GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – They said it themselves: “to make the Europa League, the goal seemed unattainable not long ago” but Sunday troubled football club Servette defeated Basel 2-1 in a surprise finish, to earn their way into the league. Swiss champion Basel put out its B team and left its stars on the bench, but FC Servette nevertheless showed its mettle to win smartly.
The Geneva club continues to fight for its life, with new president and owner Hugh Quennec trying to raise enough money to keep the club in business.
Usain Bolt talking at IMD business school in Lausanne in 2010
Update 11:20 ZURICH, SWITZERLAND – Two-time Olympic sprinter Usain Bolt will be running in the Weltklasse Zurich 30 August in the Zurich Diamond League athletics races, the organizers said Monday 14 May. The tickets went on sale this morning, 15 May (Ed. note: at 11:15 there are still tickets but they are going fast!)
The race will be his fifth there. “It will be great to be back at Weltklasse Zurich,” he says in a press release. “I have great memories of the fantastic organisation and passionate crowd at the Letzigrund Stadium,” Usain Bolt said. “Zurich is often called the one day Olympics and I expect this year to be a very special meeting 18 days after the London Games.”
Bolt won the 100m races in 2008 and 2009 and the Diamond League points out that “both these triumphal races came on the heels of historic achievements: an Olympic title at the Games in Beijing and another gold medal at the World Championships in Berlin.”
Botl has not yet decided if he will run the 100m or the 200m race in Zurich; both events will be staged this year and the men’s 200m race will be a Diamond Race final.
Etihad Stadium, Manchester, England – The English Premier League changed hands in the final seconds of the season when Manchester City scored two goals in extra time against QPR to move ahead of Manchester United, on goal difference. United won their game at Sunderland 0-1 with a Wayne Rooney goal but things were wilder at City’s ground where QPR led 1-2 despite being a man down, until the game went into stoppage time. City then scored twice amid scenes of delirium. It was City’s first League title for 44 years, and they are only the fifth team to win the EPL. Arsenal and Spurs took the next two places, which give access to the Champion’s League next season.
Bolton, Blackburn and Wolves face the drop.
In the Swiss Super League, champions FC Basel won 6-3 against Grasshoppers while Geneva’s Servette beat FC Zurich 0-1.
Links to other sites: Guardian, BBC, Premier League
MADRID, SPAIN – Roger Federer won the ATP Madrid Open 13 May 2012 in a tournament where his biggest rivals cursed the blue clay courts. The Swiss star moved past Rafa Nadal into second place in the ATP rankings and matched the Spaniard’s record 20 ATP 1000 tournament wins. Nadal and Novak Djokovic had already lost so the final was played against Tomas Berdych. The Czech started well by storming to a 3-0 lead in the first set and holding serve to take the set. In the second it was Federer who took an early break but gave it back in the ninth game. He still took the set, on a double fault. In the third it looked like Federer would cruise to an easy win but Berdych repeatedly fought back before losing 3-6 7-5 7-5.
Serena Williams won the women’s event with a crushing 6-1 6-3 win over world number one Victoria Azarenka.
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – Three Ethiopians took the top slots in the men’s Geneva Marathon for Unicef, which ran 4-6 May, and Russian/French Yulia Vinokurova came in first in the women’s race. Some 1,200 “elite” runners joined the race this year, but the hugely popular event pulled in 6,700 runners in all categories, including 500 children.
Final results:
Men
1. Asfaw Tewodros Zewou, 1980, ETH-Ethiopie 2:19.25,5 (6)
2. Seifu Terefe, 1991, Ethiopie 2:19.51,9 (15)
3. Begashaw Hailu, 1984, Ethiopie 2:25.12,2 (14)
Women
1. Vinokurova Yulia, 1972, F-Le Havre 2:44.29,2 (12)
2. Domvrou Andriani, 1974, GR-Pireas 3:03.38,5 (253)
3. Camelo Nisa, 1982, Meyrin 3:12.30,3 (28)
BASEL, SWITZERLAND – It took three times but FC Basel has finally accepted the crown as Swiss football champions, in one of the stranger sagas of trying to make it to the top. The club defeated Lausanne 3-1 but the bigger battle was with FC Luzern, which theoretically could have overtaken the Basel club but its 2-2 draw with Zurich Grasshoppers over the weekend ended that possibility.
