Join the Jacksonport Polar Bear Club and live to tell about it!

by J.R. Jarosh

Protective footwear

• Wear something on your feet, i.e., old tennis shoes or "aqua socks," etc. to prevent cuts on your feet from the ice and to prevent your feet from sticking to the snow and ice on shore.

Warm boots after swim

• Have warm/dry boots or shoes to put on once you get out of the lake. This is an important point – once your feet get cold, your entire body will want to go on strike. Not good for a long walk back to your car.

Blanket to sit on

• Bring an old blanket or towel to put down on the icy shoreline to sit down on and change before/after the swim. I learned this the hard way after my swimming suit froze to the ground with me in it!

Do you wear glasses?

• If you wear glasses, we suggest you obtain an "athletic strap" or something similar to hold them to your face, or not wear them at all! It is quite difficult to find glasses that have been been dropped in the water on a sandy and icy beach, and it you find them, you may not want them after all!

The swim is at noon but arrive early

• The swim itself is exactly at noon – but get there by 11:00AM for food, drinks (non-alcoholic drinks recommended – real polar bears can do this sober) and to get a decent parking place. You'll be glad afterwards when the walk back to your car is 1 block instead of 5 or 6!

Set up camp Once you get to the park, make your way to the shore and find a place for your blanket and stuff in the "swimmers only" area marked by two 6-foot polar bears holding a "JPBC" banner. This will save you mass confusion at the last minute and give you a fun photo opportunity.

3...2...1...

• Several minutes before noon, get to your blanket/changing area to begin to disrobe. At 10 seconds before noon, the countdown will be on – when it gets to "ZERO!" we'll hit the water with an enthusiastic yell.

Savor the moment

• Finally, the swim will be over before your goosebumps know what hit them, so savor the moment out in the lake with your fellow Polar Bears – "High Fives" and "Happy New Year" greetings never feel so good and you've got 364 days until next time!