The issue today is the wind.
We're all very concerned about the wind today.
It's cold.
It's cold.
Hi.
My name is Mark Edinson with Special Olympics New Jersey and we're excited to be here down
in Wildwood for the annual Wildwood Plunge.
Today is going to be the polar bear plunge for the New Jersey Special Olympics.
All right, ladies and gentlemen, we're about 45 minutes away from jumping in the ocean.
Let's make a little bit of noise.
Where's all my Special Olympic Plunge?
The first year we jumped in was four years ago and the high temperature of the day that day was 14 degrees.
The ocean's going to be cold in January no matter what.
We just did a check on the temperature.
It's still a balmy 32.3 degrees air temperature.
But this is the windiest polar bear plunge I've ever been a part of.
One of our plungers, Joe Heyman, was last year decided he was going to try to dive in to see what the experience was like.
And when the cold water shocked his cranium, he came out and looked like he got hit with a two-by-four.
He was kind of in the days.
We thought we'd have to help him out of the water plunge.
He survived.
Water temperature 43 degrees.
It's a mixture of fear and adrenaline.
And adrenaline starts to kick in as you make that long walk to the sewer line.
So that's when adrenaline starts taking over.
Because without adrenaline, you're all alone on that beach plunge.
Polar Bear Plunge is a little crazy.
You look for fundraising ideas and here's the situation where you create an opportunity for people to jump in the fridge of waters.
And we are amazed at the number of people who want to take that challenge on.
What's the movie doing?
What else?
It's not a describable thing.
It's just one of those things that it's not something that you do every day.
Five minutes!
Camaraderie I think is one of the things.
And you know you're a member of a select queue who are crazy enough to go jump in the ocean in the middle of the winter.
Music plays
It's like a rubber band that snaps against your entire body when you hit the water.
A shock to your system, physically, mentally, emotionally.
Your adrenaline is running so you don't really think too much about what you're doing.
It's a shock, that's for sure.
It's a little bit of pain, but it's a lot of gain.
We're doing it for a good cause and that's what makes it worthwhile.
It's well worth the cost because once people are made aware of special effects and what they're doing and what they're all about,
then they'll get their donations.
It's the only thing that's going to get this many people out on a January Saturday morning at 9 o'clock to jump into the Frigid Waters, the Atlantic.
Before I started special effects, I was very quiet and shy. I didn't really talk to a lot of people.
But once I started playing special effects sports and I started talking to more people, I started to develop more friendships throughout the years too.
So it's been well worth the cost.
Steve's a great athlete, but Steve's just one of 23,000 stories and that's the amazing thing.
You can place any athlete in front of a camera, you can have any interview with any athlete and you will find how their participation in special effects has changed the lives of their family,
changed the direction of their success in the community and has impacted them when it comes to self-esteem and confidence.
What makes this special is we start thinking about the next polar bear plunge tomorrow and you circle on your calendar and it's a can't miss event and anybody who's not down here should be here.
It's for a special Olympics in New Jersey and it's a great cause and it's for great kids.
And believe it or not, all of these people keep coming back every year to do it again.
Thank you.
