HOLTVILLE — What started out more than a century ago as a wrestling tournament between small farming communities, where matches between powerful combatants were illuminated by the headlights of cars parked in fields, has transformed over the decades into an organized series of traditional springtime parties in which Holtville’s Swiss community takes tremendous pride.
Schwingfest as it is called is a wrestling tradition that has origins in the German-speaking regions of the Swiss Alps and is one that was brought to the United States and spread all the way to the West Coast.
When asked what people look forward to the most, the Imperial Valley Swiss Club President John Britschgi said, “The camaraderie definitely. The meals they get, all the food, and they like to mingle and hang out with one another.”
The public is invited to join in for the 103rd annual Schwingfest on Saturday, April 13, at 1585 E. Worthington Road. The entrance fee is $10 at the door, and all proceeds will go to the winner of the Schwingfest, who also walks away with bragging rights and other donated prizes from various Swiss Club members.
Prizes for the day include items like traditional Swiss cowbells.
Wrestling sign-ups for the day will be at 10 a.m., with the first match set for 11 a.m. Lunch will be served indoors as well as refreshments, with other food and snack vendors available outdoors near the action.
The awards ceremony is set to commence at 9 p.m., with the party to continue all night.
The West Coast Championship is held at the San Diego Swiss Club and usually falls on Father’s Day weekend, but, “we actually have a bigger party than they do,” Britschgi admitted.
“Here they want to come out and hang out and party,” he shared of the Holtville celebration.
Cultural Camaraderie
This year is the Imperial Valley Swiss Club’s 100th-year anniversary and the home of the 103rd Schwingfest, accounting for a few extra years of grappling in the early years of gathering before the club was created.
John’s father, Walter Britschgi, still speaks Swiss with anybody he can find. He recalled in an interview with the Holtville Tribune that his own dad came from Switzerland and raised him in a household that spoke Swiss and carried on many Swiss traditions.
Walter said that Schwingfest has always been a place where he could mingle and participate in cultural activities, building lifelong friendships and strengthening connections with families that live in other areas of California. “I actually met my wife at a Schwingfest in Ripon, California,” Walter shared with a smile.
Folks gather from Vancouver, Canada, Washington, Oregon, and areas along the California coast every year, and the event has transformed into a family reunion for many Swiss up and down the coast, serving as a way to indulge in important cultural traditions.
Schwingfest
Instead of singlets for this wrestling event, the “schwingers” (wrestlers) wear regular pants and a shirt for each bout, and are required to don traditional shorts over their clothes, called schwingerhosen. The shorts are made of canvas and fitted with a leather belt which is strategically used as a grabbing point for participants to hold, lift and throw their opponents onto the ground.
Part of the tradition since the commencement, schwingers wrestle on a sawdust platform where they are observed by a referee and judges. The matches are similar to Greco-Roman style wrestling, with each match lasting for five minutes. An obvious pin with shoulders on the ground results in a win, otherwise judges tally points, with the two highest point holders set to wrestle as the championship round.
“You have to have a hold of the pants to have a pin,” Britschgi said, as he pulled out two pairs of the Swiss traditional athleticwear during an interview on Thursday, April 4.
“There’s a lot of trickery, too, though, like most guys don’t roll up their pant legs because then they have to pull farther,” Walter said, describing some of the techniques used, including the rule that there must be a hand on the shorts during each pin.
The wrestling is divided by age group from as young as 5 years old. There are no weight class divisions to separate featherweights from heavyweight wrestlers either, adding to the challenge.
Emergency medical technicians will be on standby at the Schwingfest to oversee the event in case any injuries occur.
An All-day Affair
Holtville welcomes a regular vendor at the event that sells traditional foods like German sausage, or landjäger, while the IV Swiss Club provides the included barbecue lunch in the afternoon.
“We’re doing 450 pounds of chuck roll,” John shared. “We’ll put it in the ground the night before in our big pit out back.”
Throughout the day guests can expect to hear a local band playing outside to add to the Saturday ambiance. Alongside the club building will be other activities like the children’s favorite, the “cheese sticking game” where winners walk away with a small block of cheese, among other fun like a bounce house.
Homemade ice cream from the Holtville Athletic Club’s classic machine will be churning out fresh batches to the crowd all day long.
Once the wrestling finishes, the final event is the stone toss, or steintossen, the final battle of the brawn as men, women and children all can have a turn to throw in the heavy shot-put style competition.
Dinner and a Dance
The “Outsider’s Dinner” is another longstanding tradition for the Swiss celebration. The steak dinner is hosted after the day of fun for the families and friends that have traveled to be a part of the day, paid for by fellow Swiss Club members in Holtville.
“After the wrestling, people go home to their hotels, shower up and rest and come back for the dinner, party and awards,” club President John Britschgi shared of the routine.
Walter Britscghi said, “You’ll see more of the traditional wear at night for the party.
“Some women will wear their traditional ‘dirndl,’ a dress that Swiss women have worn for centuries. My wife will probably wear hers, and I’ll probably wear my nice jacket,” he said.
The Kapelle Blaser Faver Band is scheduled to travel from Washington to play for yet another year, the consistent Holtville favorite for at least six years now. The band specializes in polka music, and always draws out a rowdy crowd of dancers until the late hours of the night.
