It was cold, but more than worth it.
Saturday (Feb. 25), dozens of officers from Port Moody and New Westminster Police, Coquitlam RCMP, Metro Vancouver Transit Police as well as Port Coquitlam Sheriffs, along with supporters from local paramedic stations, schools, Rotary clubs and fitness facilities ran headlong into the chilly waters of Burrard Inlet at Port Moody’s Rocky Point Park. Not to prove their mettle as a snowstorm approached.
Their sub-zero sacrifice raised more than $21,000 for Special Olympics BC. That’s more than the event’s goal of $12,500.
Port Moody’s plunge was one of several such charges into chilly waters being held across British Columbia from Feb. 18 to March 5 to support athletes with intellectual disabilities as they return to the sports they love following three years of disruptions because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The pandemic has had a long-lasting, far-reaching impact on athletes with intellectual disabilities,” said a statement on the Special Olympics BC website, adding the lack of organized activities the past three years exacerbated feelings of isolation and disconnecting many of them already experience.
The Special Olympics movement empowers people living with intellectual disabilities through athletic training programs and competitions.
Recently, athletes from the Tri-Cities won 33 medals at the 2023 Special Olympics BC Winter Games in Kamloops.
For more information about the Polar Plunge, or to make a donation, go to the event’s website.
