Hornussen is an indigenous

Swiss Swiss may refer to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland *Swiss people Places * Swiss, Missouri *Swiss, North Carolina * Swiss, West Virginia *Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses * Swiss-system tournament, in various games and sports * Swiss Internation ...

sport. The sport gets its name from the puck which is known as a "Hornuss" (

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) or "Nouss". When hit, it can whizz through the air at up to 300 km/h (186.4 mph) and create a buzzing sound. Together with Schwingen and Steinstossen, Hornussen is seen as a Swiss national sport. Outside of Switzerland, there are only a few teams.

History

The sport probably developed in the seventeenth century. The earliest reference to Hornuss is found in the records of 1625 of the

consistory Consistory is the anglicized form of the consistorium, a council of the closest advisors of the Roman emperors. It can also refer to: *A papal consistory, a formal meeting of the Sacred College of Cardinals of the Roman Catholic Church * Consistor ...

of Lauperswil,

canton Bern The canton of Bern or Berne (german: Kanton Bern; rm, Chantun Berna; french: canton de Berne; it, Canton Berna) is one of the 26 cantons forming the Swiss Confederation. Its capital city, Bern, is also the ''de facto'' capital of Switzerland. ...

, in a complaint about the breaking of the

Sabbath In Abrahamic religions, the Sabbath () or Shabbat (from Hebrew ) is a day set aside for rest and worship. According to the Book of Exodus, the Sabbath is a day of rest on the seventh day, commanded by God to be kept as a holy day of rest, as ...

. Two men were fined the sum of 20 francs for playing Hornussen on Sunday. The first recorded competitive Hornussen game occurred in 1655 in Trub. The sport appears in the 1841

Jeremias Gotthelf Albert Bitzius (4 October 179722 October 1854) was a Swiss novelist; best known by his pen name of Jeremias Gotthelf. Biography Bitzius was born at Murten, where his father was pastor. The Bitzius family had once belonged to the Bernese patrici ...

novel Uli, der Knecht. In the 19th century this amateur sport was very popular in the

Emmental The Emmental ( en, Emme Valley) is a valley in west-central Switzerland, forming part of the canton of Bern. It is a hilly landscape comprising the basins of the rivers Emme and Ilfis. The region is mostly devoted to farming, particularly dair ...

and in Entlebuch. In 1902, the federal Hornussen association was founded, which organises a competition every three years. In 2011, there were around 270 clubs in the association, with around 8,300 members. During the season inter-association and inter-cantonal events are held, as well as group and elite events. In 2012, the international Hornussen association was founded, which helps promote the sport in countries throughout the world. Since its founding, more than 20 clubs have been founded in the United States.

Gameplay

A game of Hornussen is played between two teams, each composed of between 16 and 20 players, that take turns in hitting the Nouss from the "Bock" and defending the trapeze-shaped playing field called "Ries". The "Ries" begins from the "Bock" and is deep. Initially wide, it widens to at the far end. A pair of turns, one at the Bock and one in the Ries by each team forms a "Durchgang" (translates to "transition"). In that, the sport is similar to

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...

. A normal championship game is made up of two transitions, special events (such as the regional or inter-cantonal tournaments in autumn) might be different. When playing from the Bock, each team member has to hit the Nouss twice per transition, for four hits in total. The further the Nouss flies in the Ries, the more points the player gets. The count starts at 100 meters, measured from the bock, and adds one point for every ten additional meters. The task of the defending team is to spot the Nouss in the sky and prevent it from touching the ground in the Ries by using what is called a "Schindel". Each Nouss which lands in the Ries awards one penalty point to the defending team. In the end, the team with the least penalty points wins the game. If the two teams are tied (which happens often), the points of each player are added to form the team total. In this case, the team with the most points wins. Aside from the team score, each player is ranked according to his or her personal total from the four hits. At the end of the season, the best players are rewarded.

References

{{Team sports Sports originating in Switzerland Team sports