{"id":76330,"date":"2019-02-06T13:26:11","date_gmt":"2019-02-06T19:26:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/?p=76330"},"modified":"2019-02-19T10:23:56","modified_gmt":"2019-02-19T16:23:56","slug":"days-before-the-polar-vortex-chicagoans-make-a-splash-at-the-polar-plunge","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/days-before-the-polar-vortex-chicagoans-make-a-splash-at-the-polar-plunge\/","title":{"rendered":"Days before the Polar Vortex, Chicagoans make a splash at the Polar Plunge"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Emma Goodson<\/strong>
\nMedill Reports<\/em><\/p>\n

The high hovered at a frigid 14 degrees, though the sun glazed Oak Street Beach as hundreds of people gathered there on Jan. 26.<\/p>\n

Some stripped down to bathing suits to participate in the annual Polar Bear Plunge. Some wore costumes, including a polar bear outfit, of course.
\n<\/p>\n

\"Polar<\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div>
Participants in the 2019 Polar Plunge arrived at Oak Street Beach around 11 a.m., an hour before the plunge, to lay out towels and get ready for the water. (Emma Goodson \/ Medill Reports)<\/figcaption><\/figure>
\"Polar<\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div>
Spectators and friends lined up around the starting line to cheer on the plungers. (Emma Goodson \/ Medill Reports)<\/figcaption><\/figure>
\"Polar<\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div>
Participants begin to take the plunge, wading about 10 feet into the water before looping around to exit. (Emma Goodson \/ Medill Reports)<\/figcaption><\/figure>
\"Polar<\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div>
\u201cI was so excited because I knew people were going to be on board,\u201d founder Brian Marchal said of learning that the Chicago Park District gave the group final approval to go ahead with the event. (Emma Goodson \/ Medill Reports)<\/figcaption><\/figure>
\"Polar<\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div>
Many plungers wore colorful swimsuits or accessories and some even wore costumes. (Emma Goodson \/ Medill Reports)<\/figcaption><\/figure>
\"Polar<\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div>
A \u201cpolar bear\u201d does the Polar Plunge. (Emma Goodson \/ Medill Reports)<\/figcaption><\/figure>
\"Polar<\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div>
A group of friends seemed to enjoy the freezing cold water. (Emma Goodson \/ Medill Reports)<\/figcaption><\/figure>
\"Polar<\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div>
\u201cIn essence, our event is about jumping in the lake in the middle of wintertime, and I kind of laugh because it is ridiculous what we do,\u201d Marchal said. (Emma Goodson \/ Medill Reports)<\/figcaption><\/figure>
\"Polar<\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div>
A woman in a Chicago Blackhawks onesie gets up after dunking her head in the lake. (Emma Goodson \/ Medill Reports)<\/figcaption><\/figure>
\"Polar<\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div>
\u201cWe were so excited that so many people turned out,\u201d Marchal said. (Emma Goodson \/ Medill Reports)<\/figcaption><\/figure>
\"Polar<\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div>
A participant lost a shoe in the lake. The organizers sent messages to all participants before the plunge, which said they must wear shoes to go in the water, Marchal said. (Emma Goodson \/ Medill Reports)<\/figcaption><\/figure>
\"Polar<\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div>
Most plungers had nothing but smiles on their faces as they ran through the water. (Emma Goodson \/ Medill Reports)<\/figcaption><\/figure>
\"Polar<\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div>
A plunger in pastels shudders from the cold. \u201cWe wanted to make sure everybody minimized how long they were out there,\u201d said Marchal of exposure to the weather and water. (Emma Goodson \/ Medill Reports)<\/figcaption><\/figure>
\"Polar<\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div>
\u201cStanding in line waiting to go in the water your adrenaline spikes so high that honestly, I didn\u2019t even feel the water when I went in,\u201d said graduate student Chris Cadeau, third from left and holding up a yellow t-shirt. \u201cBut immediately upon getting out, my hands and feet started to ache and burn.\u201d (Emma Goodson \/ Medill Reports)<\/figcaption><\/figure>
\"Polar<\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div>
Some participants were daring enough to dip their whole body in the 30 degrees Fahrenheit water, while others kept their heads dry. (Emma Goodson \/ Medill Reports)<\/figcaption><\/figure>
\"Polar<\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div>
There were plenty of creative costumes and themes worn by plungers including these blue and green animal onesies. (Emma Goodson \/ Medill Reports)<\/figcaption><\/figure>
\"Polar<\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div>
Plungers began changing out of wet clothes immediately after leaving the water. (Emma Goodson \/ Medill Reports)<\/figcaption><\/figure>
\"Polar<\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div>
Demonstrators from Extinction Rebellion Chicago lined up at the back of the beach to raise awareness of climate change and mass extinction, while promoting the International Day of Rebellion on April 16, 2019. (Emma Goodson \/ Medill Reports)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div><\/div>\n

