Teeth may have been chattering, but the faces were brave as dozens of people — decked out in everything from tutus to pyjama pants — stripped down to the bare necessities to jump into the icy water of Kempenfelt Bay on Saturday.
Members of the Barrie Police Service — ranging from top officials including Chief Rich Johnston and Deputy Chief Rob Burke to the department’s newest recruit, Const. Mateo Thompson — joined the crowd of plungers for the annual fundraiser in support of Special Olympics Ontario.
“I have never done this before,” admitted Barrie resident Victoria Tarasow, who was jumping with two friends into the hole cut in the ice by the Barrie fire department. “My friend … reached out to our Christian Young Adults group and said (she) was fundraising and thought it would be a wonderful event to push ourselves and do something kind of crazy and a little wild.”
Tarasow said when she agreed to do it, she didn’t expect the weather to be quite so cold, but she was committed to seeing it through.
“(I’m) a little nervous … but overall generally excited,” she said. “None of us are chickening out. Ride or die. We were in this together.”
Jordan Little admitted to feeling some nerves upon arriving at the beach in advance of the jump.
“I thought I was OK, but then I got here and I was a lot more nervous being here in the cold,” said Little.
Oro-Medonte resident Sabrina Taplin was the friend who somehow managed to talk both Little and Tarasow into taking the plunge.
“It’s something I have just always wanted to do,” she said. “I thought it would be really fun ... with my girls, it would be awesome. I am nervous about hypothermia, so I am just going to do it and pray.”
Saturday was a lot colder than previous plunges, acknowledged Johnston, a self-admitted loather of the cold.
“The expectation is that the climate in Canada is Canadian, so I expected it to be cold. I am not a huge fan of the cold, but this is for such a good cause that the temperature doesn’t matter,” he said, adding the only thing he does to prepare is “cower” in his fake shoes and wait as long as possible before stripping down to the T-shirt and shorts under his uniform.
“I am not really prepared for this, but I understand there are obligations of the job and I am prepared to fulfil them. It should be fun, though, (and) we are super proud to show up, represent and show our support for these great athletes.”
According to the website, close to $5,000 had been raised through online donations, while even more money was expected to come in through in-person donations.