2023-08-23 14:59:03
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For more than 10 years, Jörg Abderhalden has been accompanying Schwingfeste as an SRF expert. In an interview with “Hello SRF!” the 43-year-old from Toggenburg talks regarding the pitfalls of his role, getting up early on day X and working with the other TV experts Adrian Käser and Matthias Sempach.
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Legend: Jörg Abderhalden was already there as an SRF expert at the last Unspunnen-Schwinget in 2017. SRF / Gian Vaitl
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Legend: Jörg Abderhalden at work: in conversation with wrestling king Matthias Sempach and SRF presenter Sascha Ruefer at the Federal Wrestling and Alpine Festival 2019 in Zug SRF / Ueli Christoffel
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Legend: During his time as an active wrestler, Jörg Abderhalden won three royal titles and the «Schwinger Grand Slam». SRF / Oscar Alessio
Jörg Abderhalden, you have been an SRF wrestling expert for ten years. How do you like this role?
Jörg Abderhalden: It’s a very exciting role. As an active wrestler, I was always on the other side when it came to dealing with media. Now I look at wrestling from a different perspective. Nevertheless, an athlete’s heart still beats in me.
So when the cameras aren’t on you, do you still get the buzz?
As a north-eastern Swiss I naturally still have a lot of sympathy for the wrestlers from our sub-association. In the meantime, however, I generally enjoy beautiful wrestling work. I’m no longer biased. At the same time, bad work and gears annoy me.
To person
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Caption: Jörg Abderhalden SRF / Oscar Alessio
Jörg Abderhalden has been working as a swing expert for SRF since 2013. He has also been a referee on the TV show “Samschtig-Jass” since 2018. The 43-year-old comes from Toggenburg. In his career as a wrestler, he won three federal wrestling and alpine festivals – those in Bern 1998, Lucerne 2004 and Aarau 2007. In addition to these three royal titles, he also managed the “Schwinger-Grand- slam».
But as an SRF expert, you have to judge objectively. What is particularly important to you in this role?
I always try to be as correct as possible. It’s my job to criticize mistakes. But it is essential to emphasize the positive aspects and, for example, the correct decisions of the judges. I want to convey that to the audience.
Now the Unspunnen-Schwinget is just around the corner as the highlight of the 2023 season. How do you prepare for your expert assignment in Interlaken?
Since we primarily classify what is happening on site at a live event, specific preparation is difficult. However, I follow the entire wrestling season closely, keeping an eye on the top wrestlers and paying attention to their achievements, favorite swings or weak points.
The Unspunnen Schwinget: part of the Schwinger Grand Slam
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Legend: SRF / Ueli Christoffel
The first Unspunnen-Schwinget dates back to 1805. In 2023 the traditional event will take place for the 18th time. The wrestling festival is only held every six years and, together with the Federal Wrestling and Alpine Festival (ESAF) and the Kilchberger Schwinget, is one of the three wrestling festivals with a federal character – the “Grand Slam” events of the sport. Part of the event is also the stone tossing with the Unspunnen stone.
How does your day as an expert at a wrestling festival like Unspunnen-Schwinget look like?
We always arrive the day before to take a look at the situation on site and to discuss the process. On the day itself, I like to be there early. On the one hand, this leaves enough time for masks, sound tests and setup. On the other hand, I love the atmosphere early in the morning at a wrestling festival when not many people are there. I like to suck it up.
Do you experience these days as stressful or are you always relaxed?
Thanks to my experience and the early arrival, I feel little stress. However, I also try to concentrate on work during the day and not socialize too much at lunchtime, for example. And if someone turns around in the stands to take a selfie, I sometimes have to say no.
Would you like more insights into SRF?
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Then you are at «Hello SRF!» precisely. Because here there is:
Everything at a glance: srf.ch/hallosrf
Despite your many years of camera experience, are there still points that particularly challenge you in your work as a TV expert?
Maybe walking the tightrope to do justice to everyone – the wrestlers, the judges, the one-piecers, the audience. As a TV expert, I address mistakes and maybe say something that hurts. At the same time, I don’t want to stab anyone in the back and I don’t always want to look for the hair in the soup and badmouth someone. The focus should be on the good.
Are mistakes easier to unmask today because the TV productions of the wrestling festival are becoming more and more professional? The SRG broadcasters are now broadcasting all mountain and sub-association festivals and have 14 cameras on site at Unspunnen-Schwinget, for example.
Of course, today you have more technical possibilities, different perspectives and slow motion. This has also contributed to the fact that wrestling has become much more present in the media since the first live broadcast of a federal wrestling and alpine festival by SRG in 2004. At the same time, there have always been gray areas in wrestling, be it in terms of the result, the grading or the classification. They are part of the sport like thongs or sawdust.
SRG is “Host Broadcaster”
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Legende:
SRF / Christian Wyss
SRG will be on site at Unspunnen 2023 as the so-called “host broadcaster” and responsible for producing the signal, which will be used by all TV stations. Around 30 SRG employees, such as cameramen, sound engineers and a director, are involved in the on-site production. A total of 14 cameras are available, including a cable car camera for dynamic shots from a bird’s eye view or a crane camera at a height of 60 meters for fascinating images of the festival site. Super motion cameras with 150 frames per second and a hyper motion camera with up to 1000 frames per second ensure the breathtaking slow-motion studies of the duels.
At the Unspunnen-Schwinget you will work together with the other SRF experts Adrian Käser and Matthias Sempach. Do differences of opinion arise when the microphones are switched off?
Käser and Sempach, like commentator Stefan Hofmann, are Bernese. As a person from eastern Switzerland, I sometimes look at things from a different perspective. There will definitely be discussions there. Maybe I find a gang tactically clever while others find it boring. But there is always a lot of room for interpretation – as with the classification. But that’s what makes wrestling so exciting.
Finally: who will be the Unspunnen winner in 2023?
After this outstanding season, victory will certainly lead to Fabian Staudenmann. But dominance during the season doesn’t mean triumphing at the season’s climax. There are at least a handful of other wrestlers with the potential to win the festival.
The Unspunnen-Schwinget from A to Z live on SRF
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Legend: SRF / Ueli Christoffel
Sunday, August 27, 2023, from 7.20 a.m
on SRF two and Play SRF
The broadcast on SRF Zwei and on the web starts at 7:20 a.m. Stefan Hofmann and Adrian Käser comment on the events, Jörg Abderhalden and Matthias Sempach act as experts. On Radio SRF 3, Reto Wiedmer reports with recurring insertions.
More information can be found here.
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