What is billed as Spain's first national siesta
championship is under way in Madrid to find the best napper and
help revive the tradition of taking a snooze after lunch.
Participants are monitored as they lie on bright blue sofas in
the middle of a shopping mall for a 20-minute nap. Some wear
pyjamas; others sport eye masks or cover their faces with their
jackets.
They have pulse monitors attached to their bodies and the
maximum of 20,000 points is awarded to those who manage to sleep
for the full 20 minutes.
Sleeping fewer minutes means fewer points but judges also award
marks for original sleeping positions, the loudest snore and the
most eye-catching outfits.
The competition, organised by the National Association of
Friends of the Siesta, began on October 14 and will wrap up on
Saturday with the winner awarded a prize of 1,000 euros (1,400
dollars).
"The mission of the championship is to spread the idea that the
nap is something of ours that must be defended and practised,
because it is healthy and good for everyone," the association says
on its website.
"Being able to do it in public requires having a spirit of a
champion and to be a great siesta taker."
Eight rounds of the competition are held daily with each
involving five participants on sofas lined up in parallel lanes
like those of a track and field meet.
"We were afraid that people would be afraid of making fools of
themselves but on average about 50 people have taken part each
day," the association's spokesman, Alvaro Vidal, told AFP.
Given the success of the siesta contest, the association is
planning to repeat the event in the future and hold editions
outside of Spain, he added.