While some students will meet the cold weather with oversized scarves and hot beverages, others will dive into the chilly waters of Oneida Lake to raise money for the Special Olympics New York.

The Polar Plunge will take place Sunday on Oneida Shores Park about 30 minutes from the Syracuse University campus. This annual event challenges participants to run onto the freezing water of the lake to raise money for the Special Olympics athletes of the New York region.

“Everything is different from year to year, but it is always the same fun and crazy shenanigans,” said Cassandra Rucker, the director of development for the central region and southern tier at the Special Olympics New York.

The main goal of the plunge is to spread awareness and to raise money for the Special Olympics Winter Games, which are coming to Syracuse in February. More than 1,200 Special Olympics athletes from New York state will attend the event.

Out of about the 1,500 people who sign up, Rucker said about 1,000 usually enter the water. Depending on the week’s weather, she is predicting the water temperature to be in the high 30s, low 40s.

The athletes will participate in five events including floor hockey, snow shoe, alpine, figure skating and cross-country. It costs each participant $300 to join the games, so the money raised from the Polar Plunge will help the athletes pay for overall costs including their entrance fees, training equipment and transportation.

“An event like the Polar Plunge can change the world, but it also helps the local Syracuse Special Olympics community,” Rucker said.

Dorothy Buehring Phillips founded the Special Olympics New York program in 1969 and it is now the largest in the United States, according to the program’s website. The program includes 64,659 athletes that train and compete in a number of different events.

The goal of the Special Olympics program is to create opportunities for athletes to “develop physical fitness, demonstrate courage, experience the joy of achievement and make new friends.” It is entirely volunteer-based, and this year it is striving to get more involvement from SU students.

Kyle Fenton, a senior information management and technology major and the Polar Plunge program director, got involved with the Special Olympics student organization his sophomore year at SU.

Fenton said the organization would like to raise awareness among younger generations to keep volunteer recruitment alive and increase the younger demographic of members.

“It is one of the greatest causes people don’t necessarily realize. It is easy to get involved with and something you can feel really good about,” Fenton said. “Seeing the smile on the athletes is one of the most rewarding things in the world.”

Leading up to the plunge, there will be raffles, games, music and other activities happening in the heated tent on the shore of Lake Oneida. Buffalo Wild Wings and Coca-Cola partner with the Polar Plunge to provide refreshments for the event.

The Special Olympics athletes will be at Sunday’s event to speak with participants and participate in the Snowshoe Relay. The Snowshoe Relay is one of the 22 Olympic-style sports that will be in the Winter Games competition.

“It is a great way for members of the Syracuse University Special Olympics Club to interact with the athletes and help them to practice for the event,” Rucker said.

At 12:30 p.m. the special Olympians will sing the national anthem and announce how much money was raised for this year’s event. The goal this year is to raise $110,000. Last year the organization raised $20,000 over their goal of $95,000, and they are hoping to catch up to that sum this year, said Rucker.

Each monetary amount raised is associated with a different incentive, so the more participants raise, the more prizes they will receive. Students and participants can begin fundraising when they sign up online. However, donations are accepted through the Polar Plunge’s website during the two weeks following the plunge.

Published on December 4, 2014 at 12:10 am

Contact Abby: ammaddig@syr.edu