Six teams prepared their brooms and started the banya championship in the Polotsk region

January 29, Vitebsk / Diana Kurilo - BELTA /. Six teams prepared bath brooms and started today at the second "Famous Polotsk Baths" championship, Dmitry Dolgov, head of the ideological work department of the Polotsk District Executive Committee, told a BELTA correspondent. Each team consists of two participants - a man and a woman. Winners will be determined in individual and team championships. The final team result, under equal conditions, will depend on the points scored by the woman: if teams score the same number of points, the one where the fairer half of the team scored the most points will win. The meeting place for lovers of hot steam and strong bath brooms was the agro-ecotourism estate "U Krenitsy" in the village of Vladychino. The local bathhouse has temporarily turned into a battleground for bathhouse regulars. They will have to demonstrate their mastery of the bath broom, show endurance in the steam room, and bravery in the icy plunge pool. Participants' preparation began long before the competition, as a real bathhouse requires weekly training. Before the competition, all participants underwent a medical examination, and independent experts will monitor their condition during the competition. Winners, as expected, will receive awards: diplomas and valuable gifts. While fans of steam and bath brooms warm up in the bathhouse, their supporters fully enjoy winter fun in the frost. Sledding, taking a snow fort – these are not all the games that local entertainers have prepared for the district residents. Local consumer cooperatives have set up trade stalls with pies and hot tea, and amateur artists, unlike visiting stars, are not afraid of the frost and happily sing cheerful songs without backing tracks, inviting everyone to dance. The initiative to hold the competitions belongs to the owners of Polotsk agro-ecotourism estates and bathhouse enthusiasts. The idea was supported by the Polotsk District Executive Committee, which acted as one of the organizers. Such unusual competitions can not only promote a healthy lifestyle but also become good advertising for rural tourism, allowing for the exchange of experience in organizing leisure activities and providing services, according to the district executive committee. The Polotsk Bathhouse Championship will become a regular event. It is worth noting that bathhouse sport championships are held in various countries, and since 1999, the World Bathhouse Championship has been held regularly. In 2010, the competition took place in Finland, with 130 bathhouse athletes from 15 countries participating. -0-