Just a few days after a planned Polar Plunge in White Rock was cancelled due to what organizers called “unforeseen logistic issues” the event is back on the schedule – and set for this Saturday.
The chilly dip – usually held on Jan. 1 but postponed this year due to COVID-19 – is set for 11 a.m. at White Rock beach, organizers of the event told Peace Arch News via email Wednesday morning. News of the rescheduling came too late for PAN press deadline for its March 24 paper.
“We have resolved our logistics issues,” said Lexie Wynne, a member of Rotaract 5050, the group that is co-hosting the event, along with Rotaract District 5040.
The event is a fundraiser, and has been dubbed ‘Freezin’ for a Reason’ – all funds collected will go towards Rotaract Canada’s collective goal of raising $75,000 for The Rotary Foundation’s Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Fund, which aims to provide clean water to Indigenous communities across Canada.
To donate, click here.
The White Rock Polar Plunge has been cancelled two other times since the pandemic started.
The plunge was last held in 2020 – the event’s 50th year. The year before that, it was cancelled due to debris scattered along the beach after a Dec. 20, 2018 storm damaged the city’s pier.
While last Saturday’s White Rock event was postponed, a similar plunge in South Surrey did take place a day later. On Sunday, Surrey RCMP officers and a handful of supporters waded into the cold waters off Crescent Beach as part of a fundraiser for Special Olympics.
A short video posted to the Surrey RCMP’s Twitter account showed five people, including three uniformed officers, race into the chilly water while a crowd cheered them on from the beach.
The small group of hearty souls raised $1,330, surpassing their $1,000 goal.
– with files from Tracy Holmes