Students from Spring Grove High School Unified athletes and partners are gearing up to take a frigid dip in the Pinchot Park Polar Bear Plunge on February 27th to help raise money and awareness for Special Olympics Pennsylvania (SOPA), this event brings together athletes, partners, and the community for a cause.
Across Pennsylvania over 370 schools have unified sports teams that consist of Bocce and Track and Field; and new to the list some schools participate in Powerlifting and Soccer. The most popular, large-scale Polar Bear Plunge event on the East Coast is the Maryland State Police event. The world’s largest Polar Bear Plunge is in Birch Bay, Washington. In 2025 they set the world record of 3,134.
Diane Sickles, Regional Development Director of Special Olympics Pennsylvania, says, “We are freezing for a reason!” In 2025 the Maryland State Police Polar Bear Plunge raised $200 to support Unified Sports. In 2025, a singular day of plunging became a full week of plunging all to show support for the Special Olympics. Through 8 total events, the Special Olympics of Pennsylvania had 16,072 people present at the event and raised over four million dollars. At the 2026 Maryland State Police Polar Bear Plunge, 510 people attended the event, and a total of $200,000 were raised. That is record breaking for that particular event.
The event started as a little plunge to raise awareness in 1997. 350 people came to the event and raised $40,000. In 1998 the Polar Bear Plunge became the very first annual tradition for the Special Olympics after they raised $150,000. In 2000, two days before the annual event, there was a snowstorm, and snow covered the shoreline. Even though there was snow on the ground and it was a very cold 25 degrees, people still showed up to support the cause. Over 1,021 plungers and 6,000 spectators were at the event, and the event made over 1 million dollars.
https://specialolympicspa.org/about-us/staff
https://plungepa.org/plunge/capital-area/
https://www.abc27.com/community/something-good/polar-plunge-held-in-york-county/
https://www.cbc.ca/archives/who-started-the-polar-bear-dip-every-jan-1-anyway-1.5390585
https://plungemd.com/plunge-timeline/
