The oldest bobsleigh club celebrates its 125th anniversary

On 21 December 1897, the first bobsleigh club in the world was founded at the Kulm Hotel in St. Moritz a few years after the first attempts at this “new sport” of sledging with a bobsleigh had taken place. Thus began the history of one of the most fascinating sports and most legendary athletic clubs. This winter, the Saint Moritz Bobsleigh Club (SMBC) will celebrate its 125th anniversary. The anniversary year will open on 21 December 2022 with an evening gala for club members and invited guests at the Kulm Hotel, the place where it all began.

But the public should also be able to join in the anniversary celebrations, so in cooperation with the town of St. Moritz, the SMBC has put together an exciting program for the 2022/23 winter season. 125 years after the SMBC was founded, the Olympic Cresta and Bobsleigh Museum in St. Moritz will open its doors at Scala opposite the Kulm Hotel and will offer an exciting look into the sporting history of bobsleigh and Cresta. At the beginning of November, the St. Moritz Design Gallery in the Serletta Car Park will be displaying images from the history of the world's oldest bobsleigh club. On 5 January 2023, the association is organising a "Historic Race" in honour of the world’s first bobsleigh race 125 years ago. Historic sledges and costumes transport participants and spectators back to the 19th century.  

Interesting program

There will be images of the SMBC and the history of bobsleighing projected onto the façade of the St. Moritz town hall from 6 December – 6 January, and throughout the winter season, visitors will find a bobsleigh photo wall in the St. Moritz pedestrian zone and nostalgic bobsleigh rides on the Olympic Bobrun from St. Moritz to Celerina to round out the festive program. Additional highlights of the anniversary winter are the IBSF Bobsleigh, Skeleton and Parabob Sports World Championships, which will take place from 22 January – 5 February 2023 at the Olympic Bobrun St. Moritz-Celerina. Since the International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation (IBSF) will celebrate its 100th anniversary in 2023, the official celebrations of the SMBC anniversary will end with a handover of the baton. These events will be part of the “Walk of Fame” and “Hall of Fame” openings. All the information about this and the anniversary of the Saint Moritz Bobsleigh Club including the complete program can be found at www.bobclub-stmoritz.ch.

Celebrate and become a member

Celebrate with us and toast 125 years of the Saint Moritz Bobsleigh Club! Do you also want to support one of the most classic and traditional sports in its place of origin? Then become a member or supporter of the world’s oldest bobsleigh club, the SMBC. Register on our website at  www.bobclub-stmoritz.ch/membership_forms