The 13th annual Polar Plunge will take place this weekend to raise money that will benefit nearly 40,000 Special Olympics athletes in North Carolina.
The plunge, which is being organized by the NC State Campus Police Department, will take place on Saturday at 1 p.m. at the NC State University Club.
“Thirteen years ago, the chief at the time, Tom Younce, was looking at a way for the police department to be able to give back to the community,” said Lieutenant Bill Davis of the NC State Police Department. “This is one of the causes that the police department could get involved with at the time.”
Participants will be jumping into the University Club’s pool at cold temperatures and may also participate in a two-and-a-half-mile trail run around the property beforehand.
Davis, who also served as the organizer of this year’s event, described the event as “a way to raise funds and awareness for athletes who participated in the Special Olympics.”
“You’ve got to brave the cold,” Davis said. “They’re going to jump in the freezing water to be able to bring awareness to the athletes of North Carolina and to be able to give the participants a sense of accomplishment too.”
The Polar Plunge is an important part of NC State’s mission to give back to the community and has even been put in NC State’s book of traditions. Each year, the event manages to raise tens of thousands of dollars to benefit the NC Special Olympic Program.
Maggie Deweese, a fourth-year studying human biology, currently serves as the president of the Special Olympics college club and a communications intern to the NC Special Olympics.
“The NC State Plunge is always a wonderful contributor to the mission of Special Olympics of North Carolina,” Deweese said. “The NC State Police do an excellent job that often donates tens of thousands of dollars.”
Deweese also said the Polar Plunge helps bring more opportunities to Special Olympics.
“Any fundraisers allow the Special Olympics of North Carolina to do more for the athletes in NC,” Deweese said. “With over 40,000 athletes here, the Special Olympics of North Carolina relies on events like Polar Plunge to be able to continue doing what they do.”
Additionally, Davis said that this year is particularly exciting because of where it is being held.
“We have traditionally done the Polar Plunge at Lake Raleigh,” Davis said. “But they were having some construction going on, so we looked at other locations. The University Club stepped up and said we could hold it at their facility. And that is sweet. We have clear water to jump into. We do not have port-a-johns anymore; we have heated bathrooms that we get to go into and change.”
There is both pre-registration and day-of registration. The event will open to registrants at 11 a.m.
For those interested in participating in this year’s Polar Plunge, pre-registration can be found on the Polar Plunge website. Participants can also register at the event site this Saturday. Additionally, there will be costume contests, prizes and free food for all participants.
