel essen die Teams in der Regel gemeinsam und unterhalten sich.
- Die Bewahrung von Traditionen: Der Sport existiert seit Hunderten von Jahren. Es gibt alte Kirchenaufzeichnungen aus dem 16. und 17. Jahrhundert, in denen das Spiel erwähnt wird. Indem wir es heute noch spielen, halten wir alte Schweizer Traditionen am Leben.
- Integration: Schweizerischer geht es kaum als beim Hornussen! Der Beitritt zu einem Team ist eine hervorragende Möglichkeit, schnell viele Einheimische kennenzulernen, was unter normalen Umständen eine Herausforderung sein kann. Langfristig kann der Beitritt zu einem Verein Expats helfen, sich einzuleben und zu zeigen, dass sie gut integriert sind. Dies ist für den Erwerb der Schweizer Staatsbürgerschaft von Vorteil.
Ressourcen
Schweizerischer Hornussenverband
Nächste Schritte
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Transkript
Kathrin: Hello everybody, and welcome to another episode of Living in Switzerland. The series is brought to you by Rigby. We are a staffing and project services company based in Zurich. If you or anyone you know of is looking for a new role in Switzerland, or if you're looking to hire, let us know. We'd be happy to help.
The best way to do that is by going to rigby.ch/apply and filling out the form. Then, if we have anything that might be of interest, we'll gladly let you know.
Today we're going to talk about a Swiss living tradition, Hornussen. We are joined by Sandra Widmer from the Swiss Hornussen Association, who's going to tell us all about this unique Swiss sport.
Sandra has been responsible for communication on the association's board for two years. She started playing Hornussen herself at the age of around seven. She no longer plays actively but has been a referee for over 20 years.
Sandra, welcome to the show.
Sandra: Hello everybody.
Kathrin: So, tell us a little bit about your background and where you live.
Sandra: I'm from a small village in the Emmental region, which belongs to the canton of Bern. We don't have any shopping facilities. It's so rural that you can watch foxes and deer from your balcony.
Kathrin: Oh, nice. Yeah. I have family in the Emmental region, and it really is very lovely and rural. So, what is the area like and what can you do there, maybe?
Sandra: It's a very hilly landscape where we can go hiking. As soon as flatland is in sight, the hornussers are not so far away.
Kathrin: Amazing. Yes, because I think Hornussen comes from the Bern region, doesn't it? So there are lots of them there.
Sandra: Yes. That’s right.
Kathrin: Excellent. So, what got you into hornussen?
Sandra: I grew up in a small village on a hill with about 500 inhabitants. The only sport in the village where our parents could send us on our bikes was Hornussen. At that time, we were only a few girls playing Hornussen.
Kathrin: Oh, is it traditionally more a boy's or a man's sport?
Sandra: It's more a man's sport, but more and more we have girls. In the youth group three out of ten are girls, I think about.
Kathrin: Okay. Oh, that's nice. And what fascinates you about the sport?
Sandra: Yeah, for me it's not only the sport, for me Hornussen is one big family. Everyone is welcome no matter how old they are, what gender they are or what their social backgrounds. So everybody's welcome.
Kathrin: And it's quite diverse then, it can get quite mixed if so many different people come together.
Sandra: We have only mixed teams. That's the special of Hornussen.
Kathrin: Amazing I think. Is that because Hornussen isn't like, in the Olympics or anything, so you can have mixed teams and teams of different ages?
Sandra: We are a part of Swiss Olympics, but it's not a real Olympic sport.
Kathrin: All right.
Sandra: And it's also traditional, you have the young child who begin play with adults. Sometimes you have three generations in the same team. So you have the son or the grandchild, the father and the grandfather in the same team.
Kathrin: Yeah. That's quite unusual. You don't get that in many sports. Because usually it's very separated by age, isn't it?
Sandra: No. By us not separated. Yes, we have teams for children. From 6, 7, 8, when they begin, to 16 years old and then all the rest plays together.
Kathrin: Okay. So any adult age group will just play in one team?
Sandra: Yes.
Kathrin: Okay. So, before we talk anymore about those things, maybe we need to discuss the basics of Hornussen because I think a lot of people might never have heard of this sport or might not know exactly how it works. So how does Hornussen work?
Sandra: Hornussen is a team sport with up to 18 players, similar to baseball. One team bats and the other stands in the field.
