Teekkari dipping survival guide

So the day has finally come! You’ve been working your ass off the whole year to fill that silly fuksi passport of yours and now you’re honorably entitled to become a true teekkari, congratulations!!!

But hey, seriously? Being submerged in freakin’ cold water? I honestly couldn’t tell for sure what the temperature of the water is, but the story tells that this temperature is actually measured in centimeters of shrinkage… IF you know what I mean. Along with this, you have to add the unpredictability of Finnish weather. Some fuksis are lucky to have an incredibly warm and sunny day for their dipping, while others have had even snow falling on their shoulders. So in any case be well prepared for one of the most unforgettable experiences of your life and follow these gentle advices:

•    Leave Hervanta well on time! The buses on Wappu day run in Sunday schedule and they are absolutely and completely crowded. For example if you live in Paawola most likely you won’t even fit in the bus, so go to the city center as early as possible.
•    Prepare a song to sing during the fuksi parade. Almost every guild has an anthem of its own, and their fuksis go singing it on their way to Tammerkoski. In previous years INTO’s fuksis have sang for example Inna our ship and Yogi Bear.
•    Wear your official dipping t-shirt. You can think of it as your ticket to the rapids, if you’re not wearing it the security personnel won’t allow you to go. Every other single fuksi will be wearing it too! Do I even have to mention wearing your overalls?
•    Pack enough thirst quenchers. Let’s face it, the tipsier and happier you are, the faster the time will pass and the less cold you will feel in the water. So bring enough drinks to keep you in a good mood for the whole day. Some fuksis also bring a bottle of sparkling wine to celebrate their dipping by shaking and opening it exactly when they get submerged. It’s also smart to pack some snacks and food.
•    Be quick and obey the security personnel. When you reach the frontline of the queue, the security personnel will allow a group of exactly 8 people to advance to the place where you undress before boarding the dipping cage. If you’re coming with your friends it could happen that the group gets split, if so please be comprehensive and don’t make the staff lose time hearing your whining, after all they just can’t please every single fuksi, right? Move quickly to the undressing area and to the cage once you’re told to do so.
•    Scream as loud as you can… or not! This really depends on the crane operator, but I think they really enjoy seeing the suffering faces of us foreigners. Sometimes they will submerge you more times the louder you scream asking them to do it (and showing your thumb pointing downwards), sometimes they just do it even if you don’t ask for it, and sometimes they don’t do it even if you ask for it. Probably just a matter of luck.
•    Be full of patience. Internationals get dipped at the very end of the queue (except for the jäynä and härweli teams), which usually means waiting for between 3 and 4 hours. So just sit back and relax, your turn will eventually come.
•    Bring a towel in case you want to go to the sauna. There’s a free bus taking people straight out of the dipping area to the sauna in Atalpa, where you can warm up back again.