Swiss French struggle party
The French -speaking struggle invests cities to seduce young people
The French -speaking Swiss fight is taking place this Sunday in Neuchâtel. On Saturday, the next generation was in the running to young people in an unprecedented setting.
The French-style Swiss Farting Festival takes place this Sunday in young people, in Neuchâtel, by the lake. On Saturday, young people up to 15 years old were in action.
Jean-Guy Python
- The French-style Swiss Farting Festival takes place this Sunday in young people, in Neuchâtel, by the lake. On Saturday, young people up to 15 years old were in action.
- Nearly 80 young wrestlers have chained passes into sawdust in an unprecedented setting.
- The French -speaking struggle seeks to expand its base and make its sport known to a more urban audience.
A Swiss wrestling competition in the youth categories is also many parents by the sawdust round ready to console a defeated child or congratulate a winner. Saturday, in the young people of Neuchâtel, by the lake, The Roman succession found itself for a big sports, popular and solar – literally and figurative celebration.
Some 80 children until the age of 15 – for an overwhelming majority of boys – have chained passes and panties under a blazing sun. A passionate and promising youth, gathered in an unprecedented setting: the city, not the usual campaigns, to host an event also anchored in the tradition.
A successful bet for the organizers. “You see, the French-speaking struggle is doing well at the level of the next generation,” says Edouard Stähli, vice-president of the organizing committee of the French-speaking feast in Neuchâtel. “There is certainly a complicated passage for young people around the age of 14 or 15, with the start of studies or learning, but also because of the usual distractions with which teenagers are faced with this age,” said Edouard Stähli, also president and coach of the vineyard wrestlers’ club, in Val-de-Ruz.
Swiss struggle in an unprecedented setting
The Neuchâtel, bucolic and city downside, has made it possible to highlight a discipline that seeks to expand its French -speaking base, still shy in the face of German power. On Sunday, the French -speaking Swiss wrestling party takes place in the same place with the “active”: 120 wrestlers are expected, including Joel Wicki, king of the Federal Festival 2022 in Pratteln, the great star of the discipline and favorite of the day.
Respect and fair play are at the heart of the Swiss struggle. Values that French -speaking children appreciate.
Photo Jean-Guy Pyth
But on Saturday, it was the youth who was in the spotlight. To see the effervescence good -natured around the five round of sawdust, the passion is very real. Quentin, 15, is one of the young hopes of the Neuchâtel club of the vineyard. He has been fighting for “four or five years”. Why did he start? “Because I attended some regional festivals, and I immediately liked it. I was looking for an activity, so I went to try. It is the first and the only sport I practice. There is a good atmosphere, respect and a lot of fair play. ”
Today, he trains once or twice a week, according to the seasons. At this age, it is more or less the standard in French -speaking Switzerland. “Soon, I’m going to start learning, I will have to see how I can manage everything,” anticipates the teenager.
Quentin’s testimony reflects a sincere and authentic commitment, but also the challenges of a pivotal age where priorities change. And if there is a word that comes up in the mouths of supervisors, it is that of “base”: the importance of enlarging it, attracting more young people, to arouse lasting vocations.
David, 13, is a good example of family transmission. This young Friborg struggle, from the agricultural environment, grew up in an environment where this sport is obvious. “Above everyone practiced the struggle in our family. Me too, I liked it right away. ” Ethan, a 15-year-old Vaudois, has arrived at the Swiss fight by word of mouth. “I went to do a test training in the club where a friend trained and I immediately found pleasure in this sport. The atmosphere is good and there is always a lot of fair play. ”
Youth appreciates the tradition of Swiss struggle
“In German -speaking Switzerland, the fight champions are stars,” recalls Christian Kolly, technical leader of the Swiss Romanian struggle association. “But on the French side, popularity is not as marked. We have a few headliners, especially in the canton of Friborg, where most of the best wrestlers are located. The other French -speaking cantons are doing well, but there is still a deficit to fill. To take out in our turn champions and high -level wrestlers, we must absolutely enlarge the base. ”
The succession of Romande highlighted on Saturday in young people in Neuchâtel. On Sunday, the active will take over for the French -style Swiss wrestling party.
Photo Jean-Guy Python
This observation resonates with the rural roots of the discipline. Christian Kolly recalls that “historically, we were fighting from father to son in the country’s countryside. Today, the sporting offer is immense: the Swiss struggle is not the only sport to struggle to have succession. However, we see one thing is that young people who start this sport quickly identify with the values of the Swiss struggle and tend to remain faithful to this sport. ”
A fidelity which is undoubtedly explained by the singularity of this discipline, where tradition, physical requirement and camaraderie mingle. “There is the packaging with the very marked traditional aspect and, in the center, there is sport,” explains Christian Kolly. And this is what young people like above all: to face other wrestlers in the sawdust round. They like this folk side, but that is not to say that they listen to Yodel at home. ”
True to its roots
This identity and cultural key seduces. Edouard Stähli confirms: “While they could fight in white gymnastics outfit, almost all choose to wear the traditional shepherd’s outfit with the Edelweiss shirt. It is a strong signal, since a return marked to tradition. ”
A homecoming that does not mean a withdrawal to oneself. On the contrary. The French -speaking struggle seeks to get out of its valleys. And it is with this in mind that the party was organized in the heart of Neuchâtel. “Bringing this festival of wrestling to the city, by the lake, I thought about it and I hoped for a long time,” explains Edouard Stähli. And there, we managed to make it happen. This allows us to make our sport known to another audience. ”
Proof that the bet is successful: Saturday, around sawdust, curious in bikini or bath shorts freshly out of the lake were mixed with the families of wrestlers and an audience of connoisseurs in Edelweiss. An improbable scene in a meadow by the Bernese Oberland, but which sums up the ambition of the French struggle: to remain faithful to its roots while opening up to the world around it.
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