Zuoz may not immediately strike a chord in an Englishman's memory of ski resorts, sited as it is under the famous (or infamous) shadow of St. Moritz. But to the European "Wanderer", the Engadin valley, in which Zuoz holds state, is well known for possessing some of the most varied, beautiful and startling, alpine scenery. It is also premium stalking territory, which can add exactly that exquisite amount of dash to the experience.

Proud above the town of Zuoz sits the Lyceum Alpinum. Fashioned architecturally in impossibly greater contrast to your traditional alpine chalet of triangulated roofs and shuttered windows, it presents itself on the exterior with the ruggedness of a medieval fort and on the inside with the cavernous stateliness of a nineteenth century palace. I believe it is possible to walk from one end of the school to the other using the same corridor!

With six courts, three of which are sited off the central courtyard, Fives would seem to be holding on to a healthy niche-popularity against the onslaught of other more multiplous team games from England. This is entirely due to the extreme efforts of the Zuoz Old Boys Fives Club. During the months without snow - it is too expensive to cover the courts with a transparent material strong enough to hold up the weight of several feet of snow! - members of the club actively promote the sport within the school by organising games around themselves and a "professional" from England to come out for two to four weeks, who can provide expert coaching for the not small number of interested old boys - and girls; excuse me!

It is not however, just the school that entices back the fives playing old boys, but also the Engadin valley itself. For having grown up there, they have been affected by its stunning beauty and tranquility, a number live and work in Zurich, and think nothing of a two and a half hour drive back into the mountains many a Friday evening. and with the siting of the three upper courts, fives takes on a different perspective. These are situated clear of the school buildings and present a stunning panorama out across the valley. With the beautiful weather of the Sunday afternoon of our weekend in Zuoz for the Engadin Challenge Trophy, all matches were resited to these upper courts. Fives may not be a spectactor's game, but it becomes so in the alpine surroundings of Zuoz, even for the players, for whom such a stunning backdrop can help reinforce the notion that the end of the world is not nigh, if one is sitting on top of it and it looking so well!

People think always of Englishmen holding on to curious traditions at ridiculous moments. The Swiss can also claim to be so curious. Who else holds a barbecue at -5 degrees centrigrade in the evening. Who else except Englishmen, travel two and a half hours on a Friday evening for the weekend. Who else attach themselves so strongly to their schools. Who else, and this is what too many Englishmen have forgotten, can turn sport back into a past time away from deadly serious competition. That was the real joy of Zuoz.

R.M.W.

Zuoz
Created 4th June 2003
efa@etonfives.co.uk

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