Naked tobogganing in a German village

Mar 11, 2010, 9:44 GMT

Berlin - The winter months are usually a very quiet time of year in the small town of Braunlage in central Germany. Beginner skiers can be seen timidly practicing curves while parents and their young children slide down gentle slopes on toboggans. But recently that peaceful idyll was shattered: Braunlage was bustling with over 14,000 loud visitors there to see the rather unusual competition of naked tobogganing.

None of the 30 young competitors were completely naked: female competitors wore tiny panties and the men boxer shorts. Helmets, gloves and boots were also compulsory. 'Due to safety concerns,' said Christian Klamt, manager of a local spa resort.

Nevertheless, the naked - or at least almost naked - tobogganers managed to attract a substantial amount of curious onlookers. Klamt was pleasantly surprised that visitor numbers were up on the first staging of the event - 12,000 people attended last year.

'The increase in traffic has become a serious problem for us,' says local police chief Michael Huth. Authorities organised a special car park with 1,000 places in the neighbouring town of Elend plus a shuttle service to Braunlage but it was not enough. Officers were stationed outside Braunlage and had to turn back thousands of people.

Otherwise the 100-metre-long toboggan run would have been hopelessly crowded with spectators. Some of the female competitors had what could be described as model figures but there were also a few 'normal types,' as local radio commentator Andre Gierke described it.

Spectators were unperturbed by the snowfall - in fact it even added to the atmosphere. 'We were very lucky with the weather,' says Gierke. 'It was proper winter weather for topless tobogganing.'

By the time it came to the final event the sun had decided to make an appearance but its rays were not strong enough to warm the freezing tobogganers. The winner was 26-year-old Christian Schmidt. A 70-year-old man who did not take part in the competition but decided to go naked anyway received just as much applause as Schmidt.