Swiss Cricket Association is the premier governing body of the sport of cricket in Switzerland. Its headquarter is at TMC House in Zürich. The inaugural meeting of the Swiss Cricket Association (SCA) was held on 9 March 1980 at the Australian Embassy in Berne, although, as the water colour of "Vue de la Ville de Genève et de Plein-Palais (Florence 1769-1845)" from 1817 by Giovanni Salucci, cricket has been played in Geneva since at least 1817.
Four clubs were represented at the original meeting: Bern C.C., CERN C.C., Geneva C.C. and Geneva Asians C.C.., while apologies were received from Baden C.C., Basel C.C. and Zurich C.C. A draft Constitution was agreed and subsequently ratified at the first Annual General Meeting of the association. Today the Association boasts a membership of 20 clubs and affiliated organistations, including an Officials Federation and a Coaches Association.
The first S.C.A. President was the late Dr. David Barmes of Geneva C.C. and Mr. Roger Johnson (of the same club) the first Secretary. Mr. Brennan, the then Australian Ambassador, presented a trophy to be played for in a knock-out competition between six clubs divided geographically into two sections. The winners of each group then played in a deciding final, for which, in 1983, the Malaysian Ambassador donated a cup for the Man of the Match.
The main S.C.A. competition has been reorganised several times since. The current format involves 14 clubs who meet on a league basis of home & away 40 over matches. In addition to the league competition, the SCA also organise a knockout competition sponsored by the Mr. Pickwick Pub chain and open to all member clubs and SwissT20 organise a Twenty20 tournament run over 8 weekends. In 1985, at the initiative of the Lyceum Alpinum, Zuoz, the SCA helped to organise the first Zuoz Cricket Festival. The Lyceum has a long tradition of cricket and other "British" sports (e.g. Eton Fives) dating from the 1920s when an English sports master was appointed. Four cricket matches can be played simultaneously on the grounds at Zuoz in an idyllic setting at an altitude of 1700m. Following a modest start (only four clubs participated in 1985), the Festival is now well established with the regular participation of 8 clubs.
Switzerland is also the birthplace of the very prestigious Cricket On Ice, a unique tournament played every winter on the frozen lake in St. Moritz (1700 metres above sea-level) in the Swiss alps.
An S.C.A. side played in the inaugural Cricketer International Tournament in Guernsey in 1990, narrowly missing the semi-final by 0.1 runs/over.
Tours have been made over the years to various countries by individual Clubs or by the Association, and there have been welcome visits by touring teams to Switzerland.
In 1985 the S.C.A. was granted Affiliate status of the ICC. In 2012 Switzerland lost it's ICC affiliate status.
Famous quotes containing the words swiss, cricket and/or association:
“Some of the smartest women in the country said that they’re too embarrassed to attend their reunions at Harvard Business School if they have dropped out of the work force, left the fast track by choosing part-time work, or decided to follow anything other than the standard male career path.”
—Deborah J. Swiss (20th century)
“The thing that struck me forcefully was the feeling of great age about the place. Standing on that old parade ground, which is now a cricket field, I could feel the dead generations crowding me. Here was the oldest settlement of freedmen in the Western world, no doubt. Men who had thrown off the bands of slavery by their own courage and ingenuity. The courage and daring of the Maroons strike like a purple beam across the history of Jamaica.”
—Zora Neale Hurston (1891–1960)
“An association of men who will not quarrel with one another is a thing which has never yet existed, from the greatest confederacy of nations down to a town meeting or a vestry.”
—Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826)