You’ll see a lot of activity out on ice-covered Georgian Bay behind the Bayshore Community Centre in Owen Sound today.
The 12th annual Polar Bear Dip gets underway at 1 PM.
Organizer and Owen Sound Police Sergeant Ted Kitto says they’re hoping to surpass last year’s record of 76 people taking the jump.
He says each year the event is growing bigger and more people are braving the icy waters.
This year’s goal is to raise 10-thousand dollars for Special Olympics.
Kitto says there are 17 thousand Special Olympics athletes in Ontario, and they need a lot of support to train and promote athletes.
And he says the most inspiring part is that these athletes don’t compete for what they win, but rather to do the very best they can.
Many have pre-registered online and have been fundraising for a while, but Kitto says you’re always welcome to come down today at noon to register with any pledges that you have collected.
There will be firefighters, paramedics and doctor on hand for the event.
But Kitto says in the 14 years they’ve been running the dip, nobody’s ever been hurt.
Kitto himself has done the Polar Bear Dip 40 times and says he’s never once gotten a cold.
This year the water is still frozen about 7 to 10 centimetres thick, so a hole will be cut into the ice and the dippers will plunge in that way.
Everybody is invited to come watch and support the dippers. The event gets underway at 1PM.
Bayshore Broadcasting’s Cory Laycock, Donna Henry, and Daryl Morris will be “Freezin for a Reason” today as well.
