40,000 Dutch Take Polar Plunge:
A record 40,000 people braved icy temperatures on the Netherlands'
North Sea coast Tuesday to take a cold plunge, setting a new record for
the traditional New Year's Day dip, organisers said.
"There were
around 10,000 swimmers in Scheveningen and a record number of 40,000
across the Netherlands," spokeswoman Jiske Barten said.
In the
resort of Scheveningen, a district of The Hague and the main spot among
the 102 nationwide for the growing annual event, many of the bathers
wore Christmas hats and sported swimwear in the national orange colour
as they ran into the sea, screaming and laughing despite the water
temperature of eight degrees Celsius (46 Fahrenheit).
"The outside
temperature is also around eight degrees Celsius, but with the wind
chill the felt air temperature is closer to zero," Barten said.
"It's
a bit crazy but it's a tradition. If you're Dutch, you have to do it at
least once in your life," said Sander Veltahuizen, a 29-year-old who
said he was taking the New Year cold plunge for the 11th year running.
–AFP
