New Year’s dip cancelled due to icy GTA waters

Polar Bear plunge called off because of safety concerns

The Toronto Polar Bear Dip has cancelled their annual event on New Year’s Day due to the extreme cold that has gripped the GTA this week.

“Unfortunately due to ice conditions at Sunnyside Beach and in consideration of participant safety we have made the difficult decision to cancel the Toronto Polar Bear Dip for the first time in 13 years,” said a statement by organizers posted on Facebook.

The event, which takes place each year at Sunnyside Beach, was cancelled because the group won’t be able to get 600 people in and out of the lake safely with the current icy conditions.

“The beach area and segment of water that we use are completely frozen — we’re a small group of three guys and we simply don’t have the resources to ensure everyone’s safety,” Keith Jolie, one of the founders of the event, said in an email to the Star.

The Toronto harbour is sealed in a thick coat of ice due to the breakwater, which causes the calm water to freeze faster than the harbour in Oakville, the group explained online, which is the location of another Polar Bear Dip that is expected to go on as planned Monday.

The Toronto page wrote that it’s looking into changing the date of the event but would need to apply for another permit, which could take some time.

“We’d love to see the spirit of the event continue tomorrow! We’d encourage everyone to post a video of you doing your own ‘mini Polar Bear Dip’ tomorrow to this page or to Twitter with the hashtag #daretodip,” the group wrote. “If you can’t ‘dip’ then maybe jump in a snowbank or make snow angels in your bathing suit.”