Athletics

Athletics is a key component of the ISB student experience. Whether participating in physical education (PE) classes or in clubs and teams after School, the ultimate goal is the same: to maintain and stimulate an interest in sports and other forms of physical activity that will continue beyond a student's school career.

From Pre-School to High School, as students mature physically, socially and emotionally, participation in sports enables them to learn many different skills besides sportsmanship. They will learn about relevant life skills such as the importance of a healthy lifestyle, team work, team spirit, leadership and time management.

Junior School Athletics Programme

Students from Grades 3-5 can participate in the after school athletics programme which include team and individual sports such as:

• Unihockey - an annual Unihockey fun day is hosted by ISB whereby various international schools in Switzerland are invited to participate in the friendly games. This event also includes Grades 6-8 students in Middle School.
• Soccer - school teams are usually selected to play in a more competitive league.
• Athletics - students excelling in the different disciplines of track and field will be given the opportunity to be selected to participate in competitive games.
• Swimming - an annual swim gala is organised to encourage mass participation.

The Aesch Campus sports facilities inlcude:

• Double Gym Hall
• 1 Grass Playing Field
• Hard court playing surface - double basketball court
• 100m 3-lane running track and long jump pit

High School and Middle School Athletics Programme

Students in Grades 6-12 have the opportunity to participate in the HS/MS Sports Training Programme. The aim of the programme is to allow students to train regularly for certain sports and for them to receive a competitive experience in these sports by representing the School in friendly fixtures/matches and in League competitions. Any student can attend the training sessions initially, but where numbers are excessive, then a coach of a team will have to make a selection and work with the squad.

The Reinach Campus sports facilities include:

• Triple Gym Hall
• 1 Artificial Field
• Hard court playing surface - triple basketball court
• Fitness Room - free-weight, fixed weight and cardiovascular equipment
• 10m climbing wall
• 100m 3-lane running track and long jump pit

There are 3 sports seasons - Fall/Autumn; Winter & Spring with different sports offered each season. The HS/MS Sports Training Programme aims to help prepare students for these competitions through weekly training.

Friendly fixtures are arranged between ISB and other international schools in Switzerland (Zurich, Zug, Winterthur, Bern, Lugano). Teams host, or travel to these schools and fixtures can be during the week or on the weekend. Any chance to play against local Swiss teams is also encouraged when possible.

The School participates in 2 Sports Leagues/Conferences:

• SGIS (Swiss Group of International Schools) which organises tournaments for international schools within Switzerland.
• SCIS (Sports Council for International Schools) which involves us in tournaments with 11 other international schools from Germany, Austria, Hungary, Poland, Greece and Switzerland.

There are different age/grade groupings for SGIS and SCIS for which we are able to cater. Our teams are chosen along the following lines:

• Varsity (V) - Grades 9-12
• Junior Varsity (JV) - Grades 9-11
• Middle School (MS) - Grades 6-8

These leagues give students the chance for international competition and to also see other parts of Europe. For SGIS overnight tournaments, students stay in hostels or hotels and for SCIS tournaments, students are home-hosted.