FC Luzern has been embroiled in a case to be decided by the CAS (Court of Arbitration for Sport) that could give the team additional points for the season.
Swiss football has been plagued in recent months by bankruptcies and scandal and disputes, the most recent of which has been Geneva Servette’s efforts to avoid bankruptcy. Financier Hugh Quennec, part-owner of Geneva Servette Hockey Club, is currently scrambling to raise the necessary money to retain the club’s license.
Hugh Quennec, fighting for Geneva Servette Football Club in a year marred by scuffles and more
Four of the top Swiss clubs saw their requests to renew their licenses turned down last week, and Neuchatel Xamax filed for bankruptcy in January 2012. One of the teams turned down is Sion, which has defied Uefa and Fifa over 36 points deducted because they fielded ineligible players in a European match. “Switzerland, famous for its organization, is the home of world governing body FIFA and European equivalent UEFA but its domestic football has endured a chaotic year with the problems centered around Sion and Neuchatel Xamax,” Sports Illustrated recently reported.
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – British cyclist Bradley Wiggins won the Tour de Romandie Sunday, finishing the six-day race by winning Sunday’s against-the-clock run under tough conditions. The final 16.5km leg was a loop downhill from Montana Village, just below the resort of Crans-Montan, to Mollens and back up the steep mountainside to Aminona, ending in Crans. High gusty winds gave the cyclists a tough time, but Wiggins finished in 28.56.60.
The Guardian reports that this is the first British win of the Tour de Romandie in the race’s 65 year history, and it gave a foretaste of the Tour de France, where Wiggins now looks like “one of the big favourites”. British newspapers waxed enthusiastic Sunday and Monday over the possibility that they have a real contender for the big French race in July.
British Cylcing reports that “Wiggins’ win came despite a mechanical problem – reported to be a derailed chain – which briefly delayed him only a few minutes into the stage, but showing the sort of confidence which suggests he has moved on to a new level this year, the national road race champion calmly picked up the pace again and rode on to victory.”
American Andrew Talansky was second in the time trial.
Two forest fires, 80 police calls in less than 24 hours in Valais
No doubt about it, the wind was blowing hard in Valais Sunday morning
LAUSANNE, SWITZERLAND – The Tour de Romandie racers face a tough challenge Sunday 29 April as they pump up the steep mountainside from Mollens to Aminona, after a descent from Crans-Montana, 16.5km with strong foehn winds gusting for their final day of the race, against the clock.
Valais police say that between noon Saturday and 09:00 Sunday they had 80 calls due to wind, mainly trees down and electric lines hit.
Two forest fires were started by falling trees hitting electric lines; one Saturday afternooon in Mieville, which was quickly contained, touched 1,000m2 and a second, between Gietroz and Finhaut at 05:00, covered 5,000m2. There were no injuries and no homes reached by the fires.
Meteoswiss said Sunday morning that the past five days have seen three peaks in the foehn, with the strongest Saturday afternoon between Le Bouveret and Martigny, when it reached 100kph.
The warm, dry southwest wind stretched further than normal – it is usually an Alpine valley wind – reaching Geneva airport and at times Schaffhausen.
Temperatures also reached record highs for April, with Sion and Sierre registering 30C Saturday afternoon.
Glacier Patrol: the 2012 race was cut short due to snow conditions, even though the skiers race at night when the snow is more stable (photo ©2012 Patrouille des Glaciers / Steve Fellay)
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – The famed Glacier Patrol, one of the world’s toughest high mountain trail ski races, has been called off at Arolla due to the instability of the snow.
There have been no accidents, the Swiss Army, which organizes the race reported early Saturday, but not all information about the skiers was in yet.
