Participants in the Polar Plunge expect to get cold – they quite literally sign up to subject themselves to freezing cold waters for the purpose of raising money for the Special Olympics New York. But ironically enough, the North Hempstead plunge scheduled Feb. 4 was canceled because it was too cold.

“It’s the winter,” Bayside resident and plunge participant Jamey Kohn said jokingly to his friends. “It’s supposed to be cold.”

But it wasn’t just cold. Director of Development for Special Olympics New York Rebecca Hoffmann said it would have been “completely fine” if it was just really cold, but it was the negative windchill at North Hempstead Beach Park in Port Washington that made the plunge there no longer safe.

“It is a polar plunge so you’re supposed to be cold, but safety does come first,” Hoffman said. “It was a hard decision, but we knew it was the right decision.”

She added that they were monitoring the weather with the town of North Hempstead and the Port Washington Fire Dept. in the week leading up to the event and were hopeful the plunge could still happen. As they got closer to the 24-hour mark, the temperature continued to drop and Friday afternoon they made the decision to cancel the event.

The Polar Plunge involves participants jumping into freezing cold waters, so even though the water would have been about 40 degrees, Hoffman said that upon exiting the water attendees would be subjected to hypothermia. 

Plungers included Special Olympic athletes and Hoffmann said it would have been dangerous for them due to their health issues.

The event also included a celebration on the shores beforehand with awards and sponsors present. It was decided that even the pre-plunge activities were not safe as attendees were vulnerable to frostbite if they were simply outside for more than 15 minutes.

But Kohn, who is the executive director of Temple Israel of Great Neck, is not afraid of extreme activities paired with extreme temperatures. While this would have been his first Polar Plunge, Kohn has participated in ultra-marathons, one of which was a 100-mile race in Buffalo two years ago in February. He said the temperatures ranged from 7-30 degrees during the 27-½-hour race, with his water bottle freezing after the first 30 minutes.

While Kohn was not fazed by the cold weather the morning of the plunge, he said even going on a nine-mile run at 6 a.m. that day, his disappointment in the plunge’s cancelation was coupled with an understanding of the risks at hand.

“Would I have done [the Polar Plunge] anyway?” Kohn asked. “I still would have tried it despite the temps, but I understand. It’s a dangerous situation. The water is a scary place for people — even more so in less extreme temperatures.”

Kohn admitted he may not be the best person to gauge whether or not the conditions were safe but still has total support for the event coordinators’ and city officials’ decision to cancel.

“The temperatures don’t bother me. I run in 100-degree weather,” Kohn said. “But there are plenty of people, I’m sure, who might not have that experience. It could have been more of a danger for them. It could have been a danger for me.  Who knows? I’ve never jumped into frigid temperatures in frigid waters before, so God knows what could have happened to folks.”

While safety for attendees was a reason for the plunge to be canceled, Hoffman said that it was also to preserve the resources of local first responders. The Fire Department is present during the plunge with divers in the water and she said it would have been a better use of their time to be able to respond to other emergencies throughout the town due to the extreme weather.

So the North Hempstead Polar Plunge had to be canceled, and due to short notice and an already scheduled calendar, Hoffman said they will not be rescheduling another plunge in town. The money raised, all $35,000 of it, will still be donated despite the plunge not occurring.

Hoffmann said the 50 planned plungers of North Hempstead have been invited to join another plunge. The next one is scheduled for March 25 in Oyster Bay and about 600 plungers are expected.

“It’s important for [participants] to still come out and plunge because the mission behind it all is that they would be freezing to raise awareness for the athletes of the Special Olympics,” Hoffmann said. “So this is their way to still honor the donations they collected and to come out and really make a difference in the community.”

Hoffman said about half of the plungers from North Hempstead plan to join the swim in Oyster Bay. Kohn said he doesn’t think he’ll be one of them but plans to try again next year.

“[North Hempstead is] where I work, it’s where my congregants live, so I felt a little bit closer, more of an affinity to this one,” Kohn said.

The motto of the Polar Plunge is “Freezin’ for a Reason,” but that reason is not to subject one to dangerous environments.

“It really starts with the cause,” Kohn said. “Special Olympics does incredible things for people. It gets people to push themselves, to try something a little more extreme. So you combine that with the cause then it’s a better combination in my opinion.”