20th annual Special Olympics Polar Plunge Feb. 17 at Kure Beach

Hundreds of participants hope to raise more than $110,000 to fund programs for special athletes in New Hanover County

KURE BEACH, NC (WWAY) — Not everyone is worth freezing for, but some special athletes in the Cape Fear area might inspire you to change your mind.

They compete in the Special Olympics in New Hanover County, and the 20th Annual Polar Plunge at Kure Beach Feb. 17 will raise money to support a year’s worth of programming for them.

It’s happening Saturday, Feb. 17 at the Oceanfront Park, 105 Atlantic Ave. in Kure Beach, NC.

New Hanover County Special Olympics Coordinator Brooke DeAmaral stopped by WWAY’s Good Morning Carolina to talk about the day’s events with co-host Donna Gregory.

“We’ve got a DJ, emcee that’ll be keeping the energy up,” she said.

“[There’s] dancing, we’ve got a really big costume contest, we have a silent auction, a raffle, vendors, food trucks, and we sell our gear throughout the day. That also goes to our proceeds, so you don’t have to get in the water if you don’t want to,” DeAmaral confirmed.

But for those who do want to take the plunge, DeAmaral admits it can be unnerving to jump in water forecast to be about 58 degrees!

“We hope it’s warm,” she laughed.

“But you’re really anxious, you realize how cold it is, but then you just look at all the faces of the athletes that are there, and it kind of shows you why we are doing what we’re doing,” she explained.

She also detailed how the program has grown over the last 2 decades.

“In the beginning their goal was $10,000 to fund raise, and they had, I think, 6 sports,” she said.

“We have just hit 27 sports, 5 dances, 3 county-wide sporting days, movie nights,” DeAmaral listed.

All the money raised at the Feb. 17 event stays in the local community, to support programs and events for Special Olympics athletes.

Here’s the most current schedule of events listed on the Special Olympics Polar Plunge and Run web site.

1:00 AM – Gates Open.  Enjoy our DJ, silent auction, raffle, costume contest, food and much more.
11:00 AM – Registration and Packet Pickup Opens
NOON – Costume Contest
12:30 PM – Fundraising Awards are annou

nced
1:00 PM – Registration and Packet Pickup Close
1:30 PM – 5K Run/Walk Starts
1:35 PM – 1 Mile Run/Walk Starts
2:00 PM – Raffle and Silent Auction Close
2:30 PM – 5K Awards
2:45 PM – Plungers Start Lining Up on the Beach
3:05 PM – Polar Plunge!
3:30 PM – Event Ends

Volunteers are needed for early morning set-up, face painting, course monitoring for 1-mile and 5K runs, beach monitoring during the plunge, and tear down.

For more information on volunteering with the Special Olympics, visit here .