Nice has its traditional Christmas bath, Longueil-Sainte-Marie (Oise) has its New Year bath. And in this commune in Hauts-de-France, located not far from Compiègne, the water is very cold this winter. “It’s at 5 or 7°C! » The temperature, just announced, leaves the least seasoned swimmers unmoved. At the same time, an icy wind blows on the shore. The sighs are getting louder. “They’re brave, huh,” Dominique exclaims, stunned, at the sight of the naked bodies that the breeze whips harshly.
This Wednesday, the town hall of Longueil-Sainte-Marie, less than 2,000 inhabitants, organized “the January 1st bath” in the pond of the nautical base, alongside the open water swimming club l'Ois'eau free. For the first time, the event was open to everyone. Around thirty courageous people, braving the fatigue of a drunken evening – for some – in addition to the harshness of the elements, threw themselves into the deep end.
“How do they stay? »
A costume party, for which Stanislas Barthelemy, mayor of Longueuil, wore a beautiful crest on his head. A member of the club himself, he admits: you have to be a little “stupid” to knowingly throw yourself into an ice bath, what's more, the day after New Year's Eve. “Frosted,” corrects Alain mischievously. The veteran of the day, 77 years old on the clock, has been practicing ice baths since the 1990s.
Into the water! With disconcerting ease, Alain rushes into the pond without blinking. The others follow. For beginners, however, getting into the water is tough. “It stings too much,” says a bather in a grin of suffering, immediately turning back towards the beach.
Once the waist is submerged, we scream as much as we laugh. Then the gaze shifts to a silhouette moving away from the shore. Alain left. In crawl, it will reach an islet in the distance, with disconcerting ease. Admiring, two swimmers emerge with relief from a torturous bath. “How do they stay? “, asks one, summarizing her experience in one word: “horrible”. The other laughs: “The first feat was getting up. Now we're going to go back to sleep…”
A crazy moment to find yourself
Back on earth, under a marquee set up for the occasion, hot drinks are served, both to warm the insides and the sore hands. Coming with three friends “to start the year off right”, Anaïs, all shivering, does not regret the “challenge” launched: “It's not unpleasant, it's invigorating”, marvels the young woman of 32 years. She even says she is ready to “repeat” the experience.
There was probably no better cure for a January 1st hangover. Hands on hips, a licensee of the Ois'eau libre has barely come out of the water, casts a friendly eye over those who prolong the swim. “It stings,” he says, his jaw clenched. He moves his aching fingers and toes with difficulty, but keeps smiling: “It's a party today,” he smiles.
For the mayor, this folkloric and friendly morning also has a deeper issue: “What is really important is that people who experience the first of January alone can say to themselves that we can experience it with people who are a little crazy , says the chosen one. In these periods of crisis, being together is still fundamental. »
