Polar Bear Plunge
Fun Facts
The Lewes Polar Bears, headed by Dave 'Da Bear' Frederick, have taken the plunge since 1982. They plunge five times a year at Cape Henlopen State Park - on the first Sunday of the month from November through March - except January, when they plunge on New Year's Day.
The Lewes Polar Bears were approached by Special Olympics Delaware in 1991 - with the proposition of designating one of their plunges to benefit Special Olympics. The Bears agreed to February and the 1992 February Plunge was dedicated to Special Olympics Delaware.
In 1992 - 78 people took the plunge at Cape Henlopen State Park and raised $7,000.
In 1995 the weather turned frigid with 0° temperatures and winds gusting to wind chills of -25°! A total of 339 bears braved those wicked winds!
In 1996 a nor'easter blew in… dumping two feet of snow and effectively making roads and the park impassable. For the first, and so far only time, the plunge was postponed to the first Sunday in March.
In 1998 a second nor'easter blew in with its resulting damage making the park unusable!!! With two days notice, the Plunge was re-located to Rehoboth Beach! Due to the growing size of the Plunge and in deference to keeping our state park pristine - the Plunge was permanently relocated to Rehoboth in 1999.
In 2007, 2,692 polar bears hit the waves… and raised a record contribution total of more than $500,000 for Special Olympics Delaware.
In 16 years, the Lewes Polar Bear Plunge for Special Olympics has raised $3.5M!!
All staff members of Special Olympics Delaware are required to take the Plunge! And do so happily!
There are 17 states that conduct a Polar Bear Plunge to benefit their state's Special Olympics program. Delaware's Plunge remains one of the most successful!
Money raised from the Plunge fuels SODE's growth. In the past five years we have tripled the number ofathletes who train and compete in our program - from 1,100 to 3,000 athletes! The number of competitions has also increased from 9 events to 30 events in CY' 2007.