Polar Bear Swim 2007

[Lise]

Has anyone seen the Polar Bear Swim at all? Wonder what that's like. Not that I'm going to watch. I think it's crazy to dunk yourself in freezing water. Brrrr.

   [TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="95%" border=0] [TBODY] [TR] [TD vAlign=top width=20][img height=20 src="vny!://www.city.vancouver.bc.ca/parks/images/spacer.gif" width=20][/TD] [TD vAlign=top][A name=content][/A]<=printReady>[!-- #BeginEditable "content" --]  [P class=headinglarge]Polar Bear Swim 2007[SPAN class=headingmedium] (87th Annual)[/SPAN]
[SPAN class=headingmedium]Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
January 1, 2007[/SPAN]

  [/TD][/TR][/TBODY][/TABLE]

  The Vancouver Polar Bear Swim Club is one of the largest and oldest Polar Bear Clubs in the world. Its initial swim was in 1920 when a small number of hardy swimmers took the plunge into English Bay on New Year's Day. Led by their founder, Peter Pantages, the swim has grown from around 10 swimmers in that year to the record number of 2,128 official entries in 2000.   Today, the swim takes place at 2:30pm on the first day of each new year. Costumes and the Peter Pantages Memorial 100 yard swim race are the highlights of this event. To be a club member you must register before the swim. Registration takes place in front of the English Bay Bathhouse from 12:30pm - 2:30pm each New Year's Day. You may also register by clipping out the coupon in the Province Newspaper and presenting it at the registration desk the day of the swim. Your free membership includes a commemorative button after you take the plunge.

 For further information about the Vancouver Polar Bear Swim Club, contact: [A href="mailto:[email protected]"]Glenn Schultz[/A] of the Vancouver Aquatic Centre.

 [A href="vny!://www.city.vancouver.bc.ca/parks/events/polarbear/2007/index.htm"]vny!://www.city.vancouver.bc.ca/parks/events/polarbear/2007/index.htm[/A]

 

[purelife]

No thanks for me.  I'd rather ice-skate.    

[kingy]

do you ice skate in your swimsuit?

  im hoping the weather is freezing for the polar bear swim. it just isnt as fun when people come out of the water saying 'it wasnt that cold'

[P.C.]

Perhaps there's a Seinfeld episode in this ?

[TehBorken]

 purelife wrote:
No thanks for me.  I'd rather ice-skate.  [img style="font-style: italic;" src="/forums/richedit/smileys/Happy/14.gif[/img]  

Ditto. You'd have to force me into that water at gunpoint, and even then I might prefer taking a bullet.
 

[kitten]

I've seen it on TV, and that's as close as I'm going to get to it.  I like my bath water warm!

[Russ]

I was entertaining the thought of doing it last year.. but that was at one am just into the new year. After four more hours of drinking more coca colas I slept right through it... not that I would have done it when I was awake and sane minded.

[Lise]

Polar Bear Swim came and gone. Click on the link to see images of the insanity.

   [DIV class=feed_details] [H4]Chantal Eustace, Vancouver Sun[/H4]Published: Tuesday, January 02, 2007

[DIV class=para12 id=article] VANCOUVER - Despite the wet and chilly weather, 82-year-old Herb Capozzi couldn't wait to dash into the even-colder waters of English Bay Monday during the annual Polar Bear Swim.

 "It's a good time," said Capozzi, who came from Kelowna just to take part in the dip.

 Behind him, a crowd of men, painted entirely blue, roar like freezing bears.

  [A onclick="window.DOH!('vny!://www.canada.com/vancouversun/gallery/polar_bear07.html','Gallery','toolbars=no,scrollbars=no,noresize,height=465,width=710')" href="vny!://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/story.html?id=801f2be9-db1b-4f09-8f0d-d8f10813d8ed#" s_oidt="0" s_oid="vny!://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/story.html?id=801f2be9-db1b-4f09-8f0d-d8f10813d8ed#"][SPAN]Photo Gallery: Polar Bear Swim[/SPAN][/A]

[DIV class=para12]

[DIV class=para12][FONT size=1]Read more: [/FONT][A href="vny!://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/story.html?id=801f2be9-db1b-4f09-8f0d-d8f10813d8ed"][FONT size=1]vny!://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/story.html?id=801f2be9-db1b-4f09-8f0d-d8f10813d8ed[/FONT][/A][FONT size=1]#[/FONT][/DIV]

[CK]

I did a polar bear swim on New Years in Kelowna around 92 or 93 in Okanagan Lake. We actually had to walk through a few steps of ice around the edge to get to the water.

I was happy to know I could still have kids afterwards!! yay!

[Ally]

I not only did the Polar Bear dip, 3 years ago I did the Polar Bear race at Rocky Point Park.

  I used to swim competitively.  I went with some friends to register for the dip and some old swimming parents were there and I got peer pressured by everyone to do the race.  It was about 80m...out to a boat and back.

  You don't feel it at first.  It's numbing.  I did about 60% of the race anaerobically with a nice shot of adrenalin.  Then I had to breath.  I rolled over and my rib cage wouldn't expand.  I had to swim on my back for about 30 seconds in order to breath.  Anyway I was 3rd out of the water.  My friends took me to my mom's house where I sat in a hot bath and drank hot tea for about 2 hours.  Oh boy did it burn thawing out.

[CK]

I did a couple shots of Crowne before I went in the water...it did not help ease the cold!

I never did it since.

[Lise]

Anyone who even dip their toes into freezing water is considered a hero in my books. I can't even stand water in a pool when you first go in.

  Brrrrr.