Milder but still-chilly weather greets Polar Plungers

It was the warmest year ever for the Cape Girardeau Polar Plunge. Celebrating its ninth year of raising money for Special Olympics Missouri, the weather was a 46 degrees, and 43 in the water.

Waiting patiently for the event to begin, members of the Cape Girardeau Police Department stood proudly in various superhero masks, wool jackets, plaid kilts and even a blue painted face. This year, they decided to be both relevant and punny, using the theme "Game of Thrones." The eight team members had plungers adorned to their belts, and one member made a bow out of two toilet brushes.

Theirs was the first team to enter the water Saturday morning at Trail of Tears State Park.

Police Sgt. Kevin Orr, a six-year veteran of the event, said he was looking forward to taking the plunge. After a 30-second dip in Lake Boutin, he rushed out of the water, blue face paint running down his chest and his black wig in a state of disarray.

This year, 186 people committed to jumping in the lake.

The team raising the most money was Samurai Sam's, which raised $8,106. In individual fundraising, Chris Cunningham raised the most, with $1,435.

By Saturday evening, $15,113 had been raised in online contributions. At the afternoon event, a total of $34,246 had been raised before the evening post-plunge party in the Isle Casino Cape Girardeau banquet room.

Organizers were happy with the higher-than-normal temperatures and were confident this year the Polar Plunge would meet its goal of reaching $57,000.

"[What I always tell athletes is] this is all for you; you get to do this because of all these people make this happen for you. So this is people making a difference in other people's lives," Special Olympics regional development director Penny Williams said.

Polar Plunge is the biggest annual fundraiser for Special Olympics Missouri, a year-round program of sports training and athletic competition for children and adults with intellectual disabilities. More than 17,000 athletes participate in 21 Olympic-type sports throughout the state, according to the organization's website.

"The important thing is that we serve 1,100 athletes ... and because people are crazy enough to go out here and do this, then they are able to go out there and travel," Williams said. "A lot of these guys, they don't get to compete in sports in high school or whatever. Here, they get to be on a team, they get to travel, go to state competitions, and they couldn't do that without the generosity of all these people."

Teams entered the water in groups. The Sikeston, Missouri, junior high student council team -- dressed as Olaf, the snowman from Disney's animated movie "Frozen" -- was confident before entering the water. Eighth-graders Seth Blanchfield and Garrett Smith were the only two students from the team participating, but they were excited to be there after raising about $250 from their school.

After exiting the lake, Smith was asked how the plunge went, to which he responded: "The crayons went further than us," looking chagrined.

A team of fifth- and sixth-grade students dressed as crayons were a part of the Cape Girardeau Central Middle School "K. Kids" team. One of its members was one of the youngest plungers of the day, at 10 years old.

smaue@semissourian.com

388-3644

Pertinent address:

Trail of Tears State Park, Cape Girardeau