Kathrin: Okay.
Sandra: In the game, each team bats twice, while the other guards the field. The team in the field tries to hit down the Hornuss with wooden boards on size around 65 to 65 centimetres, before it touches the ground.
If it is not successful, it is recorded as a goal or as we call it a number.
Kathrin: Okay.
Sandra: Whoever concedes fewer of these numbers wins the game.
In the event of a tie, the distance of all the shots hit, which are scored in points and are added up for each team.
Kathrin: Okay. So, if one team has more shots, then there's a winner. But if both teams have the same shots, then they're scored points.
Sandra: Every player has four shots in a normal game.
Kathrin: Okay.
Sandra: And all the distance are added together. The goal is to hit as far as possible.
Kathrin: Oh, okay, okay. So the distance is really what counts.
Sandra: The first is the numbers. So, to catch every Hornuss we are out in the field. And then secondly, it's all the distance from the hits from each player.
Kathrin: Okay. And, so there are two teams, right, playing at any time if you're having a Hornussen game.
Sandra: Yes. Yes, that's true.
Kathrin: So what are the goals of each team in the game?
Sandra: The aim of striking team is that the nouss travel as far as possible. And the aim of the team in the field is that the nouss don't falls on the ground untouched by the board in this market zone. The number of points of the striking player is the team is determined by a scoring zone in which the nouss is stopped or falls to the ground untouched.
Kathrin: Okay, and the score is higher the further it gets?
Sandra: Yes.
Kathrin: Okay. And so you mentioned a nouss. What is that?
Sandra: Yes, the nouss is a hard plastic disc at the weight of 78 grams. It's comparable to an ice hockey puck.
Kathrin: Okay. What other items do you need to play this game?
Sandra: We need the bock. The bock is a metal ramp that is in the shape of an arc and somewhat elevated.
The hornuss is attached to it with the clay of the T shot.
Kathrin: Okay. Okay. So that's where the nouss goes before it gets hit.
Sandra: Yes. You fix it on the ramp or on the bock, and then you hit it with a stick.
Kathrin: Okay. And what's the stick like?
Sandra: The stick is up to three metres long. Highly flexible, impact device made of aluminium, fiberglass, plastic, or carbon fibre. Something between a fishing pole and a golf club.
Kathrin: Okay. Interesting.
Sandra: And in the front, a piece of wood is attached, it's used to hit the nouss when striking.
Kathrin: Okay. But that sounds quite modern, that the materials used are very new.
Sandra: Yes. In the beginning of hornussen the material was different.
Kathrin: Of course. Yes, and I think we'll talk about the beginning of it a little bit later, but yes. I'm sure that's been updated recently. It's amazing that the stick is so long because most games have very short sticks, don't they?
Sandra: Yeah, we have players who have short sticks, but the longest can be three metres, that's in our rules, it's designated as.
Kathrin: Oh, so three metres is the maximum, but you can have shorter.
Sandra: Yes. I think the adult players... one I know he has for his personal really short stick with two metres 60.
Kathrin: Okay.
Sandra: I think 60. Yeah. It's a short, and I think a lot is between two meters 70 cm and three metres.
Kathrin: Oh, okay. But still quite long compared to other games’ sticks, but yes. Okay.
And when you say it's flexible, it bends when you hit the nouss?
Sandra: I think it will be interesting to have a look on YouTube, that you find some videos so we can see how flexible the sticks are.
Kathrin: Yes. I think there's some great videos, and we'll put some in the show notes as well.
Alright, and then there are some more elements to the game. Tell us about the ries.
Sandra: Yes, there is. It's the playing field.
Kathrin: Okay. That's just the name for the playing field?
Sandra: It's the name of the playing field. It is divided in scoring zones so that you can note the distances. The field starts after a hundred metres from the T and ends after 300 metres.
In the front, it's eight metres wide and just under 15 metres at the back.
Kathrin: Okay. And the word ries also has another meaning, doesn't it? Is it also the name you give for the number of points?
Sandra: Yes. So the ries is also, we talked about it, that each player has hit four times. And all the first hits, all the second hits from each player we call also ries.
Kathrin: Oh, okay.
Sandra: That's ries one. It's all the first hits from each player. And ries two is the second hit from each player.
