Driving Naari Programme launched in Chandigarh
The other large polar plunge scheduled to take place in the GTA, the Oakville Polar Bear Dip, was abruptly cancelled Monday afternoon.
Though it was colder when the group took a dip in 2014, organizer Todd Courage said the beach froze over with a thick sheet of ice and was unsafe to walk on, barefoot or otherwise.
“With the ice and the rocks, it’s too unsafe to do it,” Courage said.
The annual event hasn’t been cancelled in 33 years.
“We’ve still raised more than $100,000 for water projects through World Vision,” Courage said.
Participant Robyn Williams was toeing the sheet of ice in Coronation Park, along Lake Ontario. She said the annual jump in the chilly lake as a form of cleanse.
“It’s just to wash off everything from the previous year, and bring in the new year, fresh.”
Waters in the area of Lake Ontario near Oakville was about 4 C Monday, according to satellite readings from the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
On Sunday, the Toronto Polar Bear Club cancelled their dip for the first time in 13 years, citing extremely low temperatures.
