Are you brave enough to take Polar Plunge?
SO, are you ready to get freezin’ for a reason?!
Special Olympics Ireland is calling on hardy souls from Co. Louth to accept the challenge and take the Polar Plunge for local athletes this December.
The plunge returns to Clogherhead on Saturday 1st December 2018 and sees families, clubs, local businesses and individuals brave the icy waters to raise funds for local athletes with an intellectual disability.
Special Olympics athlete Martin O’Brian was on hand to help launch the Polar Plunge and said he has taken on the challenge, now it’s over to you!
“I got to compete in the Ireland Games for Team Leinster in Limerick in 2014 and know that it is the great work done in the clubs, especially my club Drogheda Special Olympics Club that enables us, as athletes, to achieve our goals,” he says.
“Special Olympics is a charity and needs the support of the Irish community to continue their great work. So please, I urge you to come out Clogherhead on the 1st December.”
Also, in attendance at the launch were local members of An Garda Siochana including Graham Doolan, from Drogheda Garda Station and committee member of the Law Enforcement Torch Run and of course Bear Chills himself, the Polar Plunge mascot.
“Every day, the athletes of Special Olympics Ireland step up to various challenges, to compete in the sports they love. The Polar Plunge sees members of the local community take on their own challenge in support of these inspirational athletes,” said Regional Fundraising Coordinator Eoin Treanor. “The Clogherhead Polar Plunge has been one of our largest Plunges for the past 4 years and has an incredible festive atmosphere with carol signing and great local support from the Clogherhead Community”.
2019 is set to be another massive year for Special Olympics Ireland as 91 athletes prepare to represent Team Ireland at the Special Olympics World Summer Games in Abu Dhabi in March, including 9 athletes and 5 coaches from the Leinster Region.
There are also currently nearly 9,000 athletes training on a weekly basis in Special Olympics clubs across Ireland. Funds raised through the Polar Plunge will go towards the continuation of the programme.
Those who think they are brave enough to take the Polar Plunge can register at www.specialolympics.ie/ polarplunge. Registration costs just €20 with plungers asked to fundraise an additional amount to support athletes like Martin. The staging of this year’s event would not be possible without the Law Enforcement Torch Run, An Gardaí Siochána, Louth County Council, The RNLI, Coastguard, Irish Underwater Search & Rescue Unit, Civil Defence.