By Michael Bennett
Local Journalism Initiative
The Ridgetown Independent
Registration is open for the eighth annual Chatham-Kent Polar Plunge, the annual fundraiser for Special Olympics Ontario.
Individuals and teams will take a dip in the cold January pool waters on Jan. 18 at Sons of Kent in Chatham.
This year, there will be just one plunge at 4 p.m., as opposed to offering separate afternoon and evening dips for the first seven years.
Chatham-Kent police Sgt. Jason Herder said the organizing committee decided to go with a later afternoon plunge only based on feedback from participants last year.
“We always had a good contingency for the first jump, but we’d get maybe 20 … 30 if we’re lucky … for the jump at night,” Herder said. “There was the same energy for the night jump, the atmosphere was always great with the lights and the fire pits, but we didn’t have a lot of jumpers.”
“We spoke to a lot of people last year, and the response we heard is that when the sun goes down, it’s a lot colder, even though the pool water temperature is the same,” Herder said.
So, for this year’s plunge, there will be a bigger buildup throughout the afternoon, with a live band, vendors, food trucks, and beverages leading up to the 4 p.m. plunge.
After the final jumper, the band will continue playing, and the outdoor venue will remain open until around 6 p.m. when the party will continue inside Sons of Kent.
This will be the third Polar Plunge at the craft brewery as the first four events were held at St. Clair College Thames Campus.
“This is a perfect venue; I think we have one of the best atmospheres around,” Herder said of the number of Polar Plunges across the province.
Participants raised more than $70,000 in last January’s Plunge, and 100 per cent of the proceeds stayed in Chatham-Kent to host the Special Olympics School Games last July in Ridgetown and Chatham.
“Last year, we were riding the high of the Summer Games coming to town, and the year before, it was our first event after Mike Currie’s passing,” Herder said of the former head of the Chatham-Kent Special Olympics, who died in the fall of 2022.
This year’s goal is to raise $50,000 to go to Special Olympics Ontario.
“It’s an aggressive goal, but I believe it is very achievable,” Herder said.
The entry fee is $40 per person, which will be waived by raising $100 in pledges. Registration is open online at www.polarplunge.ca/chatham-kent where information is also available for businesses and organizations to sign up as a team.
Incentives for team registration will also be available online.
