Noemi Ryhner, ice hockey player, at Twing

Ice hockey player Noemi spends a large part of the week on the ice. She successfully completed a 6-month internship in the Marketing & Administration department at our partner Twing GmbH alongside her playing duties – and with great success! She will remain part of the Twing team and will continue to support the young company in driving forward the give-away revolution in Switzerland. We asked Noemi about it.

How do you combine sport and work in your everyday life?

Ice hockey has been an integral part of my life since I was a little girl. However, I realised early on that the professional path is just as important as the sporting one. On the one hand, something can always happen in sport that doesn’t allow you to continue playing, and on the other hand, you can’t (yet) make a living from women’s ice hockey in Switzerland.

I’m a very disciplined, ambitious person, which helped me a lot to juggle many things at the same time. Another advantage was certainly that I was able to complete all the schools and training programmes from secondary school onwards in formats adapted for young athletes (sports class, commercial training). Of course, my previous employers were also very supportive of my sporting and professional development.

I really appreciate the flexible and uncomplicated way of working at Twing. Whether remotely from home or from abroad – when I’m travelling with the national team (Swiss Ice Hockey Federation), for example – I can plan my working hours flexibly and adapt them to our training. That’s a huge benefit for me. Having this freedom with an employer was important to me from the outset in order to build up a professional foothold alongside my sporting career. I really appreciate the variety.

After my two professional years in Sweden, the situation in Swiss women’s ice hockey changed somewhat. I then returned to my junior club EVZ, where I can benefit from a unique project. I am employed by EV Zug as an ice hockey player on a 40% basis. This is a comparatively new approach in Switzerland and shows that a direction is being taken in which women’s ice hockey can also continue to develop here. I’m very pleased about that.

What ambitions are you pursuing – athletically and professionally?

My sporting goals in the near future are definitely to win the first championship title in the Postfinance Womens League with the EVZ. For me, this title would fulfil a childhood dream. I’ve always wanted to win a championship title with the EVZ. Another fixed goal is the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan. I will do everything I can to play in my personal 2nd Olympic Games.

Professionally, I want to continue learning every day, gaining experience and developing myself further. At Twing, I currently have the opportunity to manage the Dini Fläsche online shop. I’m learning a lot of new things about e-commerce here. I’m also interested in accounting and will continue my training in this area.

I am very grateful that the Athletes Network gave me the opportunity to find an interesting job in the business world at Twing. As a professional athlete, this gives me the opportunity to develop freely and pursue my sporting dreams.