Hockey club Château-d'Oex

A hundred fans follow the exploits of HC Château-d’Oex at each match. Explanation.

"Ice hockey is a true institution in Château-d'Oex" says HC Château-d'Oex Chairman, David Henchoz. And for good reason. The sports club now has nearly 80 members (all categories), as well as a hockey school. Moving up to the second league of the Swiss Championship, they achieved second place last year. And the future is looking very bright. The Committee is highly active and does not lack resources. It started this year with a second team made up of young players and seniors playing in the 3rd League. David Henchoz: "The idea was to motivate young people to continue hockey when progress from the novice category, from the age of 15 and up. We currently do not have enough staff to create a junior team. The other goal is to train these young people and then encourage them to join the 1st team when they have enough experience.

A handful of English people

For the record, it was a group of English internees who first played ice hockey in Château-d'Oex. That was in 1917. The club was officially founded two years later under the auspices of the Public Utility Service and Mr. Leuzinger, a dentist. Swiss Champions in 1922 and 1924, HC Château-d'Oex would go on to take part in the Olympic Games at Chamonix. In 1930, they had the honour of meeting Canada's national team on the Grand-Hôtel ice rink. Result: 6-0 to Canada. The “Damounais” played in the 1st league for several years (1966, 1975 and 1988) but lack of finances would soon cause them problems. 1991 marked the return to full amateur status with a squad of local players and young people from the Valley. The club will celebrate its 100th anniversary at the end of 2019. The committee has launched an appeal for souvenirs and anecdotes about the club on the occasion of the celebrations.