How many people does it take to jump into the Atlantic Ocean while temperatures of both the air and water are in the 30s for it to be no longer considered “crazy”?
Having completed their 10th annual Super Bowl Sunday dip—an event that started with two and has grown to more than 6,000 brave swimmers—the Long Beach Polar Bear Club appears to have normalized a tradition that often inspires summertime-only beachgoers to scoff.
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“We have people come in from all over to help us celebrate this,” said Kevin McCarthy, co-founder of the club. “It’s just an unbelievable event.”
But it’s not all about the exhilaration of stripping to a swim suit in the dead of winter and plunging into the ice-cold sea for fun of it. The polar bears have raised more than $1.6 million for the Make a Wish Foundation, an organization that grants wishes for children with life-threatening medical conditions.
For more information on the Long Beach Polar Bear Club, log onto www.longbeachpolarbears.org or call 516-897-BEAR (2327).
