“On your mark, get set, plunge,” the announcer for the 2010 Polar Plunge yelled, sending the first of about 50 groups into freezing water to raise money for the Special Olympics.

Each person who plunged into the Miller Park Lake raised at least $75 to help support the Special Olympic athletes.

“All proceeds from the Miller Park plunge benefit over 1,000 athletes in the Heartland area, which encompasses six counties,” Katie Herriott, area director for Heartland/Area 6 Special Olympics Illinois, said.

“There are 17 polar plunges in Illinois that take place from the end of February to the beginning of March. In 2009, just under $1 million was raised to benefit over 20,000 Special Olympics athletes,” Herriott said.

According to the Illinois Polar Plunge Web site, over the past 11 years $3.44 million has been raised by more than 11,700 plungers. More than 3,600 participants took the plunge in 2009 and raised more than $961,000. With these already outstanding figures, the coordinators of this year’s Polar Plunge hope to raise even more money than last year.

“This is the fourth year that the Miller Park plunge has taken place. In 2007, it started with 130 people and this year we are expected to have over 475 people take the plunge,” Herriott said.

“This year, over 100 college students are registered to take the plunge. The majority of them are students from ISU. This is a great way to get involved in the community and give back to a great organization,” she added.

With the temperature close to 40 degrees, many participants and onlookers agreed it was a great day to have the Plunge.  But even with the sun shining, the air was still frigid and the majority of Miller Park Lake remained frozen.

Plungers were allowed to wear anything but wet suits, and many of them flaunted comical costumes as they dove into the icy water. There were people dressed up as pirates and mermaids, there was a hotdog, some chickens and many people sported Speedos, bikinis and hula skirts among other unique and creative costumes.

The daring participants of the Polar Plunge marched to the pavilion to register for the event and prepared to dive into the icy waters of the Miller Park Lake. While some people wore coats, hats and gloves, others went shirtless and even shoeless as they waited for the event to begin.

Spectators in the crowd talked about how cold the water must be, concluding that it could only be about 34 to 36 degrees, since the ice had only begun to thaw. The only part of the lake that didn’t have ice was where the plungers would be taking their dive.

The first group to take the Plunge was the Normal Police Department. There were eight members in the NPD group, and they had all handcuffed themselves together prior to entering the water. They slowly ran into the water, and when they got to about waist deep, they all dropped all the way into the freezing water.

The Tazewell County Sherriff’s Department was next, and some of the group members sported Speedos and bikinis as they dove into the icy water.  As the American Marketing Association from ISU hit the water, their screams rang out among the laughing crowd.  

Some people took their teammates down and under once they hit the water, causing an uproar of laughter and gasps from the crowd. Plungers were diving, belly-flopping and even tripping over their group members as they entered the lake.

“Yes, we have achieved shrinkage,” the announcer yelled as a man plunged in wearing nothing but a Speedo and a swim cap.

Nick Bonarek was another participant who was taking the Plunge for the Special Olympics, but because this was his first Plunge, he didn’t know what to expect.
    
Bonarek had recently injured his hand and received stitches, but he was toughing it out and going through with the Plunge despite his injury.

“It’s for a good cause. I’m going to run in and just hold my hand up. I just want to get it over with,” he said prior to plunging.

When Bonarek’s team was up, he sped into the water, struggling to stay on his feet and keep his hand out of the water. He charged to shore and quickly made his way to his towel.

Bonarek didn’t hesitate when asked if it was worth it.

“Oh yeah, for sure. I wasn’t thinking about it, I just did it. It wasn’t that bad,” he said.

While Bonarek was able to tough out the icy water without much trouble, others didn’t agree that it “wasn’t that bad.”

“It’s worse than you can imagine. It feels like knives going through your skin,” Dee Wilson, an ISU alumnus from 1974, said.

But despite her dread of the icy water, Wilson continues to participate in the Plunge each year.

“I do the Polar Plunge because I think it is a fantastic cause, and I want to help raise money for the Special Olympics,” she said.

This was Wilson’s fourth plunge, but she wasn’t exactly looking forward to feeling the ice-cold water.

“If you ever work with the athletes that are a part of the Special Olympics, then you will know why people do this.  It’s for the athletes, that’s why,” Wilson explained.

“The Polar Plunge is important because we rely on this fundraiser so that Special Olympics Illinois can cont inue to offer quality competitions,” Herriott said.

While some people may find Plungers to be crazy, others look at them as heroes who are supporting a great cause.