THUNDER BAY — Hana Whalen can’t wait to see Spanish teammates Eva Guilera and Paula Lopez jump through a hole cut into the ice covering Lake Superior.
The duo, who play alongside Whelan on the Lakehead Thunderwolves women’s basketball team, are taking part in the annual Polar Bear Plunge, slated for April 1, raising money for Special Olympics Thunder Bay.
“A couple of my teammates that are doing the plunge are from Spain and so they have never experienced any water like this, nothing even close. I think they’re really, really excited and I’m just super excited to see how they do too,” Whalen said.
Both the men’s and women’s team are taking part in the event, which traditional draws dozens of brave swimmers out to test the frigid waters that lap the shores of Thunder Bay.
“I thought this was a really good opportunity for us to get involved and to kind of show to our community how much we appreciate all the support we’ve gotten over the years and to show how much we appreciated it in a really fun way,” Whalen said.
Of course, given their athletic nature, the Polar Bear Plunge becomes a bit of a game, she added, especially against the men’s team, who sit just outside the national top 10.
“Yeah, it’ll be fun because it’ll be a bit of a competition between the two teams. I’m hoping we get a little more support in the end,” said Whalen, adding they’ll be collecting Polar Bear Plunge pledges on Saturday night during their regular-season finale against the Carleton Ravens.
Thunder Bay Police Insp. Ryan Gibson, the co-chair for the 2023 event, presented by PDR Contracting, says it’s done a lot for Special Olympics in Thunder Bay, helping to provide sporting activities to those with special needs.
Plenty of other organizations have benefited as well, he added.
“We’ve raised more money than I can count, over the years, for a variety of worthy causes,” Gibson said. “This it’s Special Olympics Thunder Bay, PRO Kids, CNIB and Roots Community Food Centre. It’s really exciting for us.”
This year’s goal is to collect $75,000.
“The PDR Thunder Bay Polar Bear Plunge has always been about community supporting community and when we have the commitments from teams, businesses, schools and unions, we know we can do more and more as a community to support everyone,” Gibson said.
To commemorate their chilly plunge, participants this year will receive a pin marking the number of times they’ve plunged, encouraging them to keep it up to help support the funded charities.
Erin Beagle, an event coordinator and director of Roots Community Food Centre, said she’s confident they’ll hit their target this year.
“No matter the weather or the water temperature, Thunder Bay always shows up and we want to make this event something they can remember and celebrate all year round,” she said.
“The funding from the Polar Bear Plunge ensure that our organizations can meet the needs of the community members we serve, whether it’s supporting people to be active, to have agency or to have better access to food, we can’t do this important work without their help.”
The event takes place at the Marina Park boat launch on April 1, with community, corporate and school teams jumping between 12 p.m. and 2 p.m.
Registrations and donations can be made at www.thunderbaypolarbearplunge.ca.
