Døds or Die!

Have you ever been to a place where people gather to swim and relax? Have you ever seen someone jump or dive into the water from a diving board? It's usually something people do to add a sensation of action and excitement to the otherwise so relaxing atmosphere that usually surrounds a pool. Well, some Norwegians have taken this to the extreme. The descendants of the vikings have found another way of releasing the mayhem and chaos that's boiling within them. It's called "Dødsing".

"Dødsing", which translates into "death diving", is a relatively new sport, and even though it's difficult to find information regarding the history of it, it is easy to pinpoint where it originated. The first "death diving" took place in a pool complex in Oslo, Norway, known as Frognerbadet. The stories goes back as far as the 1960's, and new legends are born every year.

The World Championship of Dødsing takes place at Frognerbadet every year, and it is a popular event for spectators. It is covered by the national media in Norway, and features competitors from several nations.

So what is "Dødsing"?

The concept revolves around a pool, a diving board, and the competitors. Whoever participates will be diving from a board approximately 30 feet above the pool's surface. As soon as they leave the diving board they are supposed to stretch out as much as possible and stay like that for as long as they dare. Then, just before they hit the water they crumble up and take the impact as a cannonball. If executed the right way it should be perfectly safe, but people getting hurt is no rarity. But the Norwegians keep doing it year after year. They have even turned it into an organization.

The organization is called The International Dødsing Organization, but while the title sounds pretty impressive, the org itself is not. It does not have its own website, but a facebook-page, and it seems to be more national than international. There are, however, rumors of the sport spreading to other Scandinavian countries.

The organization is made up of a few sub-orgs. These are divided geographically, and represent where most of "Dødsing" is practiced. There are four of these sub-orgs, and three of them are located in Oslo. East, North, and West Oslo all have their sub-org, while the last one is represents the rest of Norway. It's called the "Beyond the City"-org.

But why would anyone spend their time doing this? The question itself is wrong. Try this:

Why wouldn't everyone spend their time doing this?

While this is a sport, competition is not the main motivation for these daredevils. These are normal people, like you and me, with normal lives. That means normal jobs, normal stress, and normal hustle and bustle. But every time they go for a new dive, they, their lives and worries, are weightless. They're free. The only thing pulling them down is gravity. While "death diving" might seem silly, or even stupid, it's not. It's a way of letting go and just enjoy being alive for a few seconds. Is that silly or stupid? Not to me.

This is a sport for every gender, age-group, and social status. There's not need for advanced skills. All you need to succeed is the will to do so. Doesn't that remind you of something?

It reminds me of life.

#Norway #Oslo #Frognerbadet #Dødsing #DeathDiving #life #extreme #serfuntin #fun #tin