Special Olympics Polar Bear Plunge 2009 – Seaside Heights, NJ
Saturday, February 28th, 2009 Posted in Polar Bear Plunges | 9 Comments »
Today was the 16th annual Special Olympics New Jersey Polar Plunge held in Seaside Heights, New Jersey. This was my 5th year as a plunger. There were over 3300 participants–plus thousands more people watching the spectacle. My friend John joined me for the plunge again this year. It is definitely more fun having someone else share the insanity. Thanks to the Redhead for braving the cold to cheer us on and show us support. My goofy hat made it easier for her to see me in the crowd. The tide was going out during the plunge so we had to run farther out to get deep enough to dive under the water. John was crazy enough to go in twice. I’ll be back next year if anyone is inspired to join me.
A BIG thank you to my family, friends and co-workers who helped me raise over $300 for the Special Olympics this year. I truly appreciate your support! Click here for more photos.
Update: Early estimates are that the event raised over 1 million dollars for Special Olympics New Jersey.
Frank, a friend from the trail group also plunged again this year. I didn’t run into him at the plunge, though he posted a great write up on his blog and a video that he took with his waterproof camera.
LikeSpecial Olympics Polar Bear Plunge 2008 – Seaside Heights, NJ
Saturday, February 23rd, 2008 Posted in Polar Bear Plunges | 10 Comments »
I survived polar plunge #6. Click here for some of our photos and a video.
The water temperature was 38 degrees, 5 degrees warmer than the air. Around 2,400 plungers raised more than $800,000 in donations for Special Olympics New Jersey.
Special thanks to Anthony and Redhead fangirl for braving the elements to cheer us on. Congratulations to my friend John who plunged for the 1st time. He says that he’ll be back next year.
I enjoyed the celebration afterwards. It was fun drinking a beer with Anthony, John & the redhead. My toes thawed out on the drive home. I brought a fair share of sand back with me too.
Thanks to my co-workers, family and friends who donated for my plunge. I raised $334 this year.
Thanks to Redhead fangirl for taking all of the photos. You might notice that during the plunge someone is singing God bless America. This year, everyone jumped the gun and ran in early. I followed everyone else. When I got back out, the announcer commented that there was 40 seconds until the official plunge. I decided that once was enough.
Photo from Asbury Park Press
Jumping in cold: 2,400 plungers know there’s a reason why they’re freezing. Read article here…
Special Olympics Polar Bear Plunge 2007 – Seaside Heights, NJ
Saturday, February 24th, 2007 Posted in Polar Bear Plunges | 7 Comments »Some numbers:
Estimated Number of plungers: 3000
Est. Number of spectators: 8000
Est. money raised: $640,000
Temperature: 38 degrees
Temperature with wind chill: 15
Ocean water temperature: 33 degrees
Here’s a link to an article about the plunge.
 
 
Â
Â
