By Olivia McDonald

A Cold Jump Into The New Year

Dec 31, 2018 | 9:22 AM

PRINCE GEORGE – The 18th annual Polar Bear Dip is coming up on January 1st, a “fresh” way for a few brave Northern BC’ers to start the New Year. 

The event has been going on for 18 years now and one thing that has never changed is the feeling of getting in the water. 

“You can imagine a baseball bat that’s like 50 feet long and made of ice and standing in the swing of that baseball bat. I don’t know, there is something weird, some people hit the water and they scream and dance and they can’t breathe, I think I’m weird and I know I’m weird I can go in and just walk in and then walk out but I can’t get in to like Tabor Lake in the summer it’s just too cold,” explains Dave Horton, an annual swimmer.  

The entry fee for the swim is 25 dollars per person and that, plus any donations are put towards sending kids from the Harwin Community to camp in the summer. Organizer of the Polar Bear Dip, Danya Penson says every kid should have the chance to experience camp, whether they can afford it or not. 

“You always know the kids that have never been to camp because their eyes are just wide open, they’re smiling all the time and they just have a blast. Us as cabin leaders too, we just love these kids that come out because they are just so full of joy and they’re happy to be there and they have no expectations and it’s just wonderful to see them out there having a good time for their week of the summer.” 

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Last years dip raised roughly $7,800 and this time around they hope to beat $8,000. 

“I would say you have got to do it once. It’s worth doing once. You know it might suck for a minute, and then you run up, we’ve got hot showers and it’s over. So as long as you can handle that like little bit of cold water for a bit of time you just get through it and it’s worth doing once. I personally don’t think it’s worth doing twice but it’s definitely worth doing once,” adds Penson. 

Check-in will be inside the Welcome Centre at 2 pm and the swim starts at 2:30 pm on the 1st, costumes are encouraged.