Dana the Mascot promotes the LEN European Short Course Championships
By: Eline Andersen
Dana the Mascot has a busy schedule over this summer as she has just begun her road tour around Denmark visiting local swimming teams and clubs.
“With Dana the Mascot we have a brilliant opportunity to promote the LEN European Short Course Championships in December in Copenhagen as well as engaging in the general talk about swimming in Denmark,” says Mads Bang Aaen, the event director of the event and shares the story of Dana.
Over the Summer Dana will visit both local swimming meets, summer aqua camps and national championships and she will participate in the general celebration of swimming and contribute to a festive mention of the LEN European Short Course Swimming Championships.
Dana the Mascot was created with input from swimmers coming from all of Denmark. In a drawing contest, two bids for a championship mascot stood out – they were both sporting the graceful and strong mermaid theme. The Danish World Champion, Jeanette Ottesen, helped select the best bids, and from this, Dana was shaped.
Besides the mermaid look, she also came to wield the true fighting spirits of the Danish ancestors, the Vikings. She therefore represents much of the Danish history – fiction and fact – with which we Danes identify ourselves and truly consider ours.
“The water is the element of a mermaid. Likewise, the water is our element too. Denmark is surrounded by sea and it is a great and important part of the Danish identity. It has always connected us with the rest of the world,” explains Mads Bang Aaen who has set up the busy schedule for Dana over the summer.