The racers were turned shortly before 04:30 Saturday 28 April after a safety team checked the snow conditions because of the suddenly warmer weather that continued through the night.
The last time a race was begun and cancelled was in 2002.
More than 600 teams, just over one-third, began the race in Arolla and Zermatt before being turned back.
The closing programme will be held in Verbier, as planned, at 16:00 and the Patrouille Swiss acrobatic air team will put on its scheduled show at 17:00 Saturday.
Foreign non-residents lax when it comes to safety gear
BERN, SWITZERLAND – The Swiss Safety Council’s latest figures for the use of safety equipment on the country’s ski slopes and off-piste show good use up to age 17, then a dip after age 25 until age 46, when skiers and snowboarders suddenly put on their safety gear again.
The council for the first time compared use of safety equipment by “foreign guests” and Swiss residents, and the foreigners fell far short, with 73 percent wearing helmets, as compared to 88 percent of Swiss residents, all ages and genders mixed.
The use of helmets has increased sharply in the past 10 years thanks in large part to the council’s safety awareness campaign, but wearing them has not been evenly adopted, with the 84 percent Swiss average hiding a big language region difference: 89 percent in German-speaking Switzerland and 71 percent in French-speaking Switzerland.
Biggest increase in helmets seen with 18-25 year-olds
The group that showed the sharpest increase in the use of safety equipment was the 18-25 year-olds, up 12 percent.
Ed. note: no explanation is provided for the difference between 88 percent for Swiss residents and the 84 percent that is the average between French and German regions; presumably Italian region use is lower than German region use.
Skiers have caught up with snowboarders in terms of helmet use, both now averaging 84 percent after 10 years of skiers gradually closing the gap. The 2002-03 season saw only 20 percent of snowboarders wearing helmets and 14 percent of skiers.
The council’s safety check, carried out on the slopes with questionnaires this year in order to include foreign residents, covered 4,521 skiers this year and 1,038 snowboarders, slightly more than the previous year. The safety council works with 20 cableway companies throughout Switzerland to compile the statistics.
Legendary race gets warmer but windy weather for one of world’s toughest ski events
Swiss army says 2014 race is on
2012 Glacier Patrol race starts! photo: ©2012 Patrouille des Glaciers, published with permission
Update: the first three groups that set off Wednesday night from Zermatt had to turn back, on foot, due to worsening weather, with gales blowing around Col de Valpelline, Tête-Blanche and Col de Bertol. Racers who started at 03:30 from Arolla were able to continue.
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – Three women who form a team for the legendary Glacier Patrol race say they aim to finish among the overall leaders. Marie Troillet, Nathalie Etzensperger and Emilie Gex-Fabry have been training for months to keep their title from the 2010 race, completed in 7 hours, 41’18″, a record.
The winners of the men’s race in 2010, Martin Anthamatten, Florent Troillet and Yannick Ecoeur, also set a record, completing it in 5 hours 52’22″.
Most competitors finish in closer to 12 hours. The race has its origins in the second world war: the Swiss Army, concerned about an invasion, sent a patrol out to check the area of peaks along the border with Italy.
The race was limited to Swiss soldiers in its early years, but it is now an international event. The army still runs it and limits the number of teams to maintain safety standards.
The 2012 race officially opened in Zermatt at 21:00 Wednesday 25 April, but it involves two separate endurance races, with the top teams, including the Swiss record holders for mens and womens races, taking off from Zermatt at 03:00 Saturday 28 April.
The first, shorter race of 26km is run from Arolla to Verbier and the second, 55km, from Zermat to Verbier.
The weather forecast was for suddenly warmer weather, highs of 10C in Zermatt, accompanied by high winds.
This year the race has 1,451 teams of three skiers each who face 5,275 metres of ascent and 6,431 metres of descent. The race had full registration in February, with 1,800 skiers on the waiting list.
