Nyon, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - Half of the debt owed by European football clubs is owed by British clubs, the Nyon-based European football association Uefa is expected to say in an upcoming report, The European Club Footballing Landscape. A copy of the report has been seen by the Guardian, the newspaper writes in a lengthy article that looks at football club budgets. It says that “When it publishes the report in the coming weeks, Uefa will present it as authoritative evidence of the need for its Financial Fair Play rules, agreed in principle by the major clubs and leagues, which will require clubs to break even financially from 2012-13.”
Swiss giant greeting card hung in front of dam makes it into Guinness Book of World Records
Quatre Vallées, Valais, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – A giant good luck winter sports card aimed at Swiss athletes, with 3,645 signatures, has been accepted by Guinness World Records as the world’s largest greeting card. It was strung across the Lac de Creuson dam, at 2,000 metres, in January, ahead of the 2010 Winter Olympic Games.
It measures 43×64 metres and AlpIQ, the electricity company that has sponsored it, registered it for the Guinness Book of World Records. The previous record-holder was 11×28, in Stockholm.
Shopping bags that are a copy of the huge banner are sold on www.fanpower.ch, with buyers entered in a contest for day ski passes and a trip to the World Cup ski finals in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Austria.
Title: Swiss tchoukball championship
Location: Chavannes, Vaud, Salle de La Plaine
Link out: Click here
Description: Next in series of tournament matches, Lausanne vs Geneva
Start Time: 20:45
Date: 2010-02-23
End Time: 21:45
Lindsey Vonn’s win in the Women’s Downhill and Shani Davis’s in the Men’s 1,000m Speedskating pushed the US to the top of the gold medals list at the Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver with four, while Germany, Korea and Switzerland each have three. Vonn is the first American to win the downhill, reports Reuters, and Davis the first man to win the 1,000 at successive Olympics.
The International Luge Federation (FIL) has decided that it wants tracks to be slower, de-emphasizing their speed, the group’s head, Svein Romstad, has told journalists, suggesting that the track for the 2014 Winter Games in Russia should be slower than the one at Whistler in Canada, where 21-year-old Nodar Kumaritashvili died in a training crash. The young man’s father, who was once a top luge competitor, is quoted by journalists as saying Monday that his son spoke to him of his fears about the speed of the track just days before he died.
More than a year earlier the FIL president, Josef Fendt, said the organization was starting to consider speed limits, something that had never been an issue before the world’s fastest track was opened and tested at Whistler. “The topic ’speed limit’ in luge came up during the international training week at the Whistler Sliding Center carried out on the luge track for the 2010 Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver, Canada, in November,’ reported the FIL web site in December 2008. “Top speeds of up to 149 km/h were registered on the new track. ‘This is not in the interest of our International Luge Federation and it makes me worry’, said Fendt, who criticised the designers of the new Olympic track: “We’ve always assumed that, on principle, top speeds of 135 or 136 km/h were possible. But we didn’t reckon with such a leap.”
Links to other sites: BBC, FIL 2008, Time
Background, GenevaLunch
Title: Castle hopping/hike
Location: Nyon, Prangins and more
Link out: Click here
Description: Spend the day seeing the castles in beautiful Vaud. An 8-km hike and tour that takes approximately 4.5 hours.
Date: 2010-02-27
BMW Oracle on the water in Valencia 3 February
Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – America’s Cup, the top international sailing event, may happen in Valencia after all, it appears, after months of legal battles between Alinghi and the challenger, BMW Oracle, threatened to sink the race. Remaining legal challenges, over such matters as Alinghi unilaterally setting the start time of the race at 10:06 Monday 8 February were put to rest by the International Jury Wednesday 3 February, which said yes, Société Nautique de Genève (SNG) has the right to set the rules.
The five-person jury early Wednesday refused several challenges from BMW Oracle to what the SNG argues are its rights to set the rules. The Geneva-based SNG, home to Alinghi, holds the Deed of Gift, which traditionally gives the bulk of decision-making power to the defending champion.
Alinghi on the water in Valencia, 1 February 2010 (photo: ©2010 George Johns/Alinghi)
One of the BMW Oracle objections concerns dumping substances in the sea while racing. The jury refused the San Francisco-based team’s objections to rules for this, it emphasized that all applicable laws apply during the race.
Weather will ultimately determine if the race begins on time. The weather forecast for Monday and Tuesday: 8-20C, 20 percent chance of rain and winds picking up from 10kph Sunday night to 21-25kph.
Links to other sites: Alinghi, BMW Oracle
Avalanches in several cantons catch snowboarders, hikers, skiers Sunday 31 January
Grimentz is in the Val d'Anniviers, Valais
Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – A 24-year-old Vaud man was killed by an avalanche Sunday 31 January while snowboarding off-piste in Grimentz with three friends. They were just 100 metres from a groomed piste when the avalanche caught and buried him. The other three were not hit by the avalanche.
