Darlington polar bears take the plunge

DARLINGTON - More than 60 people gathered at the Darlington YMCA to plunge into the 46-degree pool water on New Year’s Day at the First Annual Polar Bear Plunge.

“I’ve been known to do crazy things, but I’ve never done this,” Hal Oliver of McBee said.

Marie Regan of Sumter and president of the event came up with the idea for the plunge from her days living in Michigan.

“There’s all kinds of polar bear plunges there (in Michigan), but you have to cut through the ice,” Regan said.

Plunger Jay Nester of Hartsville, who heads up the Hartsville Chapter of the Polar Bear Club, said he wanted to jump from the Coker Boat House into Prestwood Lake, but it’s not rented out on holidays. He said that you can’t enter the lake through city property at Lawton Park either.

Several Hartsville YMCA members then brought the idea to Howard Tripp, chief operating officer of YMCA of the Upper Pee Dee. He suggested using the outdoor pool at the Darlington YMCA.

“It mushroomed into this whole event,” Regan said. “It ended up being a really great thing.”

The event, in conjunction with private donations and sponsorships, raised $1,295 for 9-year-old Lauren Dickens, who was diagnosed with leukemia on Sept. 25. Her father, Michael Dickens, a S.C. Highway Patrolman, works in Darlington and Marlboro counties.

“Instead of jumping in for no reason, we thought we’d make it beneficial for someone,” S.C. Highway Patrolman Tyler Luther of Hartsville said. “We hope to do it every year with the YMCA and donate the money to a worthy cause each year.”

Jason Wilkes, vice president of operations for the event, and Tripp presented Michael Dickens with the check and an event shirt signed by the participants. Lauren just got out of the hospital this week and could not attend.

“It means a lot to our family,” Dickens said. “We just appreciate you doing this.”

What began a month ago as a fun idea morphed into an event with a cause, Nester said.

Heather Locklair of Coward brought her daughter Abbi, 8, to take the plunge.

“We did it on a dare. We thought it would be fun, and it’s for a good cause for Lauren. That was the main reason to raise money for her,” Locklair said.

Chesterfield Sheriff Sam Parker took the plunge too. Parker told friends he would do it only if they raised more than $1,000, which they did.

Wilkes and Nester did a trial run of the plunge in Black Creek on Christmas Eve. Video is posted on the Polar Bear Plunge Facebook site.

Hot showers and steam rooms were available to participants after the main event. A breakfast of eggs, sausage, bacon, English muffins, toast and tortillas was provided to all in attendance too. Coffee, hot chocolate, water and chocolate milk were also available. Phil Hodge at the North Hartsville IGA donated the bacon and sausage for the breakfast.

“This wasn’t bad,” said Greg Powell, part of the contingent of people from St. Luke Methodist Church in Hartsville. “I wasn’t in that long either.”

Powell was one of the few experienced polar bears at the event. He had done a similar plunge in the glacier waters of Norway during a summer trip.

As added incentive to plungers, Tripp submerged ten plastic holidays toys in the pool. Divers who retrieved them would receive prizes ranging from a YMCA winter hat to the top prize, an iPod shuffle.

“It wasn’t as bad as I thought,” Linda Cook of Hartsville, who won the grand prize,said. “If was cold, but I guess because I swim, I just dove in, grabbed it and got out.”

“If I had thought about it, I could not have gotten in.,” Cook said. “When he said go, I dove. I didn’t think about it.”

“People don’t know what they missed,” Frankie Valle of Hartsville said. “Once you got out and walked around the pool deck, you were fine.”