Kathrin: Okay, so there's four ries in each game?
Sandra: In the normal game. It's four ries, yes.
Kathrin: Oh, okay. Okay. And finally, we have the schindel.
Sandra: Yes. That is the wooden paddle for the players who stay in the field for stop the hornuss and try that he doesn't fall on the ground untouched.
Kathrin: Okay.
Sandra: It resembles a pizzaiolo shovel.
Kathrin: Okay. Yeah, I think that's easy to imagine. And maybe we can add a picture as well to the show notes.
Sandra: Yes, I think so.
Kathrin: Okay. So, let's talk about the history of Hornussen. When was this sport founded?
Sandra: It used to be a pagan custom to knock very long stones from the mountain in the valley. The idea was to drive away bad spirits. Over time Hornussen moved to the valleys. The first written record of Hornussen dates back to 1564.
Kathrin: Oh wow.
Sandra: Passages can be found in the church records from the 16th and 17th centuries.
Kathrin: Okay. So really many... many centuries ago. It's a really old sport. Yeah.
Sandra: Centuries ago. And for example, in the church record in Lauperswil, which is part of the Emmental, was a reprimand because the Hornussen players indulged in the game during the church ceremonies, and it was not allowed.
Kathrin: Oh, so they played when they were meant to be in church?
Sandra: Yes. And that's why we found it first written down in a church book slot.
Kathrin: Yes, because I guess people didn't keep as many records back then. That's the only reason you know that it was around for such a long time.
Sandra: Yes. Yeah.
Kathrin: Okay. And when did the competitions start? Do you know?
Sandra: Yeah. It's not as sure, but the first known competition in Hornussen took place in Trub, also part of Emmental in 1655.
Kathrin: Okay.
Sandra: And the Swiss Hornussen Association was found in 1902.
Kathrin: Alright. So yeah, a long history, but as we said before, the game has also changed a little bit, hasn't it? Like the material and techniques have changed.
Sandra: Yes, at the beginning, what we know is the sticks were made of willow rods.
Kathrin: Okay.
Sandra: Which were stored in the manual hole to keep them flexible. So flexibility was at this time was also important.
Kathrin: Yes. I guess willow rods are not as naturally flexible as the materials you have today.
Sandra: Yeah. And the hornuss was made of horn or root also.
Kathrin: Okay.
Sandra: And they are histories that yes, the material was developed in future in future in order to be able to fly further.
Kathrin: Oh, I see. Okay.
Sandra: And they are not written stories, but talking stories from generation to generation, that at the beginnings, they were stolen sticks from the others to see what they did differently.
And why they hit for farther.
Kathrin: So, all the teams like, stole the ideas off each other?
Sandra: Yes.
Kathrin: Okay. I guess it worked 'cause now you have really good materials, right?
Sandra: Yes. At this time, each team built his own material.
Kathrin: Oh, I see. So there was no standard. Yeah.
Sandra: And now we have standards. You can buy it by different producers and so it's easier to get. But at this time, I think it was really different between the sticks and also the hornuss, why are they flying further? Or the difference.
Kathrin: Yeah.
Sandra: And now it's clear, it's more sport, and you have no choice but to have some rules and official product producers.
Kathrin: Yeah. I guess you just buy the products now.
Sandra: Yes. Yes.
Kathrin: But yeah, that would be very different if actually the product makes a difference in your gameplay and not even your skill.
Sandra: Yeah. And now it's more skills who make the difference.
Kathrin: Yes. I guess in that way you can now have tournaments and competitions and really measure skills of different teams against each other.
Sandra: Yes. So there's a Swiss championship with several leagues. Each year we have festivals where up to 30 fields are played simultaneously.
Kathrin: Oh, okay. That must be quite a big event.
Sandra: Yes. These are biggest events and it's always the highlight the end of the season.
Kathrin: Oh, okay. So you have these championships at the end of each season?
Sandra: Yeah, at the end of the season in the month of August.
Kathrin: Oh, okay. Okay. So it's a summer playing season then?
Sandra: Yes. Yes.
Kathrin: Okay. And where do they usually take place?
Sandra: The normal season takes place between March and July on the club fixed field.
And the festivals in the end of summer taking place on harvested fields.
Kathrin: Oh, yes. That makes a lot of sense. Because at the end of the summer you'd have lots of, kind of empty fields, right? If they've been harvested.
