Polar Bear Plunge benefits Special Olympics of Ohio

January 23, 2011 at 12:06a.m.

Polar Plunge 2011

CORTLAND

Marlo Yuricek and Joanne Cusick spent part of Saturday afternoon clad in light-blue bikinis while taking a brief outdoor dip in the water.

So what if the air and water temperatures were about 15 and 34 degrees, respectively, and the wind chill hovered around zero?

“Why not? It’s for a good cause,” said Cusick, of Niles, when asked why she participated in Saturday’s Polar Bear Plunge at Mosquito Lake to benefit Special Olympics of Ohio.

“I felt alive going in. I was a little nervous, but it felt good,” Cusick continued, adding that she got wet up to her knees.

Equally stoic was Yuricek’s husband, John, who entered the water wearing nothing more than a pair of swimming trunks and tennis shoes, which later resembled white blocks of ice.

The Yuriceks are members of the Warren Moose Lodge, which helps sponsor Special Olympics, as well as Saturday’s plunge. The Warren couple and Cusick were on a team that raised about $1,030, John Yuricek said.

The event, themed “Freezin’ for a Reason,” was the first of its kind this year in Ohio and is one of 11 such plunges planned across the state.

Roughly 125 people registered online for Saturday’s event, though no final attendance figure was available, organizers said.

Hundreds of people surrounded the small, 2-foot-deep oval swath cut into the ice to watch individuals and teams with names such as “Shiver Me Timbers” enter and, in some cases, submerge themselves. Several males were shirtless, while other participants settled for the more ostentatious, including one person dressed as Wonder Woman.

Age knew no bounds, either: A 79-year-old Niles woman was among those who braved the elements.

One person who took the idea of taking one’s temperature to an extreme was Rich Fink, a firefighter and paramedic with the Brookfield Fire Department.

His attire included an outdoor thermometer draped across his chest, which recorded a temperature of about 28 degrees. Nevertheless, that reading was inflated, thanks to his body temperature, Fink quickly pointed out.

“We seek causes that have a hard time gaining support. There’s not enough attention on Special Olympics,” Fink said, referring to why he and eight co-workers took part.

Fink felt a sharp, painful sensation after emerging from the frigid water, but will that be enough to deter him from future dips at the annual event?

“I’m looking forward to it [next year]. The colder, the better,” added Fink, who was making his third plunge Saturday.

Two tents used as changing rooms that contained large space heaters were set up near the lake.

Participants were asked to obtain at least $75 in monthly pledges ($50 for students), then jump into the water to earn the pledges.

The plunge also featured a costume contest and party afterward.