The annual Polar Plunge always excels at rewarding altruism with a heaping dose of hypothermia and Saturday, February 12 was no exception. Menominee Park hosted a day of anticipation for some, excitement for others, and frigid fun for all. West has been participating in this event for over a decade, and students sign up to jump through O’Neil National Honors Society.

photo by Claire Garton
The boys on the West team prepare to feel the freezing burn. All the teams lined up on the dock jutting out over the lake, and divers were waiting in the water for extra safety.

Science teacher and O’Neil advisor Sara Dobish has pushed recruitment for the event over the past few years.

“Hundreds of people participate- it is a huge event. It’s a little crazy when you’re out there,” she said. “It’s always hosted by Murphy and Katie and Nick from 101.1. They’re there and they have the teams announce where they’re from and how many people are on their team.”

Participants jumped directly into a hole cut along the bay at Menominee Park to access the open water. To ensure the event was safe, there were medical tents at the park, as well as divers in the water.

“They cut a huge block and put carpet and platforms on the ice so you literally have to jump into the water,” Dobish said. “There are divers in wetsuits who stand in the water because it’s so cold that when people jump in, they usually can’t move at first. The divers kind of shove them. I’ve had kids that literally can’t move and the divers will pick them up and just take them out.”

photo by Claire Garton
Seniors Will Vu and Pierson Leske cannonball into the lake. All of the boys on the West team made the bold move to take off their shirts and wear swim suits.

Besides the pleasure of ice cold water and potential frostbite, this event also raises funds for Special Olympics. Students signed up for the Polar Plunge must raise a minimum of 75 dollars in order to be able to jump.

“The Special Olympics are for people with disabilities or special needs to be able to play team sports,” Dobish said. “They will schedule tournaments so they can play against other Special Olympics teams from Wisconsin. Sometimes they will be really competitive and try to get into the Paralympics.”

Dobish has found that many students easily surpass this requirement baseline for fundraising.

“The Special Olympics makes it really easy now because they have a website and people go on and put in their credit card and donate whatever they’re going to,” Dobish said. “People have 75 dollars, and I have one person right now who has 550 dollars. I had one person a couple of years ago who had 1500 dollars. The most our team has ever raised is 8,000 dollars.”

Senior Will Stevens has a personal connection to the Special Olympics, which gave him a special motivation to raise money for the event.

“Someone in my family has special needs and participates in the Special Olympics,” he said. “We are really good about donating to that kind of stuff.”

Junior Bryant Wright was encouraged to join the Polar Plunge because of his own personal background.

“I play basketball, run cross country, and really like to compete,” he said. “As an athlete myself, I believe everyone deserves the right to do that no matter who you are.”

Junior Cameron O’Brien feels satisfaction in helping raise money for the cause.

“It’s a good feeling to give back. It always feels good knowing you’re doing something that will help others,” she said. “I feel like jumping is a very immediate sense of fulfillment because it’s something you’re actively doing.”

Senior Evelyn Christofferson has heard a lot about the Polar Plunge during the past few years and was excited to finally get a chance to participate.

photo by Claire Garton
Junior Ivan Abramovich and senior Owen Schuler brace for the cold as they jump off the platform. A giant hole was cut into the ice to expose the frigid waters below.

“I heard older people who graduated talk about it before, and I’ve always looked forward to doing it since I’m in the National Honors Society,” she said. “When I saw we were getting the opportunity to do it, since last year we couldn’t, I was like ‘I have to do it.’”

Wright has also had a sibling who participated in the Polar Plunge, and there were multiple factors that motivated him to sign up for the event.

“My older brother who’s in college did it, and he encouraged me to do it,” he said. “Obviously, the jump is really cold, but it’s still fun. I think just helping people who can’t financially support themselves is also a big part of it.”

The Polar Plunge’s main attraction is the frigid temperatures of the water students will flop into. Christofferson was filled with anticipation leading up to the plop.

“I was nervous for the time when I would come out of the cold water, because people say you’ll get really tired from your blood shooting up from the cold,” Christofferson said. “Even with getting out of the water, since it’s so cold, I don’t know if I’ll just freeze up.”

For senior Bailey Wright, who participated in the Polar Plunge, the moments following the initial shock of the jump were the most unbearable.

“When you got out, that was the worst part,” she said. “I was already really cold before I jumped, so I don’t know if jumping made that much of a difference. But when I climbed out, my legs were numb and I couldn’t feel the stairs at first.”

Junior Matthew Davis tried the strategy of not thinking about what he was doing while gearing up for the big moment.

“I didn’t really stand on the platform, I just ran and jumped,” he said. “I thought that it was better to jump that way. After I jumped, I was numb right away, and it was really hard to move so I struggled to get out.”

Landing in the freezing water was a jolt to senior Joe Gonzalez’s system.

“Standing on the platform, I was a little worried, to be honest,” he said. “I was immediately numb; I didn’t even feel cold, just shocked. It was hard to climb out, and I felt like I couldn’t breathe. But it was fun jumping in.”

Students who aren’t ready to make a splash can still contribute by fundraising in future years. Stevens encourages all students to get involved.

“You should do what you can to give back,” he said. “Even if you’re not jumping into the water, you should still try to fundraise because it’s going to a good cause. It’s not hard and doesn’t take much time, and it’s going to be a lot of fun.”

By Abby Furcy

Oshkosh West Index Volume 118 Issue V

February 22, 2022

Wildcats freezin’ for a reason during annual Polar Plunge