Our traditional event combining a volunteer work party, a time-trial swim and a campfire began at 15:00, although the first volunteers were already gathering twenty minutes earlier. The undisputed hero of the day was Vašek Zahradník. Not only was he the only one to bring a chainsaw, oil and a can of petrol, which kept several more of us busy too, but after all that hard work, with sweat pouring off him, he still proved himself an excellent swimmer. I can vouch for that: he finished a minute ahead of me…
Petr Ciboch was as wonderful as ever. With his helpers, he scrubbed both the clubhouse entrance and the steps into the water, making the race safer. And that was not all: he found more sources of firewood too. A big thank-you also goes to Vojta and Lucka Láska, who, like Petr Ciboch, took part in both the earlier painting session and this work party — a club multi-event in its own right. And of course, they all scored points in every part of the triple event! It was just a pity that my call for volunteers to bring splitting axes did not reach everyone; believe me, we missed them. Even so, the work party was a success, with an incredible 22 people lending a hand. What a great group we make together! By the end, the winter firewood had been sawn and split, the grass cut, the floor mopped and the area around the clubhouse tidied.
An excellent 36 swimmers took part in the race itself and, just as importantly, every one of them finished safely. The top five in each category received awards. The men’s winner was our leading current swimmer, Jakub Kačerovský, who recently swam the North Channel and is planning to complete the remaining four swims in his Oceans Seven collection. The women’s winner was, naturally, Šárka Landsmannová, a winter swimming world champion from Molveno, Italy. Among the men, our winter and open-water swimmers Jakub Veverka and Libor Štědroň took second and third. Young winter swimming prospect Jan Kuna was fourth, and the fifth award went to a new addition to our club, Danila Riabov, originally from Zaporizhzhia in Ukraine. In the women’s category, open-water and winter swimmers and international competitors Sarah Brooks and Kamila Šindelářová took second and a fine third place. Our swimmers Andrea Hůlová and Jaroslava Hodisová finished fourth and fifth. Of the 36 competitors, 26 were men and ten were women.
The podium places were filled and the sponsors’ gifts handed out. This time, they were savoury, crisp souvenirs, fried to a golden finish.
As evening arrived, the customary sausages were toasted, spread with mustard and eaten with bread. Thanks to everyone for all the treats, especially the delicious bábovka cake — a pity there was only one… And, as you would expect, the unmistakable Michal Kohoutek brought the evening to a fitting close. His nine long-awaited strings struck just the right note for the swimmers warming themselves by the sparkling fire, as Sunday evening slowly drew to its true end.
It was a triple event with everything: an evening on the verge of autumn, sprinkled with rain and steeped in smoke. A thoroughly successful start to the winter season.
Roman Hujer