Polar bear plunge family affair
Dana Brown
The Hamilton Spectator
(Jan 2, 2008)
A little bit of winter bluster wasn't enough to keep these polar bears out of the water this year.
More than 100 brave dippers, clad in bikinis, swim trunks and costumes, took the plunge at Confederation Park yesterday afternoon, despite a nipping wind that made the air feel very chilly.
"This year we wanted to bail out, but no one wanted to be chicken," said second-time dipper Melissa Hofmann.
The 24-year-old Hamilton woman took the dip with two friends and said it gave her the worst ice cream headache she's ever had.
Despite what felt like cooler weather this year, East Hamilton Optimist Club president Eriks Taube said the water was actually the same temperature as last year -- just below 3 C.
"It's not really colder," he said. "It's windier."
Taube said 125 people registered for the plunge, which he noted has become more of a family event.
"Now you (see) kids in there as young as seven or eight years old."
Jennifer Rainville, 38, brought her four daughters and a family friend for the dip. Her daughters range in age from six to 12 and Rainville said she has two more kids at home who aren't old enough to say they want to join the fun.
It's their decision to go in, she said.
Taube pegged the turnout to be anywhere from 900 to 1,200 people, mostly spectators who came and went.
He said the beach rescue crew was also on hand to ensure safety at the event.
Jerry Grymeck trekked from Toronto to plunge in Hamilton. The 31-year-old has been doing the annual event with two friends for five or six years, and last year they decided to come with a theme -- The Fighting Bravehearts.
So the three were on the snowy sand with their faces painted and wearing what appeared to be homemade kilts.
Grymeck estimated his stay in the water to be about half a second.
"You know what? It's not that bad," he said afterward.
Hamilton resident and third-time dipper Mark Garner, 35, has a routine when he takes the plunge.
He runs out as far as he can, then dives under the water and swims as far as he can. By the time he pops up, most of the dippers are out of the water.
His total lake time? A whopping 30 seconds. And he wears a small neoprene cowboy hat while doing it.
"If you go in slow, you can't do it," he said, adding that you just have to go for it.
In addition to ringing in the new year, the dip also raises money for the McMaster Children's Hospital and the East Hamilton Optimist Club.
dbrown@thespec.com
905-526-4629
John Rennison, the Hamilton Spectator
Jennifer Rainville, of Stoney Creek, emerges from a quick dip in Lake Ontario yesterday at a Confederation Park polar bear swim to kick off 2008.