Ed note: GenevaLunch, which published several articles on Myles Robinson’s disappearance and death in Wengen, canton Bern during the Christmas holidays 2009, has been asked by his family to share information about a memorial fund with the thousands of readers who followed the story. Many wrote in to express their sorrow at the family’s loss.
Myles and Michael Robinson
Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - The family of Myles Robinson, a young British man who disappeared two days before Christmas in the Swiss resort of Wengen, canton Bern, and was later found dead from a cliff-top fall, is establishing a fund in his memory. The Myles Robinson Memorial Trust aims to “increase the involvement of young British adults in helping underprivileged children at home and abroad to become more actively involved in sport.”
Title: Horse races (with jockeys on skis)
Location: St Moritz
Link out: Click here
Description: A must-see race staged since 1907, on snow-covered lake in centre of town
Start Date: 2010-02-07
End Date: 2010-02-21
The state of the AI en route to the mountains, glorious Jura snow
Weekend walk and circus special in Nyon, Swiss skiers and boarders
Jura (Crozet) Wednesday 20 January (image: S Curran)
Crozet with blue skies - Geneva in the fog below
Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - It’s January, so expect a mix of Spring moments and sudden snow showers on the lakefront but pure winter goodness in the mountains this weekend.
Wednesday it snowed in Nyon and along the lakefront, throughout the week the Jura has thrived, as large amounts of the white stuff came down, and the Alps have had sunshine again after gloomy spells.
The road out of town
If you’re heading out of the Geneva area to the Swiss Alps be aware that this is the first weekend when the new A1 autoroute signaling system is open, adding a third lane in each direction between Morges and Lausanne. The system is very easy to follow and there have been no accidents since it was put in place Monday, but you do need to drive attentively, with other drivers sometimes surprised to find the system there. It operates only in the afternoons, until Monday 25 January when it goes into use full-time.
Weather forecast
The question of whether South African runner Caster Semenya will be allowed to race until the question of her gender is settled remains unclear, with conflicting views from officials. The Vancouver Sun reports that according to Athletics South Africa, the answer is no, but S Africa’s Times Live quotes an ASA official as saying she can race. Semenya took a gender verification test after winning the women’s 800 metre race in Berlin in August. The results have not been released yet by the IAAF (International Athletics Association Federation) and the South Africa body says she must be cleared to race by the IAAF. SEmenya appeared on a list of runners for upcoming races who are subject to testing, published by the IAAF Thursday 14 January.
Links to other sites: TimesLive, Vancouver Sun
Title: Ice skating in Lausanne
Location: Lausanne
Link out: Click here
Description: Ice skating in Lausanne. Monday thru Sunday starting at 11:00.
Start Date: 2009-12-05
End Date: 2010-02-28
Title: Exhibit: Vancouver and the 2010 Olympics
Location: Lausanne
Link out: Click here
Description: Visit the Olympic museum in Lausanne. Biathlon, bob and curling try-outs
Date: 2010-01-12 to 2010-01-17
Angola will continue to host football’s African Cup of Nations, but Togo confirmed that it is pulling out of the Cup after a deadly attack on its team by separatists in northern Angola, 9 January. Three non-playing members of the Togo team delegation died in the attack and the rest of the group has flown home but the team has reportedly asked that its slot remain open.The tournament opened Sunday 10 January with a “thrilling” match, reports AllAfrica, with Mali “forcing a stunning 4-4 draw.|
Links to other sites: AllAfrica, Financial Times
Title: Bobsleigh world cup
Location: St Moritz
Link out: Click here
Description: Bob, Skeleton and many other races.
Start Date: 2009-01-11
End Date: 2009-01-17
Moon rising above Leukerbad, Switzerland: after the rain, before the new snow, 30 December 2009 (click on image to view larger)
Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – Precipitation is not in short supply in Switzerland at the moment, but the picture from the mountain-tops has been mixed: heavy rain in most areas all day Wednesday 30 December, and into the night, washed away much of the snow below 2,000 metres in the Alps. The Jura was short on snow to begin with and the rain did not improve things.
But temperatures have been dropping and as of 10:00 Thursday morning snow is back in the Alps, down to 800 metres: it is snowing heavily in the Sion-Brig resorts area (Anzeres, Crans-Montana, Saas-Fee, Zermatt).
Jura report, from Shirley Curran
The Jura resorts are all poised ready for the big snow which is taking its time to appear this year. Harsh weather conditions mean that you are probably better off by a log fire with a good book this weekend.
Alpine resorts report
When the snow and snowplows look like this at 1,000 metres, you know the skiing is getting better up above!
