Air at 6.0°C, water at 6.2°C. Today, Prague-Braník hosted the traditional cold-water swimmers’ baptism. Our new members and several other visitors were baptised with Vltava water. Below are their names, photos and a report from TV Barrandov’s main news.
Following longstanding tradition, chairman Tomáš Prokop pours water — with ice for those who want it — over each participant, saying “Zlom vaz!” (“Break a leg!”). The reply is “Vem tě ďas!” (“The devil take you!”), before the swimmer heads straight into the Vltava. Longstanding members joined in too, either because they had missed the ceremony in their first year or wanted to repeat the ritual, some for the umpteenth time.
Newly baptised swimmers and guests:
Jan Bendl, Martin Fajfrlík, Barbora Fleissigová, Vladimír Gazdag, Dalibor Hecl, Viera Hoštáková, Rastislav Janíček, Zdeňka Kabátková, Stanislav Katrušák, Michal Kouhoutek, Antonín Korb, Markéta Kutilová, Dagmar Pavlíčková, Ivan Petružela, Jaroslav Plachý, David Rajmon, Pavel Šíma, Jitka Vachtová, Jakub Valníček, Jaromír Váňa, Tereza Reichová, David Sebera, Zbyněk Strouhal, Vladimír Chmela, Dalimil Mikisch, Petr Syrový
+ around twenty members renewing their baptism and “a few other unidentified wandering cold-water swimmers”.
TV Barrandov report:
