"Sports do not build character. They reveal it."
John Wooden
The Swiss population is very athletic. 11% follow their passion daily, 37% of Switzerland's population do sports several times a week, 17% once a week while 27 percent say that they are not physically active.
Both summer and winter sports are extremely popular among the Swiss. The country's Alpine peaks provide a setting for skiing, bobsledding, tobogganing, mountain walking, and climbing. After skiing, snow boarding and ice skating are Switzerland's favorite winter sport. Summer activities include cycling, hiking, tennis, golf, fishing, and a variety of water sports. Two especially popular sports are handball and soccer.
Traditional Swiss sports are still enjoyed at festivals. These include the baseball-like Hornussen, or farmer's tennis, and stone-putting Steinstossen, where the object is to throw a stone weighing 184 pounds (80 kilograms) as far as possible. In Swiss wrestling Schwingen, each wrestler wears a pair of canvas-like shorts over his pants and tries to throw his opponent to the ground by grabbing hold of these shorts.
Ranking of the Swiss' favourite sports activites:
35.0 % Cycling, Mountainbike
33.7 % Hiking, Walking
25.4 % Swimming
21.7 % Skiing
16.8 % Jogging, Running
14.0 % Fitness, Aerobic
11.7 % Gymnastics
6.9 % Football, Streetsoccer
4.7 % Snowboard
4.4 % Tennis
(Source: Bundesamt für Sport / Studie Sport Schweiz 2008)
So, if you're on holiday this week why not take your kids and your bikes and head for some adventure. Discover a new side of Ticino. Ticino offers something for everyone from a purely panorama ride to "Trailthrill total" hike.
This interactive map includes 42 trails:
www.lugano-tourism.ch
For each route there is comprehensive and precise information: short description, elevation profile and basic data such as length, elevation meters, travel time, highest point and route condition.
Happy cycling!
Swiss Hornussen
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