Snowing hard at 1,000m near Crans-Montana, Switzerland, 10:00 Thursday 31 December
All regions: use care if you’re considering going off-piste: High temperatures plus fresh snow = increased avalanche danger, with the SLT (federal avalanche institute) bulletin indicating “considerable avalanche danger widespread” (level 3), throughout canton Valais and the northern flanks of the Alps, which includes the higher resorts in canton Bern.
Crans-Montana Friday night skiing, from 19:00-22:00, should be good New Year’s day, but check after Thursday evening. Cost: CHF15.
Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - Geneva Servette won at Vernets before a crowd of 6,031, defeating Kloten Flyers Tuesday 17 November 3-2 (1-1, 1-0, 0-1).
Lords, a name that in the world of cricket means something akin to the holy ground, as the sport’s “most famous ground” according to the Times, UK, is considering selling its name. It becomes the latest major traditional sport venue in Britain to consider selling naming rights to a major sponsor. Wembley Stadium and Twickenham considering doing the same, in rugby. Lords cricket grounds are part of a major redevelopment project in London, England.
Etas project in Zimbabwe: the Roger Federer Foundation is spending some CHF80,000 a year on the project to improve the infrastructure of 8 schools, as well as investing in teacher training and the quality of education for about 2,000 children in the Matopo region.
Basel and Zurich, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – Roger Federer has signed a 10-year contract with Swiss bank Credit Suisse, for an undisclosed sum, the bank announced Monday 16 November. Federer, on his web site, notes that “As part of the partnership agreement, Credit Suisse will make a significant annual contribution to the Roger Federer Foundation, which is dedicated to helping disadvantaged children and to promoting education, sports and play, particularly in Africa.” The foundation was inspired by Federer’s South African mother and currently states on its web site that its capital is CHF4 million.
The bank’s CEO, Brady Dougan, did not stint in his enthusiastic praise of the Swiss tennis star:
Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – Geneva Servette is out of the doldrums after its win over Zug at the Vernets rink: GSHC – EV Zug 4-1 (2-1, 2-0, 0-0), in front of a hometown crowd of 6,216.
Leaves began to fall seriously last week in Vaud (Saint Prex)
First winter snow of 2009 above Aminona, Valais: 12 October
Update 14:00 Lausanne / Sierre, Valais, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – If anyone still had doubts, autumn has arrived, and in the Swiss Alps that means the first snowfall of the winter season, at high altitudes. Temperatures dropped during the night of Sunday to Monday in the Alps and while the cooler temperatures came with heavy rain around Lausanne, they brought snow to the Alps, starting at about 2000 metres altitude.
Tunnels closed, could snow down to 800 metres or lower
Heavy winds and snow were recorded in several parts of Switzerland by MeteoSwiss, the national weather service, with gusts well over 130 kph. Several tunnels closed Monday morning for the winter: Furka, San Bernardino, Klausen Nufenen and Grimsel.
Forecasts show snow falling to 800 metres in some areas, with temperatures falling: western Switzerland’s range Thursday 15 October is expected to be 2-8C, with even cooler temperatures in the east of the country, according to MeteoSwiss.
Click on images to view larger
Saas-Fee, Valais, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – Another 150,000 m3 of glacier came crashing down near Saas-Fee Monday 21 September, six days after some 50,000 m3 of ice broke loose from the same glacier, the Feegletscher. The glacier is relatively close to hiking paths and two mountain restaurants, all of which were closed temporarily after last week’s slide. No one was injured by the latest slide, and the tourist areas were re-opened.
Flushing Meadows, New York (GenevaLunch) – Third seed Rafael Nadal showed he was in good form yesterday in the fourth round of the US open by beating Frenchman Gael Monfils 6-7 (3-7) 6-3 6-1 6-3, despite a reported intestinal problem, and after coming back from serious knee injuries earlier this year.
In the other matches 8 September at Flushing Meadows, Long Island, Croatia’s Marin Cilic beat Briton Andy Murray 7-5 6-2 6-2 to qualify for the quarter-finals; Chile’s Fernando Gonzalez beat Jo-Wilfried Tsonga from France 3-6 6-3 7-6 (7-3) 6-4, and Argentine Juan Martin Del Potro trounced Juan Carlos Ferrero 6-3 6-3 6-3. BBC Sports, US Open site
Stanislas Wawrinka Out - Photo Courtesy Stanislas Wawrinka's webpage
Flushing Meadows, NY, USA (GenevaLunch) – Swiss tennis player Stanislas Wawrinka has been eliminated from the US Open. Wawrinka lost during the first round of the tournament to Ecuador’s Nicolas Lapentti.
Lapentti rallied from two sets down to win the match: 4-6, 3-6, 7-6(6) 7-6(3) 6-3. This was the fourth US Open for Wawrinka an Olympic gold medalist and 19th seed.
In the women’s singles, Swiss player Patty Schnyder advanced to the second round after beating Czech player Lucie Safarova. Schnyder will face Kim Clijsters an unseeded wild card in the next round.
