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Hornussen is an indigenous Swiss sport and is like a cross between baseball and golf. The sport gets its name from the puck which is hit which is known as a "Hornuss' or "Nouss" or hornet in English on account of the noise it makes as it whizzes through the air at up to 300 km per hour.
The field
The Hornussen field is divided into two camps, separated by a 100 meters dead zone called the “Eschenlatte”. There is the launcher base and the marked-off playing field. The marked-off playing field starts at a width of 8 meters and widens to 14 meters. It is subdivided into 20 units. Each unit is 10 meters deep and is numbered from 1 to 20.
Equipment
Two symmetrical curved ramps called “Bock” are located in the launcher base area. They are made of light metal with a running edge of steel. The Bock are designed for left handed and right handed players. The tips are chrome plated. In front of the ramps is a slide made of nylon.
A puck sized projectile, called a “Nouss”, is positioned at the tip of the ramp and held in place with a wad of clay. Originally the Nouss was carved out of stone or bone but since 1973 the Nouss has been made of synthetic material. A Nouss weighs 78 g (2.75 oz).
In the early days of Hornussen, the 260 cm (102 inch) long flexible whip was made out of wood, metal or fiberglass. Since 1990 it has been made out of carbon fibre.
The catch boards "Schindel" are made of wood or synthetic material and weigh approximately 4 kg (8.8 lb). The board is trapezoidal, 22” wide near the handle and 25” at the upper end.
At the tip of the striking whip is a piece of wood called a "Träf". It is made of maple tree wood. Wood slats from 2", 4" up to 6” sizes are compressed under 90 metric tons force. After compression, the Träf is cured in an oven at 200 °C for 20 min. Once cooled down, the Träf is then machined to its final cylindrical shape.
Play
A game of Hornussen is played in four quarters opposing two teams of 18 players each. The visiting team starts in the playing field while the home team strikes the Nouss. Each player of a team hits two Nouss.
The striker swings the whip and hits the Nouss to send it to the field at a speed of up to 200 miles per hour. With a good hit, the Nouss can reach a height of 50 meters over ground. There are penalties for foul hits.
The defending team must first spot the flying Nouss, then intercepting it by throwing their catch board into the air before the Nouss hits the ground.
Scoring
The score is marked by the field section in which the Nouss falls. As an example, if a striker hits the 250 meter marker, he scores 15 points toward his opponent, like a soccer player would by marking a goal. If he hits 300 meters, he then scores 20 points. The outfielders receive penalty points, called “Numeros” for every Nouss they fail to intercept.
In the second quarter of the game, the home team plays in the outfield and the visiting team strikes. The teams alternate camps in each quarter. At the end of the game the winner is the team with the fewer points. If the game is a tie, one compares the sums of the total strike lengths. The team with the lower sum wins.
History
The sport probably developed in the seventeenth century. The earliest reference to Hornuss is found in the records of 1625 of the consistory of Lauperswil, canton Berne, in a complaint about the breaking of the Sabbath. In the 19th century this amateur sport was very popular in the Emmental and in Entlebuch.
In 1902 the federal Hornussen association was founded, which organises a competition every three years. In 1988 there were 232 clubs in the association, with around 6,900 members. During the season inter-association and inter-cantonal events are held, as well as group and elite events.
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"Hornussen"