Glacier Patrol, starting gate, 2012 in Zermatt photo: ©2012 Patrouille des Glaciers, published with permission
Spectators can put on touring skis to watch from the slopes, or cheer at the Verbier finish line – or watch TV
The Glacier Patrol (Patrouille des Glaciers in French) is hugely popular in Switzerland, but despite its attraction for civilian teams, it remains very much a military event, a detail that the Swiss Army underscored this year with its announcement eight weeks ago that the Armed Forces Command has given the green light to run the race again in 2014. At one point the race, which involves a massive organizational effort, was the subject of speculation as military budgets were reviewed and cut.
Soldiers who race are required to show up in uniform for the final ceremony.
Large crowds welcome the skiers at the finish line in Verbier and hundreds of people doing ski touring join them along the route to cheer them on, but this year the organizers are warning spectators to be sure to come down early, due to the danger of avalanches.
Information for Verbier spectators
Information for Zermatt spectators and from the GP
The race can also be viewed on television and several radio stations cover it.
Results for teams are available on a special web site and Swisscom has supplied apps for iPhone and Android to follow the race.
Valais man dies in Nendaz avalanche
A 27-year-old Valais man, an off-piste snowboarder, died in Nendaz Wednesday afternoon after being carried several hundred metres by an avalanche he set off at 14:20. He and another person were going from Mt Fort via the Col des Gentianes to Tortin. His airbag opened and he stayed on top of the avalanche, but was carried over rocky outcrops. The accident was seen by several people, who immediately provided emergency aid, to no avail.
Background, GenevaLunch on 2010 race
LAUSANNE, SWITZERLAND – The Tour de Romandie bicycle race gets underway Tuesday 24 April, with racers facing nearly 700 km run over the course of the six-day race and 8,800 metres of altitude differences.
Tuesday’s prologue takes the riders along the Ouchy quai in Lausanne towards Morges. The first race is Wednesday, from Morges to La Chaux-de-Fonds and it ends in Crans-Montana Sunday 29 April.
Vaud police are alerting motorists that traffic facing the oncoming race will be stopped and drivers will have to be patient while the race passes, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. Areas affected:
Wednesday 25 April
Morges - La Chaux-de-Fonds
Departure Morges, Quai du Mont-Blanc (12h35) – Echichens – Romanel-sur-Morges – Aclens – Gollion – Allens – Cossonay (12h54) – La Sarraz – Pompaples – Arnex-sur-Orbe – Orbe (13h14) – Mathod – Montagny – Les Tuileries – Grandson (13h35) – Onnens – Corcelles-Concise – Concise (13h46) – Canton de Neuchâtel
Friday 27 April
La Neuveville – Charmey
Departure Canton de Berne (13h30) – Canton de Fribourg (13h50) – Mur (14h03) – Guévaux – Vallamand – Vallamand-Dessous – Salavaux (14h09) – Canton de Fribourg – Missy (14h17) – Vallon – Ressudens – Grandcour (14h23) – Canton de Fribourg – Yvonand (14h48) – Arrissoules – Rovray – Chavannes-le-Chêne – Combremont-le-Petit – Cremin – Lucens (15h20) -Curtilles – Sarzens – Brenles (15h35) – Canton de Fribourg
Saturday 28 April
Bulle – Sion
Departure Canton de Fribourg (12h25) – La Tine (13h05) – Rossinière – Les Moulins – L’Etivaz – La Lécherette – Col des Mosses (13h42) – La Comballaz – Aigle (13h57) – Bex (14h10) – Canton du Valais
Team says decision not unexpected as it scrambles to meet requirements for appeal deadline
Sion FC trainer quits
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – These are odd days for Swiss football, with Basel winning but saying in advance that even if it won this weekend, it wouldn’t accept the title, while in Geneva, fans of Servette FC are holding their breath. Monday morning’s news, 23 April, that the Swiss Football League has refused to give the team a license for next season is the latest blow to a team struggling to get back on its feet.
Hugh Quennec, one of the owners of Geneva Servette Hockey Club, pledged a month ago to raise enough funds to save the Geneva football club as it slipped to the brink of bankruptcy after then-president Majid Pishyar conceded defeat.
