The organizers of the New Year’s Polar Bear Dip in Kelowna are encouraging people to take a bath now to support the charity.
The pandemic means it is not safe for people to gather in large numbers on the shores of Lake Okanagan before storming into the water, which is usually around 2 ° C in early January.
The directors of the Community Recreational Initiatives Society therefore hope that people will take a bath now in the lake, which is currently 10 ° C, or get cold anytime before January 1st in some other creative way.
“Find a fun way to prove that you are a polar bear,” the group says on their website. “Lake dips, ice baths, getting a snow angel in your swimsuit, splashing yourself with a bucket of ice-cold water, and other cool challenges you can face are all recommended.”
Participants are asked to raise funds, challenge friends and family to “freeze for a reason” and upload videos of their antics to the CRIS website, Instagram or Facebook.
Prizes are given out for the most creative participants, the coolest challenge, and the best fundraiser.
The goal is to raise $ 50,000 for CRIS in Kelowna, which runs a variety of programs using specialized equipment to help people with challenges enjoy the great outdoors.
Donate and register at www.trellis.org/crispolarbearchallenge
“CRIS is nothing if not adaptable. It is what we do every day to provide outdoor recreation for people with a variety of disabilities and mobility problems. Therefore, putting this event online seemed like a possible adaptation,” he said Shelley Buchanan Gilmore, CEO of CRIS, said in a press release.
The New Year’s Polar Bear Dip at Waterfront Park has been going on for six years. On January 1, 2020, a man stayed in the water for seven minutes – which was a relatively mild 6 ° C – before being encouraged by dip marshals in kayaks to get out of the lake.
Peachland also traditionally has a polar bear dip on New Year’s Day hosted by the city but canceled for 2021.
