Hundreds brave icy temperatures in 25th annual Courage Polar Bear Dip in Lake Ontario

OAKVILLE — It may have been colder than a polar bear’s paw, but that didn’t stop more than 600 brave humans who jumped into the freezing water yesterday at Coronation Park.

Dressed in swimsuits and costumes, they ran screaming and shouting into Lake Ontario while 5,000 people watched the 25th annual Courage Polar Bear Dip, which raised more than $230,000 for World Vision water projects in Africa.

“It was very refreshing,” said Michelle Pollington, 39, of Hamilton. “I’ve been doing it since 1980 because my dad and I have been doing it since then. It’s all about mind over matter.”

Pollington shivered as she described running into the chilly waters with her father.

“My legs are past the point of hurting now,” she said. “They’re a little cold.”

Her father, Roy, 66, said he’s beginning to think he’s getting too old for this stuff.

“But that’s also what I said last year,” he said with a laugh. “We had a New Year’s Eve party one year and said, ‘Let’s do this tomorrow.’ I tell myself that 90 seconds out of the year is nothing.”

The money will go to the Kahi Water Project in Rwanda and a second project in Tanzania. It will help 22,000 people get fresh water, helping to prevent disease, keep children in school longer and provide families with a better life.

“I’m so happy, I could almost cry right now,” said Trent Courage, who along with his brother, Todd, founded the Polar Bear Dip.

“After visiting Rwanda this past summer and observing the tremendous need for clean water, and then seeing the difference in communities where donations to World Vision are at work, I am beyond ecstatic at what $230,000 will do for our brothers, sisters and friends in Africa.”

At every Polar Bear Dip, Oakville resident Graham Morrison dons his chicken suit for the run into the lake.

“This is my fourth year doing the dip and it keeps me warm beforehand,” Morrison, 41, said. “It’s all about adrenaline. I’ll go in and dunk my head and then I go back out and find my spotter. It’s a little crazy.”

A shaking Hailey Norris, 9, was draped in a towel by her dad shortly after her dip.

“I couldn’t breathe that well because it was just a major shock with the temperatures,” she said. “I’m going to have some hot chocolate if there’s any left.”

Nicholas Greco’s first time in the water won’t be the last.

“It’s very cold and I can’t really feel my hands,” Greco, 12, said.

“But the Courages are close family friends and I play hockey with their son, so it made me feel really good to raise money.”