While France has its Perche Elite Tour, an indoor pole vault competition circuit, Switzerland now has the Swiss Perche Tour, a series of seven outdoor meetings held in seven cities across the country. This brand-new circuit came to an end on 13 September with the final in Neuchâtel.
The bar shook, but the 300 spectators in the stands and the hundreds gathered around the runway were on their feet for local athlete Savanna Hulmann. The 20-year-old pole vaulter from Saint-Aubin finished third at the CEP Festi’perche on Sunday, 13 September, clearing 4.10m. The young Swiss Romande perfectly embodies the spirit of the Swiss Perche Tour, which puts the spotlight on the next generation.
Four months earlier, on 23 May, the inaugural Swiss Perche Tour was launched in Sion, with five competitions bringing together around 60 athletes at the Centre sportif de l’Ancien Stand.
“The competition started with the youngest athletes, in an incredible atmosphere, and with a victory for local athlete Noémie Clavien (2.02m),” said Boris Zengaffinen, who was behind the Sion event launched in 2023. “At a meeting like Athletissima, we see just how popular pole vaulting can be with the public. Our goal is to promote this incredible discipline, which is spectacular and fun!”
The Sion event inspired others to follow, including Martigny, which hosted the fifth stage of the Swiss Perche Tour on 9 August in its Place Centrale. Yverdon also embraced the idea, turning its own ambitious dream of staging a city-centre pole vault competition into reality. The very first “Défi dans les nuages”, held on Place Pestalozzi in the spa town, provided the setting for the second stage on 13 June.
“Together with other organisers, we thought we could bring existing meetings and newly created events like ours together and create a kind of Swiss pole vault championship,” explains Corinne Jakob, who initiated the Vaud project. “In Yverdon, we took inspiration from Athletissima’s City Event, with a giant screen, a presenter, an LED banner and stands, to create a real celebration around pole vaulting and inspire the next generation.”
In Sion, the organisers are also considering taking the event outside the stadium in 2027, moving closer to the format of Lausanne’s City Event and bringing the discipline closer to the general public.
Alongside the third stage in Fribourg on 30 June, Yverdon rented the same take-off runway used by Mondo Duplantisand the world’s pole vault stars during the historic competition in Ouchy on 20 August.
“Thanks to our partnership with Athletissima, we benefit from valuable logistical and organisational support,” says Jakob, who manages the administrative side of this unique circuit.
The partnership also provides access to contacts that help strengthen the fields, with the Yverdon competition featuring 12 Swiss women who were ranked among the country’s top 20.
The Swiss Perche Tour also stopped in Frauenkappelen on 1 August and Erlinsbach on 15 August. Points were awarded at each stage to athletes from the U18 category onwards who hold a Swiss Athletics competition licence, leading up to the final in Neuchâtel on 13 September, where the overall winners were crowned.
“The Swiss Perche Tour is very interesting because it gives Swiss pole vaulters several dedicated competitions, with schedules adapted to their needs,” says Boris Zengaffinen, national pole vault co-coach. “In the long term, this event will probably become a must for some athletes, particularly the best Swiss pole vaulters.”