Ice and snow covered most of the sand where participants laid their towels and layers of clothing before lining up to take a dip in Lake Michigan. The lake, though not frozen, lapped the shores at a chilly 30 degrees \u2013 only two degrees warmer than the North Atlantic on the night\u00a0 when the Titanic sunk in 1912.<\/p>\n

\u201cStanding in line waiting to go in the water your adrenaline spikes so high that honestly, I didn\u2019t even feel the water when I went in,\u201d said participant Chris Cadeau, a graduate student.<\/p>\n

Organizers of the Chicago Polar Bear Club, which hosts the plunge, visited Oak Street Beach to check the conditions and spoke with the Chicago Park District throughout the week leading up to the plunge. They considered the weather forecast, the wind chill, water temperatures, and whether or not the event should go forward.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur event is all about ridiculousness and having fun. But the most important thing is that everybody gets home at the end of the day safely,\u201d said Brian Marchal, chief polar bear and founder of the Chicago Polar Bear Club. \u201cWe do take it very seriously and want to make sure that we\u2019re doing right by all of our participants and everybody that volunteers.\u201d<\/p>\n

More than 375 hearty plungers showed up the Saturday for an event that raised over $35,000 for three Chicago-based families in need. Forgetting the cold for a minute, the beach looked as if it were a sunny day in the middle of July, with groups of friends and families spreading out blankets and towels.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis was pure winter. If you did this, you could never say you just caught it on a warm year and it wasn\u2019t that hard,\u201d Marchal said. \u201cI was so proud that so many people came down and just decided to take back the winter.\u201d<\/p>\n

Participants had to bring shoes to wear in the water, a partner to help them get changed out of wet clothes, two towels for standing and drying off, and warm hats and socks. There were changing tents available for people to get out of the wind, five to seven lifeguards from the park district on-site along with an ambulance with a defibrillator. Three of the organizers wore hip-wader boots to trek into the water in case anyone needed a rescue.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe feel like we did everything we can to make this event as safe as possible. We\u2019ve been doing it for 18 years now, we think we know where people have had problems or if people would have issues,\u201d Marchal said.<\/p>\n

Marchal, who now lives in London, started the plunge in 2001 as a way to meet people and make friends after moving to Chicago. He and two friends participated that year. The next year, a family member needed help with medical expenses, so Marchal and his family decided to raise money by inviting friends and more family to join the plunge. After that, the group began raising money with the Chicago Polar Bear Club and annual plunge for other local families going through situations like they had. Since then, they\u2019ve raised over $400,000 to help 30 families in 17 years as a nonprofit.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur whole group is so proud of what this has become. It\u2019s about showing these families that people care, that there is somewhere to go and there\u2019s someone out there who\u2019s willing to help you,\u201d Marchal said. \u201cIt\u2019s about doing something crazy and good. Combining those things, it doesn\u2019t get much better than that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Photo at top: Participants run into Lake Michigan at the Chicago Polar Bear Club’s annual Polar Plunge. (Emma Goodson \/ Medill)<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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