2007 POLAR PLUNGE TO BENEFIT THE SPECIAL OLYMPICS
3-1-07
Our Action Learning group chose to assist with the 12th annual Polar Plunge in Virginia Beach for our Special Olympics volunteer project. We chose the Polar Plunge because we thought it would be a unique and highly rewarding Special Olympics event, which proved to be true.
Half of the members of our group offered our assistance the night before the plunge. Our efforts setting up the event’s facilities proved to be very helpful to the Polar Plunge coordination committee. The following morning, the remaining members of our group arrived to help assist with the main event.
When we arrived, we immediately reported to the event’s conference center, which was located in a hotel across the street from the area of the beach sectioned off for the plunge. We promptly found the volunteer coordinator in the conference center, filled out liability/volunteer paperwork, and proceeded to obtain our volunteer assignment.
Since the event needed security to control the crowds and ensure people had the proper registration to enter the polar plunge area, we were assigned the task of acting as security personnel. We were initially surprised that we’d been assigned to be security for such a large event, however after we were informed that the girl scouts worked security the year before, we were confident that we’d be able to handle the job.
The first portion of the day was dedicated to standing in front of the entrance to the event’s main area to make sure people had either a wristband to enter the area or the proper registration to actually participate in the polar plunge. For the first few hours, the amount of people coming into the event’s main area was sparse due to the fact that some of the concession areas were still being set up, and the actual plunge wasn’t scheduled to take place until 2:30 p.m.
Around lunch time, we were relieved by another group of volunteers. We proceeded back to the conference center where lunch was provided. After lunch, we returned to the same area to relieve the volunteers who had previously taken our place. At that point, we continued checking people’s registration and wristbands. This part of the day was fun and amusing because many people were dressed up in costumes to participate in a contest that was taking place an hour before the plunge. Many different types of people were dressed up including families, Greek organizations, clubs, and couples.
Soon after the costume contest, everyone was directed to an area of the beach to get ready to run into the water. Our job at this point was to contain hundreds of people in a designated area, which was a challenge. People were very eager to complete the plunge and as soon as they were given the go-ahead, practically the entire crowd plunged into the ice-cold ocean. Most people immediately returned to the beach in an effort to re-gain their orientation, however some stayed in the water for an extended time and still others continued to go into the water.
Once people were out of the water after the plunge, the beach quickly emptied. Since it was cold outside and the wind from the ocean was strong, many people retreated home. Since the area was under control, we proceeded back to the conference center to check in with the volunteer coordinator. He was very thankful for our efforts and informed us that the event had raised close to $1 million for the Special Olympics. He further indicated that the majority of that generated revenue would be used to facilitate future Special Olympics events as well as for research and promotions.
Generally our whole experience working the Polar Plunge event was very fun and rewarding. Since the Polar Plunge is an annual affair, we thought it would be a good thing for future SportsCenter students to attend due to the fact that it’s an ever-growing event that would definitely benefit from added volunteers.
By: Kim Carr, Lauren Garcia, Jonathan Leonard, Bronwyn Lloyd, Chris Neal, Jacob Parr, Kevin Reeves, Stuart Smith
