Boy Shooting: How a Shooting Practice Became Zurich’s Biggest Chilbi

This weekend, from 9 to 11 September, everything is happening again on the Albisgüetli: cotton candy, Putschau cars and shooting ranges once again attract numerous visitors from Zurich and the neighboring cantons to the boy shooting. But what is actually celebrated?

The origins of shooting boys date back to the 17th century. The “boy shot” was first recorded in writing in 1656. Back then, it was used for a purpose that was no fun at all: military training. At the time, military service was compulsory from the age of 16. After the Thirty Years’ War, the boys had to participate in target practice during the so-called “dog days” between mid-July and early September. To top it all off, they were then subjected to a test of sorts called the ‘boy shots’.

Until 1847, this test took place in the Schützenhaus on the square where the main station now stands. Over time, the shooting test was increasingly accompanied by music and parades. When the city grew rapidly due to the integration of the surrounding communities, the city council, which used to organize the shooting of boys, was no longer able to do so. In the years that followed, the decentralized sporting events that the city council wanted to organize found no mercy.

When the new shooting range in Albisgüetli was inaugurated in 1898, the rifle club seized the opportunity and submitted a request to the city council to reintroduce shooting for boys. This was approved on the condition that the rifle club assume organizational responsibility. In the end, 2,000 boys took part in the 1899 competition.

The Zurich folk festival was canceled between 1914 and 1918. During World War I, no ammunition was made available outside the army. Because there was a general strike in the autumn of 1918, boys were not shot the following year either. And even during World War II, there was no shooting in 1939 and 1940.

The conditions for participation have changed and expanded over the years. While in the 18th century it was still boys aged 12 to 15 who took part, today 13 to 17 year olds from the entire canton of Zurich are allowed to participate. When the 700th anniversary of the Confederacy was celebrated in 1991, the girls were also allowed to shoot to celebrate the day. Even if it angered some angry citizens at the time, since then it is not possible to imagine boys shooting without female shooters behind the gun.

The traditional target shooting competition starts at 10 a.m. Saturday morning. The gunmen fire five times at a target from a distance of 300 meters with a Swiss Army “90 assault rifle”. The maximum number of points per shot is six. An additional point is awarded for each shot that hits the target. So a maximum of 35 points can be scored – if several people can do this, a shootout will take place on Monday.

Subsequently, the government and city council of Zurich congratulated the queen and a banquet was held. After that, for all participants with 32 or more points, there is a parade with music and girls in traditional costumes, in which the winner also participates. In the following spring, the sharpshooter queen is also allowed to run on the Sechseläuten as a guest of the Weggenzunft.

There are prizes not only for the top shooter, but also for the best shooter of a year or district. There are 2,500 prizes on a prize table for those who score 28 or more points. The awards are funded by sponsorship, in-kind donations, and by the gun club.