Polar Bear Splash slated for New Year's Day
Officials push river plunge back to 1 p.m.
It's that time of year when most people bundle up to go outside, but there are a few who shed their overcoats, hats, and gloves, and voluntarily take a dip in the icy cold Clark Fork River as part of the New Year's Day Polar Bear Splash.
Jerry Pauli, the Thompson Falls resident who has coordinated the event for the last six years, has scheduled the plunge for 1 p.m. Jan. 1 at Goose Landing, the Thompson Falls city dock along Highway 200 at the east end of town. Pauli, the superintendent of Thompson Falls schools, said they get more participation each year. Twenty-five people braved the river in 2006 and 46, a record, participated in the free event last January.
Pauli said that if the number of participants continues to grow, he's considering holding the event as a fund-raiser in 2009 as part of the nationwide Polar Bear Plunge, which is put on by law enforcement communities to raise money for the Special Olympics. This year, he's giving out Polar Bear Splash 2008 beach towels, donated by Taylor Services of Thompson Falls. He ordered 30 towels, but if he runs out, he'll get more for anyone who doesn't get one that day.
The event normally draws a much larger crowd of spectators, many who stand by to quickly wrap a dry towel around swimmers. Most of the participants have been Thompson Falls residents, but a few have come from Plains, Paradise and Trout Creek. Some enter the water the slow way from the beach while others leap off the dock into deeper water. Some get out right away, while others linger for several minutes. Pauli said that it was relatively warm last year and a lot of the people stuck around to chat. One year, Bob Taylor used a back hoe to break up thick ice along the shore.
Pauli said they usually start the Polar Bear Splash earlier, but he backed it up to 1 p.m. because some of the runners of the New Year's Day Fun Run like to also participate in the splash. He had thought it was better to have it earlier because he was concerned that it would interfere with professional football games. "But the jocks don't jump," said Pauli, who added that the only coach to participate was Chadd Laws, the Bluehawks basketball team head coach and an assistant coach for the school's football team. "All the rest wimp out," said the 62-year-old Pauli.
Regardless of the weather, Pauli suggests that people wear some type of tennis shoes, swimming trunks and a T-shirt, and have someone on shore waiting with a towel or blanket. He warned against wearing heavy sweatshirts because they can be tough to get off when wet. People will want to be on time because the event is usually over in just a few minutes.