On Sunday 23 June 2024, club members gathered at the clubhouse to combine work and pleasure with a volunteer work party. Our aim was to clean the clubhouse, its surroundings and the place where we regularly enter the river.
We prepared firewood for winter, ready to keep us warm in the colder months of the coming winter-swimming season. We also cleared away branches and leaves left after several large trees had been expertly pruned by our members at the previous work party.
We cleaned most of the clubhouse gutters and mowed the surrounding grass. We also tidied the clubhouse and worked on repairing the rowing machine in the men’s changing room. Another job was cleaning algae off the steps into the water. Thanks to everyone’s efforts, our clubhouse is now in much better shape and ready for the next season. Painting is still on the list for August.
After several hours of hard work, we rewarded ourselves with a club time trial in the Vltava. Everyone swam the same course towards Branický Bridge and back, a distance of 750 metres, enjoying swimming both upstream and downstream. The water temperature was pleasant — positively summery by cold-water swimmers’ standards — but the race still gave us a lift. The atmosphere was competitive yet friendly. Everyone enjoyed testing themselves against the others and seeing how their fitness stood a few months after the end of the winter season.
After the race came a well-earned reward: roasting sausages over the fire. We lit the fire, got the roasting forks ready and everyone cooked their sausage just as they liked it. Sitting around the fire, we chatted about the day and plans for future events, and sang along to the guitar. The atmosphere was relaxed and friendly.
We also presented medals to the three fastest men and women in the race. Victor Karpovets won the men’s event and Sáva Macourková the women’s. Michal Kohoutek and Eva Bogarová finished second, with Filip Hejkrlík and Jitka Vachtová third. Congratulations once again to them and to everyone else who joined us for the swim. We are sure that, in the end, everyone who has fallen in love with the wonderful sport of winter swimming is a winner.
The whole day was a great success. We combined useful work with our favourite sport and rounded it off with a pleasant get-together. We look forward to more events that bring us closer as a team while helping to keep our meeting place clean and tidy.
Photo gallery I
Photos: Petra Staňková
Photo gallery II
Photos: Angelika Hájková