He went before judge Fabienne Geisinger Thursday 19 April to ask for an extension of the deadlline, reportedly saying he is close to raising the money but needs a few more days.
The financial viability of the team is one of the conditions for obtaining a license and GSFC manager Philipp Kneubuehler said Monday the team was not surprised by the SF League’s decision not to give a license now. “We haven’t yet filled all the conditions for getting a license but we’re counting on doing it in a very short time. A complete file will be handed in, in a second request.”
Quennec would like GSFC function as the hockey club does, building a strong sense of community with the team’s fans. He’s off to an early start with a buy-a-brick plan to raise funds while building popular support. He’s also intent on building interest in the team in the expatriate community in the Geneva area; to that end GSFC just worked with So Money Productions and Patrianova Communication to publish a community service video featuring player Philippe Senderos talking in English about why the community needs the team.
Sion football trainer Laurent Roussey resigned Monday morning, the latest in an ongoing saga for the troubled Valais club.
WW2 event revival for young athletes from greater Lake Geneva region in France and Switzerland
Revived after 60 years: the Jeux de Geneve
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – Geneva is reviving its Jeux de Genève sports event 12-13 May, with 2,000 young athletes from the region competing in 22 disciplines.
The Games date back to the second world war, with Geneva running the Games from 1940-1951 as a forum where athletes could be selected for international competitions.
The new games are part of growing cross-border programmes that are starting to give the greater Lake Geneva region a clearer profile. Athletes from Vaud, Ain, Haute-Savoie and Geneva will be competing.
A number of special competitions in various sports will be part of the overall games and awarding titles, including the Coupe genevoise, the Championnats genevois, and a Championnat romand.
The project is backed by the Association Genevoise des Sports, the canton and the city of Geneva, with a focus on the role sports play in peace.
The sports disciplines and the four sites where the Games take place
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – Switzerland’s Slow-up movement, designed to get us all out and moving without motors, opened its 13th season 21 April in canton Ticino.
Some 400,000 people take part every year in the 16 Slow-ups around the country. A designated area of 30km, as much as possible of it flat, is turned into a car-free area for a day and anyone joining the fun is encouraged to arrive and leave via public transport, bicycle or rollerblades.
Each organization puts on a number of scheduled events en route.
The next one will be at Lac de Morat between cantons Vaud and Fribourg 29 April, followed by Valais 3 June, with the Vallée de Joux scheduled for 1 July and Geneva holding its during the Fetes de Geneve in early August.
CAMP NOU, BARCELONA, SPAIN – Barcelona lost their second game in a week when they went down 1-2, 21 April, in their home El Classico match against Real Madrid, virtually handing the La Liga title to their arch-rivals. In the English Premier League Man United managed to go from two goals up with only seven minutes left to a 4-4 draw with Everton, meaning that Man City can take the Premier League title if they win their last four games, including the big one against Man United on 30 April.
In Switzerland FC Basel have almost won the Super League, after beating Sion 3-0 but have not started to celebrate as Luzern could theoretically pick up two bonus points from an earlier match with Sion, and then only need to catch up another 16 points on the leaders.
The big games this week feature Barcelona v Chelsea and Real Madrid v Bayern Munich in the Champions League semi-finals. Both Spanish teams need to come back from a loss in the first leg.
Links to other sites: Premier League, RTS
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – The Bahrain Grand Prix will go ahead as planned on 22 April, the International Automobile Federation (FIA) announced.
Ongoing political unrest, which included the death of anti-government protesters last year, had fueled speculation that the racing event may be cancelled. Opposition to the ruling royal family had called for the races to be put off.
The Formula 1 governing body released a statement Friday 13 April saying “The FIA must make rational decisions on the information provided to us by the Bahraini authorities and by the Commercial Rights Holders” and “it is satisfied that all the proper security measures are in place for the running” of the race.
Formula 1 president Bernie Ecclestone, commented, “I suppose the right thing to do is to stop speculating and wait and see, then we will deal with the matter when it arises”.
Links to other sources: BBC, The Guardian, International Business Times
AUGUSTA, GEORGIA, USA - Bubba Watson, from Bagdad , Florida, sneaked past the field to win a tie-break at the Masters, 8 April The South African Louis Oosthuizen started the final day with an albatross on the second, three under par, and then held on but was caught in the last few holes. He led the field for most of the round despite pressure from Americans Matt Kuchar and Bubba Watson and Phil Mikkelson. Watson pulled even at the final holes to take the match to tie-break. Both just missed their putts for birdies on the first play-off hole, and then both went way off the fairway on the second. Watson hit an amazing recovery shot to make the green in two while Oosthuizen again missed a putt, leaving the American with a simple two putts to take the tournament.
OLD TRAFFORD, MANCHESTER, ENGLAND – Manchester United took a firm hold of the Premier League by extending their lead over their noisy neighbours to eight points, 8 April. United beat QPR 2-0 while Man City lost 1-0 at Arsenal. United controlled the game and struck twice with a Wayne Rooney penalty and a trademark strike by veteran Paul Scholes. In the next game Man City again self-destructed as they were outplayed by the Gunners, with Mario Balotelli fortunate to stay on the field after a vicious early foul. The Italian striker was later sent off and is unlikly to play again this season. Coach Roberto Mancini and wandering striker Carlos Tevez might also be out at the end of the season. Tottenham held on to fourth place, behind Arsenal, with a draw at Sunderland. Chelsea moved nearer with a fortunate 2-1 win over Wigan. Wolves are bottom of the League, with Wigan and Blackburn in the other two relegation spots with six games to play.
Lionel Messi scored twice for Barcelona in their 1-4 win at Real Zaragoza, bringing his season total to an amazing 60 goals. Real Madrid were held to a 0-0 home draw by Valencia, leaving them with a three point lead over Barcelona in La Liga. In the Swiss Super League FC Basel still dominate with a 17 point lead despite only drawing 1-1 at Lucerne. Sion beat FC Zurich 2-1.
Links to other sites: Premier League, Guardian, RTS
BASEL, SWITZERLAND – 8-7 was the final score, Canada over Scotland, giving Canada team skip Glenn Howard his third consecutive World Championship in curling after an extra-end win over Scotland’s Tom Brewster.
Details: RTS Swiss public broadcasting (Fre), The Scotsman (final not yet listed, 23:00 Sunday), Toronto Sun
BASEL, SWITZERLAND – The Canadian men’s team won the opening round of the eight-day world curling championship in Basel Sunday 1 April, defeating Germany 9-2, after neatly dispensing with the American team 8-7. Canada earlier defeated France.
The game is popular in Switzerland, notes Canada’s TheSpec/Canadian Press, with 160 clubs and 800 registered players, but Canadians on hand for the finals were puzzled by the quiet and relatively small crowd. “It was so quiet during the morning game that banter between curlers could easily be heard from the stands. The occasional cheer, the steady whir of stones sliding down the ice and buzz from the brushers were essentially the only sounds in the rather cavernous 9,000-seat venue. Official attendance figures weren’t released but organizers estimated that 800 spectators were on hand in the morning. A manual head count revealed less than half that number.” The evening match, says TheSpec, appeared to pull in about 1,800.
The crowds might just be warming up, with a cheering throng in the streets for the opening parade, reports the Winnipeg Free Press.
The medal game are 8 April in Basel.
Ed. note: tickets are available online from the Men’s World Curling Championship site; CHF30 for most matches and CHF50 for next weekend’s finals.
ZURICH, SWITZERLAND – The Swiss Supreme Court has just ruled against Fifa in the case of Brazilian footballer Matuzalem, Forbes is saying the International Olympic Committee (IOC) should be worried about Fifa, and the Zurich-based football group is about to publish the measures it envisages to fight corruption. Few would accuse Fifa, the world football federation, of leading a quiet life, but this is a particularly busy news week for the group.
