Md. dives into cold with annual polar bear plunge

Thousands wait to take the plunge on Saturday, Jan. 28, 2017 at a fundraiser for Special Olympics Maryland. (WTOP/John Domen)
Thousands wait to take the plunge on Saturday, Jan. 28, 2017 at a fundraiser for Special Olympics Maryland. (WTOP/John Domen)
Those in the water for safety are quite appropriately dressed.  Those about to jump in are wearing decidedly less. (WTOP/John Domen)
Those in the water for safety are quite appropriately dressed. Those about to jump in are wearing decidedly less. (WTOP/John Domen)
Free Wawa coffee at the polar bear plunge Saturday.  Not sure there is enough... (WTOP/John Domen)
Free Wawa coffee at the polar bear plunge Saturday. Not sure there is enough … (WTOP/John Domen)
These small pools are for the pint-sized plungers. (WTOP/John Domen)
These small pools are for the pint-sized plungers. (WTOP/John Domen)
It's chilly. But the wind makes it worse. (WTOP/John Domen)
It’s chilly. But the wind makes it worse. (WTOP/John Domen)
A lifeguard stands watch at the polar bear plunge. (WTOP/John Domen)
A lifeguard stands watch at the polar bear plunge. (WTOP/John Domen)
This warning is not a concern for some of us here in Annapolis, Maryland, for the polar bear plunge. (WTOP/John Domen)
This warning is not a concern for some of us here in Annapolis, Maryland, for the polar bear plunge. (WTOP/John Domen)
Despite the biting cold, swimmers splashed their way into the Chesapeake to raise money for Special Olympics Maryland. (Courtesy Steve Ruark for Special Olympics Maryland)
Despite the biting cold, swimmers splashed their way into the Chesapeake to raise money for Special Olympics Maryland. (Courtesy Steve Ruark for Special Olympics Maryland)
Despite the biting cold, swimmers splashed their way into the Chesapeake to raise money for Special Olympics Maryland. (Courtesy Steve Ruark for Special Olympics Maryland)
Despite the biting cold, swimmers splashed their way into the Chesapeake to raise money for Special Olympics Maryland. (Courtesy Steve Ruark for Special Olympics Maryland)
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Thousands wait to take the plunge on Saturday, Jan. 28, 2017 at a fundraiser for Special Olympics Maryland. (WTOP/John Domen)
Those in the water for safety are quite appropriately dressed.  Those about to jump in are wearing decidedly less. (WTOP/John Domen)
Free Wawa coffee at the polar bear plunge Saturday.  Not sure there is enough... (WTOP/John Domen)
These small pools are for the pint-sized plungers. (WTOP/John Domen)
It's chilly. But the wind makes it worse. (WTOP/John Domen)
A lifeguard stands watch at the polar bear plunge. (WTOP/John Domen)
This warning is not a concern for some of us here in Annapolis, Maryland, for the polar bear plunge. (WTOP/John Domen)
Despite the biting cold, swimmers splashed their way into the Chesapeake to raise money for Special Olympics Maryland. (Courtesy Steve Ruark for Special Olympics Maryland)
Despite the biting cold, swimmers splashed their way into the Chesapeake to raise money for Special Olympics Maryland. (Courtesy Steve Ruark for Special Olympics Maryland)

Update 1/29/2017 9:03 a.m.: The 21st annual polar bear plunge raised a record $2.4 billion through fundraising efforts. This will allow 7,311 Special Olympics Maryland athletes to compete in year-round athletic programming free of charge.

ANNAPOLIS, Md. — It’s unusual to see swimwear at this time in Maryland, but the 21st annual polar bear plunge brought sparsely-dressed participants to Sandy Point State Park on Saturday.

Despite the biting cold, swimmers splashed their way into the Chesapeake to raise money for Special Olympics Maryland.

Ashley Fields and Amanda Fields of Ellicott City, and Marissa Bartol of Silver Spring, were dressed like Vikings, walking around with soggy cardboard swords after jumping into the Chesapeake Bay during Saturday’s Polar Bear Plunge.  How cold was it?

“Not cold enough for the Vikings,” yelled Ashley Fields before letting out a big “whoo!”

Bartol said it didn’t feel that bad.

“I’m used to it,”  the soggy Silver Spring resident said just after making it back on to dry land. “It’s actually warmer outside the water than it was inside.”

“I would disagree with that,” countered Amanda Fields.

Josie Waugh of Carroll County, Maryland, said she was “freezing.”

But that was before she got into the water.  “Actually, I feel better before I did in the water,” she said. “But it’s still really cold.”

It’s the third time Waugh has done this, and despite the uncomfortable conditions, she said this was a better time than past years.  “There was no snow on the beach this time, so it’s been great.”  When a friend mentioned there was no ice in the water though, she quickly shot back “there was definitely ice in the water.”

She said she lost her breath when she first time she walked into the water.  “You can’t breathe in there,” she said.  “I actually fell trying to high-five the police, so he pulled me up, thank goodness. But I still went under.  I had no strength. I just wiped out.”

Waugh said she had a great time this year. “I can’t wait to do it again next year.”

Money raised during the event benefits the Maryland Special Olympics. As of Friday afternoon, about $2.1 million was raised.  People will still be able to donate — organizers had a goal of $2.5 million total.  Jim Schmutz, the president and CEO for Special Olympics, said hat despite the cold and the unhelpful wind, people ware “energized” by the environment.

“As cold as it is out there, it’s a warm environment,” he said.

The excitement and the adrenaline of the thousands who plunged their way into the Bay backed that assertion.  With a Guiness Book of World Records spot on the line for the most Polar Bear Plungers in one 24-hour period, Schmutz was hoping all the paperwork and photographic evidence will land this event in the history books.

 

John Domen

John started working at WTOP in 2016 after having grown up in Maryland listening to the station as a child. While he got his on-air start at small stations in Pennsylvania and Delaware, he's spent most of his career in the D.C. area, having been heard on several local stations before coming to WTOP.

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