The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Annual Polar Plunge draws hundreds
Annual Polar Plunge brings out hundreds in support of Special Olympics Ohio
The annual event, in its 22nd season, remains the cornerstone of Special Olympics Ohio fundraising.
Polar Plunge participants this year didn’t have much to complain about even with 30-degree temperatures and steady afternoon drizzle.
After all, when hundreds of people show up to willingly run into the frigid waters of Lake Erie in late February, it’s a safe bet they’re cognizant the weather can always be worse.
“The winter’s pretty much cooperated nicely this year,” said Kate Burdett, director of marketing for Special Olympics Ohio, in her fifth season. “There can always be colder conditions. Still, I mean, that water isn’t exactly warm.”
Sponsored by Sheetz, the annual event in its 22nd season remains the cornerstone of Special Olympics Ohio fundraising. Previously held in Ashtabula and Geneva-on-the-Lake, the plunge has been held at Edgewater Park Beach in Cleveland for the second consecutive year.
“Due to a variety of factors, we decided to meet in the heart of Cleveland,” Burdett said, adding the location attracts more people from a lot more communities. “This is our signature event internationally, too.
“This year, we have 300 plungers registered to help out and continue to promote Special Olympics Ohio as culturally relevant. Everyone has so much fun. It’s one of our cooler events — pardon the pun.”
All plungers raise a minimum of $75 to partake, with $50 being the minimum for students. Plungers range from age eight to 80 and older, making up six-toeight person teams.
All proceeds from the event help Special Olympics Ohio provide yearround sports training and competition opportunities to more than 26,000 children and adults with intellectual disabilities. Multiple plunges will continue to take place through March.
This year, the Cleveland Polar Plunge raised about $80,000.
Even with trained water rescue personnel standing in the lake, Burdett recommends exercising caution, as she’s seen “madness” take place from teams roughhousing amidst the wintry waters.
“We always have some diehards that come year after year,” she said, “but some purists don’t consider it a full plunge unless you go completely underwater. But some just run in and back out.
“Another component to the event is our ‘Too Chicken to Plunge.’ They receive T-shirts letting people know they’re not plunging, but it’s still great because people can still raise money for the athletes without going into the water.”
Given almost a seemingly perfect platform to honor his 2016 vow, absent from the event was Cleveland Browns head coach Hue Jackson, who said he’d to jump in Lake Erie if his team matched that season’s 15-loss record — which they not only did, but surpassed — in 2017 by not winning a single game.
Was he ‘too chicken’ or just waiting for more optimal weather?
“No coach (at the plunge). He missed a great opportunity,” Burdett laughed.
(Jackson does plan to “jump” to raise money for his own foundation which combats human trafficking in Cleveland.)
As incredulous onlookers gawked, giggled, snapped pictures and shot video, Streetsboro Mayor Glenn Broska took to the lake at the urging of his “Polar Plunge partner and friend,” Chrissy Motz, a Special Olympian involved with the plunge for over ten years who raised $5,000 for the 2018 event herself.
“She got me this year,” Broska said, smiling. “I was challenged to participate. I’m a first-timer and this event really is something else. Chrissy is one in a million. To know her is to love her. You could say she called me out, and I was happy to accept.”
Like Broska, Burdett hopes other officials throughout Cleveland will participate in years to come, noting their influence could greatly add to the amazing opportunities Special Olympics Ohio athletes receive.
So, has she taken the plunge?
“I’ve done it once, yes,” Burdett said. “I couldn’t in good conscience ask someone else to do it and not have done it myself. It’s an unusual event, but it’s fun and for a great cause. That’s why people enjoy it so much.”