Sandra: Yes. And it's the reason why these big festivals are in the month of August.
Kathrin: Okay. Yeah.
Sandra: Normally.
Kathrin: It's just easy to organise then if you've got lots of space.
Sandra: Yeah. But the space is really a problem in the future because years ago we have more free fields, and now we have more and more buildings everywhere. So it's, for 30 fields, it's not as easy to find a place.
Kathrin: Yeah, 30 fields is quite huge. You need a lot of space.
Okay. But the individual clubs have their fixed fields, you said?
Sandra: Yes. They have their fixed field normally with a small house. And at the end of the game normally we eat together, the two teams eat together.
Kathrin: Okay.
Sandra: So that's also a part of the family... family in hornussen, that's important.
Kathrin: Experience, yes. So I guess it's quite social as well.
Sandra: Yes.
Kathrin: So there's a big national tournament, but do the individual clubs also put on their own events, or what other events are there?
Sandra: Yes, in preparation. Matches are arranged with temporary teams. There are also regular fun events or very... at various clubs.
Kathrin: Okay. All right. Lots of matches throughout the season and then that big event at the end.
Sandra: Yes.
Kathrin: Alright, we'll be back after a really short break.
(AD BREAK)
And now we're back.
And can you tell us a little bit more about the Hornussen Association that you're part of?
Sandra: The Hornussen Association is the umbrella organisation. There are various departments that takes care of the organisation of the championship regulations, also for the sticks, and also for the young development and so on.
Kathrin: Yes. I guess it's important to have youth teams and to keep having young people joining.
Sandra: Yes, that's really important. If... you have a lot of different sports in Switzerland, everybody wanna catch the most sportives. And for us it's important that we are active in part of the young development.
Kathrin: Yes, 'cause otherwise, I guess the sport gets much smaller if you don't have young members.
Sandra: Yes.
Kathrin: And give us a little bit of an idea of the size of this sport. So how many members and clubs are there?
Sandra: There are currently 155 clubs, 227 teams, around about 6,000 licensed hornussen players and referees, and 1,200 junior players.
Kathrin: Okay. So of those 6,000 players, did you say they're licensed? What does that mean?
Sandra: We have also licenses.
Kathrin: Oh, okay. So you can't just go and start playing. You have to get a license first?
Sandra: You can try it in the week. But if you want to play the championship or other games, you need a license.
But, it's not so complicated. If you ask today for a license, normally can play tomorrow.
Kathrin: Okay. Okay. So it's easy-ish to get a license, but you still need to apply for one.
Sandra: We give them quickly because we are interested that we can win the hornussers. But all the notes, the distances and as well we are really, modern in our sport. We have our only application. And so you can’t fill this application without the licenses numbers.
Kathrin: Oh, okay.
And who tends to play, we talked about it briefly, but what kinds of age groups and demographics play hornussen?
Sandra: Yeah. The sport of hornussen you can play from the age of four, five, until old age.
Kathrin: Okay.
Sandra: There are players who are still active at the age of 90.
Kathrin: Wow. Okay.
Sandra: In the region of Bern, there is a club in almost every municipality. The further away from the core area in the individual clubs can be also found.
Kathrin: Okay, so the most clubs are in Cantons, Bern and Solothurn?
Sandra: Yes. And Bern is much bigger than Solothurn.
Kathrin: Okay. Yeah. Yeah. So Bern has most of the clubs, but then also I think there are a few clubs in places like Zurich.
Sandra: Yes. In the area of Zurich we have two clubs. One is in Winterthur with two teams and one in Gossau, also with two teams.
Kathrin: Okay. All right. So quite different locations, but yeah.
And tell us a little bit more about these different generations playing together, because I think that's quite interesting.
Sandra: Yes, it's really happened that in the lower leagues, that three generations play in the same team. The youngsters also learn a lot of social skills and tie the shoes of older players who cannot longer be well.
Kathrin: Okay.
Sandra: For example. And therefore it's no coincidence that we talk about hornussen being a family.
Kathrin: Okay. They can each help each other. I suppose the older players can teach the younger ones about hornussen.
Sandra: Yes.
Kathrin: And then the younger ones can help. Yeah. As you say, if someone can't tie their shoes or can't do certain things.
