Chattanooga: Plunging into 2009

Some people will do just about anything for bragging rights.

While most of the city was still sleeping off their late-night partying, a group of die-hard scuba divers donned hooded wet suits and welcomed the new year with an icy dive in the Tennessee River.

“They’re crazy, but you know, my husband wouldn’t stop grinning all morning,” said Mendy Rosen, whose husband, Richard, joined members of the Chattanooga Underwater Divers Association for the first time Thursday morning.

For the past eight years the divers have braved the frigid waters for the short swim between the Walnut and Market street bridges. The first year the group showed up on the river bank at midnight, but quickly decided it was far too cold, so they came back nine hours later, and the tradition stuck.

“It’s just something to get the new year off to a good start,” said Bob Weaver, manager of Leisure Time Dive and Ski Center on Brainerd Road.

But even Mr. Weaver, a veteran New Year’s Day diver, began having second-thoughts Thursday as he stepped off the kayak launch on the outskirts of Coolidge Park and into the river...[TimesFreePress.com]