Polar Plunge participants may get warmer weather

Don't look askance if you see a bunch of peculiarly attired people jumping into Lake Boutin on Saturday afternoon.

They will be specially motivated, but only to raise money for the Special Olympics in Southeast Missouri's eighth annual Polar Plunge.

Asked whether the recent cold weather had raised doubts about the event, organizer Penny Williams laughed and said, "No. The first year, they broke four inches of ice off the lake.

"It may be warmer Saturday anyway, in the 40s. We should have 320 to 330 plungers, and our goal is $60,000."

Last year's Polar Plunge raised $53,000 for competitions in 21 sports for the region's 1,100 Special Olympics athletes, Williams said. Their annual track meet will be April 12 in the Southeast Missouri State University Recreation Center.

Lake Boutin is at 429 Moccasin Springs Road in the Trail of Tears State Park at Jackson near the Procter & Gamble plant, from which four shuttles will run. The Polar Plunge starts at 2 p.m., with noon registration and a minimum $75 fee. No wet suits are allowed, and shoes are required. The minimum age is 10.

"We have preregistered 289, so we'll probably end up with 320 or 330," Williams said at midday Tuesday. "We had 292 last year in crazy costumes like the Titanic, Noah's Ark, the roller derby girls, firefighters, policemen and TV news anchors.

"The postplunge party is at 4 p.m. Saturday in the [event center] of the Isle of Capri Casino, and we'll give awards for the top fundraisers, group and school and our Golden Plunger Awards for the most creative costumes."

The city of Cape Girardeau's recreation division manager said participants have many "reasons for freezin,'" among them the Polar Plunge is on their "bucket list" of experiences.

"You just have to get your feet wet and come back," Williams said. "We don't recommend diving in headfirst. We have warming tents and medical personnel, although we've never needed to call on them.

"When we first thought of having it, I thought there was no way people would jump into freezing water. But the people of Southeast Missouri are very generous. They see how important it is to provide opportunities for those with disabilities."

Hosted by Cape Girardeau law enforcement agencies, the event is sponsored by Banterra Bank, American Family, the Missouri Department of Natural Resources, River Radio, Community Aces and Ameren Missouri.

You may preregister at somo.org/plunge or get a paper form at the SOMO Southeast Area Office at 1625 N. Kingshighway.

Special Olympics-Missouri spokeswoman Tracy Davis of St. Louis said 14 Plunges, called a Polar Bear Plunge when the first was in 1996 at Lake of the Ozarks, are splashing around the state through February, with a $1 million goal.

"It's something unique that people can say they did," Davis said Tuesday. "We just had a man dive in here and swim a little bit, too."