Polar Plunge Postponed
Thursday, February 4th, 2010
By: Mark Eichmann
meichmann@whyy.org
The more than 20,000 people expected to attend this year's Polar Bear Plunge in Delaware will have to change plans thanks to what's expected to be a massive snow storm moving into the region Friday night into Saturday.
Organizers of the Lewes Polar Bear Plunge met Thursday morning and decided to postpone the icy dip in the Atlantic because of high winds and heavy surf expected to hit Delaware's shore. The event, which benefits Special Olympics, was to be held this Sunday. All other events that accompany the plunge, including the 5k Run to the Plunge scheduled for Saturday have also been postponed.
The event has been rescheduled for the second weekend in March. The 5k run will happen at 2 p.m. Saturday, March 13, and the plunge will happen at 1 p.m. Sunday, March 14.
The last time the event was postponed was for another massive snowstorm in 1996. Last year, 2,923 plungers raised more than $490,000 for Special Olympics Delaware. Over the past 18 years, the event has raised $4.5 million.