Matuzalem was ordered to pay $15.8 million to his former club, Shakhtar Donetsk, and Fifa ruled that if he fell behind on his payments he would be banned from the sport. But the high court ruled that this was taking things too far. SI/AP notes that this is a rare victory in the five-year battle between the player and his former club. “A CAS (Lausanne-based sports arbitration court) panel ordered the eight-figure compensation after Matuzalem broke his Shakhtar contract in July 2007 to join Zaragoza, increasing the amount previously awarded by Fifa. That CAS decision in May 2009 was hailed as a victory for clubs and contractual stability against the growing trend of player power.”
Meanwhile, Forbes writes, all is not as smooth as it might be in Brazil, Matuzalem’s home, with the 2014 World Cup coming up. Fifa has been showing its muscle there, too, and, writes Forbes, it appears to be reminding the country that “Fifa ultimately calls the shots and when Brazil signed on for the event they agreed to a governance structure that makes the local organizing committee ‘subject to the supervision and control of Fifa, which has the last word on all matters relevant to the 2014 Fifa World Cup. The decisions of Fifa are final.’”
Fifa will be in sports headlines Friday with the long-awaited proposal on how Fifa corruption and reform, by a team led by Mark Pieth. The former UN investigator was hired by Fifa President Seth Blatter in November 2011 to draw up the proposals based on his research into Fifa’s past problems. AP reports that while Blatter appears to be backing the report, Pieth warns the proposals will be “tough” on Fifa.
BERN, SWITZERLAND – The Swiss women’s ski team has quickly found a new boss, Austrian Hans Flatscher, who has been the men’s downhill coach. He replaces Mauro Pini, who said a week ago that he would be leaving, in the wake of tensions after he fired a trainer who was well liked by several of the women on the team. The women had a poor season in terms of wins. Flatscher, in his eight years with the men’s team, has coached several top downhill skiers, and before he joined the Swiss team he worked in Germany and Austria.
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – Sweden was tall on the podiums at the end of the Verbier Swatch Freeride World Tour 26 March, with Reine Barkered as the new 2012 World Champion for men’s X-treme skiing and Christine Hargin taking the women’s title.
But the Swedes gave way to Switzerland, which is the new women’s world curling champion after a 7-7 upset win in Lethbridge, Canada Sunday afternoon. The lead changed several times during a thrilling final. Curling fans in Switzerland will be able to see the game in top form in Basel starting 31 March, host to the men’s world championship matches.
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – Brief and to the point, the city of Geneva mailed out a press release Monday morning 26 March to say its unnamed sports director is resigning, effective the end of March, with an investigation underway. The city says it will not comment further or issue more statements, typical in cases where a police investigation is underway.
The director was suspended in February over possible irregularities in the organization of the Geneva Challenger ATP tennis tournament.
Spring at the beach in Perroy Thursday: time out to admire the Alps
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – This is our last official report for the season, with flowers coming out and trees budding on the Swiss plains.
It doesn’t mean, of course, that you have to stop skiing, and if we spot anything of special interest, we’ll post it on GenevaLunch. See details below for the big x-treme event in Verbier this week and a thrillling video, plus a sobering tally of mountain accidents from the Swiss Alpine Club (CAS).
It’s been a great year, with wonderful snow everywhere, so we’re putting in a bid now for the same next season!
Meanwhile, start polishing those hiking boots, for we’ll soon be moving into that kind of weather, after a spring pause to let the slopes recover.
And take a little time to step back and admire the Alps from the shores of Lake Geneva before you head up to the mountains.
Weather forecast
The temperature spread in the Lake Geneva region area as well as the northern Alps (Vaud, Valais) is 2-19C for the next four days, highs of 12-13C in resorts at 1,700 metres. Time for sun cream if you’re going to the mountains. And what a weekend in the mountains, with sunshine everywhere, occasional cloud cover, no wind and spring in the air. National weather service MeteoSwiss
Avalanche, snow reports
Steep slopes in central Switzerland, around Andermatt, have an avalanche risk of 3, but otherwise the risk is moderate, 2/5 throughout Switzerland. The WSL avalanche institute map shows snow depth still good throughout the Alps.
