#ARCTIC. #SIBERIA. THIS IS TAIMYR. At the end of the New Year holidays, the Nord Diving Club members organized a feast at the bottom of the swimming pool.
The tradition of the New Year celebrating in such an unusual format among Norilsk divers originated in 2006, when for the first time athletes and diving enthusiasts lowered a Christmas tree to the bottom of the pool.
To fix the New Year tree under water, it was equipped with special weights. To create an even more festive atmosphere, a small table was served at the bottom of the pool near the Christmas tree.
“The club activists are always looking forward to this stylized holiday, preparing for it and maintaining the tradition. It is very difficult to live in Norilsk without hobbies. For us, the New Year’s event under water is a kind of addition to the general program of competitions and just a good way to cheer each other up before the start of everyday work”, said Andrey Levchenko, a member of the Norilsk diving movement.
Everyone involved in the New Year’s dive followed the festive dress code. Someone came dressed as a symbol of the New Year – a tiger, someone dressed up as a Snow Maiden. There were pirates and a fabulous deer, guests in folk costumes and other characters at the celebration. The main rule ran: the suits had to have the so-called negative buoyancy, so as not to impede the descent into the water.
Divers spent about an hour under water, thereby marking the beginning of a series of underwater events in the coming year.
“Like in previous years, in the near future we have participation in diving competitions, which are scheduled for February 20 and will be timed to coincide with the Fatherland Defender Day. From March to May, if the weather permits, we plan to make ice dives in the surrounding waters on weekends. There is an idea to organize a club trip outside Norilsk in May. And of course, we are all getting ready for traditional summer expeditions, where we will hone our skills, improve our sports level and discover new facets of Taimyr nature”, said Evgeny Babich, the Nord diving club head.
Earlier, we published a long interview with Yevgeny Babich: he spoke about the intricacies of his unusual hobby, which allows him to feel like he is on another planet.
Follow us on Telegram, Instagram , Facebook and Twitter.
Text: Victoria Romanova, Photo: Alexander Vahonin
