“With a well-played stop ball, it can happen that the two players get closer for two tenths of a second than two meters,” says Urs Balsiger, President of the Liestal Tennis Club, “but otherwise the distance on a tennis court is maintained throughout”.
He can therefore not understand why tennis was not even mentioned in the relaxation scenarios outlined by the Federal Council: “In my opinion, one could easily play tennis and at the same time comply with all distance and hygiene rules”.
“Federal Council action is an affront!”
Daniel Weber, the largest golf course operator in Switzerland and owner of the St. Apollinaire golf course near Basel, goes a little further. He personally feels that sport was not mentioned at the Federal Council press conference “with a single word”: “We’re talking about two million organized athletes in Switzerland who are just excluded,” complains Daniel Weber. He calls for a clear differentiation between individual and team, as well as between outdoor and indoor sports.
“Indoor sports shouldn’t be jealous”
The Basel GLP councilor Esther Keller also called for a clear differentiation between the sports. As operator of a beach volleyball hall in Basel and president of Sm’Aesch Pfeffingen, she feels the effects of the corona crisis firsthand.
For Esther Keller it is completely clear that volleyball as an indoor and team sport cannot currently take place. She does not understand why individual sports such as tennis or golf should continue to be banned: “You shouldn’t be jealous then – it is clear that where the rules can be observed, it is more likely to be opened than in other places” . In any case, sport should not be seen simply as “nice-to-have”, but as health-relevant. Therefore, an opening must take place before May 13th.
Federal Council reacts to criticism
After all: The Federal Council understood the signs of the times and reacted to criticism from sports circles at today’s press conference.
An exit strategy in terms of sports should now be available by the end of the month and individual sports without physical contact should be able to start operating again at the beginning of May.
So if the infection numbers continue to develop well over the next ten days, golfers, tennis players, sports shooters and many other individual athletes will soon be back on the course.