News
INDIAN WELLS, CALIFORNIA – Roger Federer swept past his long time rival Rafael Nadal to go into the finals of the ATP tournament in Indian Wells, 17 March. The Swiss star, currently third in the ATP rankings, won 6-3 6-4, breaking Nadal’s serve on four occasions with a display of precision and power that Nadal could not match.It was Federer’s 251st win in an ATP 1000 event, a record.
John Isner beat top ranked Novak Djokovic 7-6 (9-7) 3-6 7-6 (7-5) to enter the top ten for the first time. The final will be at 21:00 Swiss time Sunday evening, shown on RTS.
In the final Federer edged past Isner in the first set tie-break and then sped through the second set to win 7-6 6-3, winning an incredible 94% of the points when his first serve was in.
MILLLENIUM STADIUM, CARDIFF, WALES – The Welsh team completed their Grand Slam, which involves winning all the Six Nations matches in a season, with a 16-9 win over France, 17 March. It was their third slam in eight years and brought comparisons with the great 1970s team led by Mervyn Davies,who died the previous day. It was not a particularly good game, except in the result, with only one try and long periods of rather negative defensive play by the French team. The Welsh team will not care too much about the manner of the victory.
The English forwards dominated as they crushed Ireland 30-9, including a penalty try. The match was balanced until half-time but then England took complete control at the scrums, aided by handling errors by the Irish.
Italy won the match with Scotland 13-6 to avoid the “wooden spoon” for the bottom team. Scotland’s manager Andy Robinson insisted he would stay on despite his team losing all five matches.
Links to other sites: Wales Online, Guardian, BBC
Spring skiing has arrived!
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – Temperatures Friday noon of 18-21C in Sierre and Sion, the valley bed in canton Valais, is a major clue: spring skiing is definitely here. Resorts in the Jura, Vaud and Valais all still have plenty of snow, but it gets soupy quickly, and you’ll find many of the skiers bronzing in chairs rather than spending too much time on the pistes.
Weather forecast
Highs of 20C in Geneva and 22C in Sion for the weekend, reaching 12C in Zermatt. Lows will hover around 0C in resorts, but precipitation will start again Monday, with some snow in mountain areas and rain on the plain as temperatures slip slightly to just under freezing at night in the mountains, 4 in Geneva and Sion.
Don’t forget your sun cream if you’re going outdoors!
Snow conditions, avalanche report
The hazard map is one of the best we’ve seen this winter, with a low (1) risk throughout the country for dry avalanches and 2 for wet avalanches.
The WSL snow depth map for Switzerland was updated 15 March and shows most resort areas still having plenty of 120-200cm areas.
Alpine resorts
Verbier is making spring official, with 20 percent off deal from Sunday to Thursday, on hotel plus skiing, starting 18 March. Verbier offers a safety course Saturday mornings. And this weekend a guided snowshoe outing is on offer for families.
Most resorts are relatively calm this weekend: just plain skiing.
Jura report
by Shirley Curran
There is still plenty of snow on our slopes but it becomes very soft as the day wears on. Our season finishes 25 March.
Until then, the lifts at Lélex and la Faucille will be operating.
The Crozet sector will be running at the weekends and on Wednesday. Check the webcams at Monts-Jura.com and three-day weather report. The hot days are expected to continue for a while.
Ed. note: The International Ski Federation Grand Prix races are on in the Jura this weekend. Join the fun!
MUNICH, GERMANY – Bayern Munich put on a fine display of controlled attacking football to thrash Basel 7-0 in the second leg of their Champions League match 13 March. Basel FC, clear leaders in the Swiss Super league, had beaten Manchester United to reach the knock-out and won the first leg against Bayern 1-0. In the return leg they could do nothing to stop the rampant Bavarian team, which led 3-0 at half-time and then accelerated away, with Ribéry, Robben and Gomez doing the damage.
In the other match Marseille lost to Inter Milan 2-1 but go through to the next round thanks to their 1-0 win in the first leg.
