Post: #1

I measured the temperature of my bath the other day just out of interest and it got me thinking of the now discontinued world sauna championships. I thought I would share the madness with you.

They were discontinued in 2010 are one of the finalists died and another was hospitalised.

Rules here from wiki entry;

The championships began with preliminary rounds and ended in the finals, where the best six men and women would see who could sit in the sauna the longest. The starting temperature in the men's competition was 110 °C (230 °F). Half a liter of water was poured on the stove every 30 seconds. The winner was the last person to stay in the sauna and walk out without outside help. The host country usually dominated the event, as only one foreign competitor ever made it into the finals in the men's competition. The first non-Finnish winner in the women's competition was Natallia Tryfanava from Belarus in 2003.

Rules

The starting temperature is 110 degrees Celsius. Half a liter of water will be poured on the stove every 30 seconds.

Use of alcohol is prohibited prior to and during the competition.

Competitors must wash themselves beforehand, and remove any creams and lotions.

Competitor must sit erect, their buttocks and thighs on the bench.

Ordinary swimsuits must be used. Pant legs in men's swimsuits may be up to 20 centimeters long, and women's shoulder straps may be up to 5 centimeters wide.

Hair that reaches the shoulders must be tied into a ponytail.

Touching the skin and brushing is prohibited.

Competitors must not disturb each other.

At the request of the judges, competitors must show that they are in their senses with a thumbs up.

Competitors must be able to leave the sauna unaided to qualify.

A breach of the rules results in a warning. Another one results in disqualification.

The last person leaving the sauna unaided is the winner.


There is a great article written by an espn journalist at the link below (back when espn was good I guess)

http://www.espn.com/espn/news/story?id=5451867

Choice quote;

'Water boils at 212 degrees, so walking into that sauna feels like you're climbing into your own personal pizza oven and closing the door. It feels like benzene torches have been stuck in your mouth, your ears and your nose. Every 30 seconds, they drop a pitiless stream of water on the white-hot rocks in the middle of the sauna. That steam hits you like a slap in the face from the devil himself. But there are 1,000 people in the audience watching you and a Finnish national TV audience and your family and friends, so you take as much pain as possible before your brain screams "Let's get out of here!"'

There is a bunch of cool videos on you tube if you want to search for them.

Post: #2

What do they win?

Post: #3

Post: #4

Sounds like a euphemism for the Holocaust

Post: #5

Sauna would probably get nailbombed if it happened today.