Saturday marked the event’s ninth year at Canoe Creek State Park, and more than $100,000 was raised by individuals and teams.

According to Karly Heath, stewardship manager and law enforcement liaison for Special Olympics Pennsylvania, roughly 250 people stormed the Canoe Creek beach and plunged into the water.

After participants braved nearly nine inches of ice over the water last year, the crowd was thankful for the 40-degree, sunny weather, which Heath said made for more of a “polar splash” than a plunge.

After a brief opening ceremony, the Flame of Hope was lit and led the first wave of participants into the water. There were several waves during the event, as a water rescue team counted the number of people who went into and out of the water.

A group of Home Depot employees participate in the 2023 Special Olympics Pennsylvania Polar Plunge on Saturday at Canoe Creek State Park. Mirror photo by Nate Powles

Several local emergency medical service providers and fire departments came out to provide safety and medical care, including the Geeseytown Fire Department and Hollidaysburg EMS.

An event that took Heath and other planners roughly seven months to organize was finished in a few hours, as once registration and the opening ceremonies were complete, all participants were in and out of the water within a span of 40 minutes.

Sheetz was this year’s primary sponsor with employees from across the different branches participating in the plunge.

Ryan Sheetz, vice president of marketing, said the chain has partnered with Special Olympics since 1992 and the values of the two align very well.

“Special Olympics is part of the Sheetz family,” he said. “They do such important work” as the organization prioritizes respect and works to lift up its members.

Sheetz himself has been plunging for almost 10 years and said this year was much easier than in previous years thanks to the almost balmy winter weather.

Members of the Altoona Police Department — another longtime partner — led the first wave of plungers along with Special Olympics athletes.

Plummer, in his sixth year personally taking the chilly dip, said he was honored to support the athletes, who have the best attitude he’s ever encountered. Plummer was involved with the Special Olympics from a very young age, as he had a family member who was an athlete, so it’s been an important cause for him for almost as long as he could remember.

Juanita Huyett joined her Sheetz branch in plunging for the first time and said the plunge was for a great cause.

Huyett said she psyched herself up a bit before the event and was fairly nervous before entering the water.

“It was not as terrifying as I thought it would be,” she said. “It was warm this year, so it was not so bad.”

With her first plunge complete, Huyet plans to return next year.

For those who were not able to attend in person, there was also an option to participate virtually.

Heath said people could pop a cold water balloon over their head and post the video to social media with the hashtag #WGPLUNGE to raise funds for Special Olympics.

Heath said this year’s event was a big success and was happy to see how many people came out in support of the Special Olympics and the athletes.

“This is our unique way of giving back to our athletes who are the center of everything we do,” Heath said.