Polar bear plunge
A polar bear plunge is an event held during the winter where participants enter a body of water despite the low temperature. In the United States polar bear plunges are usually held to raise money for a charitable organization, while in Canada they are associated with New Year's Day.
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[edit] Canada
In Canada "Polar Bear Swims", "Plunges", or "Dips", are a New Years Day tradition in numerous communities across the country.[1] Vancouver, BC's annual Polar Bear Swim Club has been active since 1920 and typically has 1,000 to 2,000 registered participants, with a record 2,128 registrants plunging into English Bay in 2000. Registration is not enforced and the actual number of swimmers may be significantly higher. Estimates of the number of observers are typically up to 10,000.[2] Suburban White Rock, BC's was founded in 1958, and other suburbs including Port Moody and North Vancouver also hold swims [3] Other locations include Edmonton AB, Calgary AB, Ottawa ON, Toronto ON,[4] Clarington ON,[5] Montreal QC, Halifax NS, Prince Edward Island, and St. John's NL. In Yellowknife NWT, the "Freezin for a Reason" plunge is held in March after the spring thaw.
[edit] The Netherlands
Every New Year's day around 10,000 people dive collectively into the icy cold sea water at Scheveningen, The Netherlands' main beach resort town since 1960. In 89 locations on beaches and in lakes all over the country, each year around 30,000 people participate in this "Nieuwjaarsduik" (English: New Year's dive), with a record 36,000 participants on January 1st 2012. Since 1998 Unox, a Unilever food brand often associated with winter, adopted the Nieuwjaarsduik and ever since it is tradition to wear Unox branded winter caps and gloves. [6] [7]
[edit] United States
Plunges are now held across the United States. Annual events are held in Seattle (since 1993),[8] New York's Coney Island Polar Bear Club,[9] Lake George NY,[10] Boston (since 1904),[11] and New Jersey.[12] Some, such as Minnesota's [13] are held to raise proceeds for the Special Olympics.
The Plungapalooza event in Maryland, the largest polar bear plunge in the United States, held annually at Sandy Point State Park, raises funds for the Special Olympics.[14] Sponsored by the Maryland State Police, in 2007, Plungapalooza raised $2.2 million and had 7,400 participants.[15] In 2008, an estimated 12,000 people participated.[14]
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ [1] CBC Polar Bear Dippers Start the New Year
- ^ [2] Vancouver Polar Bear Swim Club
- ^ [3] White Rock, BC, Polar Bear Swim
- ^ [4] Toronto Polar Bear Club
- ^ [5] Clarington Ontario
- ^ [6] Unox nieuwjaarsduik info
- ^ [7] Telegraaf: "Nieuwjaarsduik bijzonder populair dit jaar"
- ^ [8] Seattle Polar Bear Plunge
- ^ [9] Coney Island Polar Bear Club (since 1903)
- ^ [10] Lake George
- ^ [11] Boston's L-Street Brownies
- ^ [12] N.J. Special Olympics Polar Bear Plunge
- ^ [13] Minnesota's and Wisconsin's Plunge
- ^ a b Abrams, Amanda (2009-02-03). "Cold Enough For You?". Express (The Washington Post): pp. E7.
- ^ MSP Polar Bear Plunge – January 26, 2008 – Brought to you by Special Olympics Maryland and Aerotek
[edit] Further reading
- Waldman, Jon (January 29, 2009). "A mighty leap: Nora to take the plunge". SLAM! Wrestling. http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Wrestling/2009/01/28/8170116.html. Retrieved 2009-01-30.
- "Vancouver's Polar Bear Swim". 2vancouver.com. http://2vancouver.com/en/articles/vancouvers-polar-bear-swim. Retrieved 27 July 2011.
[edit] External links
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