Germany's Extreme Sauna-Goers Sweat it Out for National Title
August 24, 2006
When the seaside town of Stralsund was last in the nation's headlines, it was because German Chancellor Angela Merkel was receiving US President George W. Bush for a get-to-know-you session over a little roasted boar. It was a very sweaty occasion, not just because of the decision to barbecue a whole, rather sizeable, animal, but also because Germany was in the grip of a heat wave that sent temperatures soaring to almost 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit).
But that was nothing compared to what Stralsunders will witness this Friday when the national German sauna-going championships get underway. The winner will be that hardy man or woman who can sweat it out the longest in a specially-built sauna heated to a blazing 110 degrees (Celsius, that is), with water being thrown on the stones at regular half-minute intervals.
A local Stralsund resident holds the current German record of 8:48 minutes.
Heat and humidity
"Sauna competitions are an extreme sport," said the president of Stralsund's sauna club, Wolfgang Knobloch, adding that it's not just the heat, but the extreme humidity that challenges competitors. All the participants are examined by a doctor, however, and Knobloch said that so far, no one has ever flipped out of their rubber shower shoes from the oppressive conditions.
The rules of competition, in fact, fly in the face of sauna procedures recommended by the Sauna Appreciation Society, which expressly states that the temperature should not be more than 80 to 90 degrees, and that "heat and steam competitions are unhealthy and do not belong in the sauna."
Be that as it may, Germany's extreme sauna-goers have been training for months in the run-up to the championship, and have even developed tricks to help them sweat it out for longer. Some protect their skin with special gels, said Knobloch, while others cool their bodies down beforehand "until they're blue." Another anomaly to common sauna practice in Germany -- the competitors all wear bathing suits to better protect sensitive body parts.
The winner of the competition can look forward to further steamy encounters in the future, at the world sauna championships in -- where else? Finland.