Sandra: Yeah. Also in the field, the younger players, normally their eyes are better than of the older players.
Kathrin: Of course.
Sandra: So normally earlier the hornuss arrived. And all the players teach them how to stop it correctly. So that's important. It's really a team sport and everybody has to help each other.
Kathrin: Everyone has their role and maybe their skills.
Sandra: Yes.
Kathrin: Okay. And so this is very interesting, maybe for someone who's never seen hornussen or never experienced a sport that's like this. So how can you start to learn more about it? Maybe can you see or watch hornussen online?
Sandra: Yes. Like everybody at this time, we have a YouTube channel.
We have Instagram and Facebook. So yeah, there we can find some videos.
Kathrin: Okay.
Sandra: I would highly recommend checking out the website hornusserweg.ch where you can find a lot of explanations about the sport.
Kathrin: Okay. Yeah. And they do they also have a video as well? A very nicely put together video?
Sandra: Yes, we have a video, also translated in English, French and German. Not only Swiss German.
Kathrin: Okay. So we have to link to that, definitely.
Sandra: Yes. And we have also a platform called A-Sports, and then you have to search the part of hornussen, so you can watch real games on this platform.
Kathrin: Oh, so they film some of the games?
Sandra: Yes.
Kathrin: Okay.
Sandra: There are fixed installation cameras on different fields.
Kathrin: Okay. And you also said previously, I think, that there's an app.
Sandra: Yes, we have an application, so you can follow the games. And if they have cameras on the field ,you see the little icon of the camera. And so you can switch to live feed, yes.
Kathrin: Oh, okay. Nice.
Sandra: And you can find the application wherever you buy your applications. Yeah.
Kathrin: App store or play store.
Sandra: App store, play store or wherever.
Kathrin: Okay. Great. And you just Google hornussen or you just search for hornussen?
Sandra: Yes.
Kathrin: Okay. And then it should come up. I assume there's not that many apps with hornussen in the title, so.
Sandra: No it's just one.
Kathrin: Just the one. Okay. And we already said that two active clubs are in the Zurich area. So I guess if someone doesn't live near Bern, but would like to find out more, they can search clubs in their local area.
Sandra: Yes, you can find a map with all the clubs on the site, hornusserweg.ch.
Kathrin: Oh, okay.
Sandra: So there are really the points where the clubs are founded, and also we have links to the homepages.
Kathrin: Okay. So most clubs have a website as well, so you can contact them directly?
Sandra: Yeah, I think from all the clubs we have one or two who don't have a homepage.
Kathrin: Okay. Okay. So most likely you'll be able to find the contact details quite easily. But how easy or how difficult is it for new people to get involved? Are you happy to have new joiners who don't know anything about hornussen yet?
Sandra: Yeah, we're always happy to have new joiners. So everybody's welcome.
If you're interested I think the easiest way is to contact your local club. And first try out yourself and if you have some pleasure, I think they were interesting that you will be a part of the team.
Kathrin: Okay. Yeah.
Sandra: And if you don't have the real skills, also, each team has to bring his own referee at the game.
Kathrin: Oh, okay.
Sandra: We also looking for new members at the referee part, so.
Kathrin: Okay. So you can be a player, but.
Sandra: There are a lot of possibilities to be a part of the hornussen family.
Kathrin: Yeah. You don't need to actually play to be a part of it as well. So that'd be nice for a whole family. Maybe if some family members want to play and other family members maybe prefer to be a referee.
Okay. And we already said as well that you can get a license, but even if you want to already start playing at the weekend, right, you don't have to wait very long to get your license, so.
Sandra: Yeah, it's the club that has to order the license, but it's also all, all digitalised. We, we get a mail and then we check it, and it's done.
Kathrin: Okay. Okay. So quite an easy process. And then let's think about someone who might be coming with kids and they wanna get involved in a Swiss sport or something locally with kids. How will this work if a family comes and says, oh, I want my kids to also play and maybe the adults as well?
Sandra: Yeah, you're doing it the same way, you come to the club in your area. You go with the child there, normally they have a day for the training for the young talents.
Kathrin: Okay.
Sandra: And they can also start as soon like the adults.
Kathrin: Okay. So the children might be on a different team from the adults?
Sandra: Yes. Normally they have a different training and for the kids to sixteen years old. They play together. Normally they also have the different trainer.
Kathrin: Okay, okay. So they will have a separate training session.
Sandra: Yeah. Yes.
Kathrin: Okay. And so let's talk a bit about the advantages of having a sport like hornussen.
What do you see as the best things about this game as opposed to maybe other games?
Sandra: Yeah. I think it's really that everybody's welcome. Gender, age to physical disabilities make no difference. Everyone is treated equally. So we don't make difference between women's, men's, we don't have teams like Special Olympics that don't play all together.
Kathrin: Okay. So people with physical disabilities, for example, could also take part in a normal hornussen game?
Sandra: Yes.
Kathrin: Okay. So it's everybody.
Sandra: It's everybody!
Kathrin: Excellent. And are there any people that you know of that have a disability and play on a team?
Sandra: Yes, I know from different. With one he had lost part of his arm in an accident.
I think you will also find some pics on the internet if you search.
Kathrin: Okay.
Sandra: And he's attached at the stick with his arm, and he plays with everybody else.
Kathrin: Oh, okay. So there's a direct attachment?
Sandra: Yes.
Kathrin: Oh, amazing. Okay.
Sandra: Yeah, they ordered it from the United States.
Kathrin: Oh wow.
Sandra: For the attachment, but it didn't hold. So in the team, they checked out herself how to do something to hold.
Kathrin: Okay, amazing. And yeah, so I guess it just shows that anyone can take part in it.
And then I suppose specifically for people who don't come from Switzerland, it's interesting to learn about hornussen because it could be a way to get to know the locals, right?
Sandra: Yes. Here, I like to tell you a story from a friend. He came from Texas and is married to a Swiss woman. The neighbour convinced him to try it himself and he stuck with it.
Most master players wrote it in the village or the region where they play, which makes it easier to connect with society.
Kathrin: Yeah. Amazing. Hornussen is a great way to get to know people who've been in Switzerland for a really long time, as opposed to many expat groups where you meet really amazing people, but they might not be locals who have been here for a long time.
Sandra: Yes, that's correct. And he was asked whether he was integrated when he was naturalised. His answer was he was a hornusser, with a smile. And the issue of integration was settled.
Kathrin: Yeah. I mean there's not much more Swiss you can get than being a hornusser, so... That definitely counts as integrated, doesn't it?
Sandra: Yeah.
Kathrin: Yeah. Excellent. Thank you for telling us so much about this Swiss sport.
Sandra: Yeah, it was a pleasure.
Kathrin: If listeners have maybe another question about it, how can they get in touch with you or with other hornussers?
Sandra: So you have a lot of information at our website ehv.com and hornusserweg.ch.
And there's a contact form on the site of Hornusserweg, so you can contact, every time and we will try to help you.
Kathrin: Okay, yes. You can also Google hornussen and find those sites quite at the top, right?
Sandra: Yes.
Kathrin: Yeah. Then another thing I suppose is that people can just join themselves, can't they? Go and find your local club and say "Hi!".
Sandra: Yes. You pass there, you call them, or you send them a small message and you ask them to try it. And I think nobody wants to say no. If you are interested to try it, you will get in .
Kathrin: Yes. And there's another issue maybe to talk about, which is the language barrier. So, can people take part if they don't speak very good Swiss German?
Sandra: Yeah, I think a lot of people in Switzerland speak English and so we will find a way to communicate together.
Kathrin: Okay. High German or even English... people will still be able to join.
Sandra: Yes. Yeah. Yes, that's no problem.
Kathrin: Okay. Is there anything in particular coming up in terms of events for hornussen?
Sandra: Yes. Yes, of course. In two years, in 2027 the Hornussen Association will celebrate its 125th anniversary.
Kathrin: Oh wow.
Sandra: We have at the same time the Eidgenössisches Hornusserfest with about 30 fields.
Kathrin: Okay.
Sandra: That will be a great event and if you can find some more players who are interested by our sport you are really welcome.
Kathrin: Okay. Yeah, that would be a good place or time to start. Yeah. Excellent. All right. That's it for today. So thanks once again to our guests, Sandra, for joining us.
Sandra: Thank you.
Kathrin: And thanks to you for listening. We'll include links in the show notes to our guest and to further materials about some of the topics that we've spoken about today. If you enjoyed the episode, please leave a review on your favourite podcast platform.
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