The Polar Plunge is set to take place in Splish Splash on April 26, 2025

Calverton, Ny- The Polar Plunge is an annual event that takes place all over Long Island and is coming to Splish Splash on April 26th, 2025.  All money raised for the polar plunge supports funding for equipment, uniforms, and more for the Special Olympics organization and its team members.  Over the weekend, I had the privilege of interviewing Adam Sanchez and his partner, Stella in regards to their participation in the Polar Plunge. Adam is 25 years old and graduated from Hofstra University in 2023 as an Information Systems major and currently works for HP in their escalations department. Stella is a 2022 Hofstra graduate who is currently getting her master’s degree in law. I started off the interview asking Icebreaker questions to the couple in order to create a more relaxed and comfortable environment before we dived deeper into their participation in the event. 

Me: “How long have you guys been participating in the event?”

Adam: “So, I’ve been doing it for the past four years, and Stella joined me this past New years for the first time.” 

Me: “What was colder, the water or the air after you got out?”

Adam: “The water is freezing. But I feel like once you fully get your head under, it actually becomes perfectly fine, and it more becomes the air that is the coldest. Like going into it, I feel like the air is the coldest because it is a long walk to the beach. But once you hop in, it’s actually not that bad. It was really just getting into the water that’s the worst part.” 

Stella: “Yeah, I think the air feels a lot warmer once you’ve been in the cold water.”

Me: “What made you guys say “Yeah, jumping into freezing cold water sounds like a good idea.” Any personal motivations for doing the challenge?”

Adam: “I think I kind of motivated her (Stella) into it but, the first year that I had seen it online, so many people were doing the Polar Bear Plunge and I thought “Why not me?” And then I looked up the Polar Bear Plunge and I was like, Oh My God, I am all about this. So every year I will do the polar bear plunge and try to get people to donate to organizations behind it. That way, it’s like a cool thing to do for charity, and also just a little bit of an adrenaline rush for New Years.” 

Stella: “I like doing cold plunges. There’s so many benefits for both your mental and physical health. So, I’ve done cold plunges before but never a Polar Plunge and Adam was talking about it and I was like “I gotta do it with you, I have to experience it.” 

Me: “I love that you guys did it together! What surprised you the most about the experience?” 

Adam: “I think it was how unprepared I was the first time doing it. Because in all honesty, going into it I really didn’t think I was going to be that cold. The first time, I made the mistake of not leaving my car’s heat on so jumping into the freezing cold water and then into a cold car was just like the worst feeling. And I immediately got sick the next day.”

Stella: “I felt really surprised by how cold we felt walking out to the water and how warm and delightful it was once we got out of the water. We were really not in a rush to get back to the car like we were to get to the ocean. I was surprised at how wonderful we felt afterwards.”

Me: “Did it shift your perspective on anything?”

Adam: “It did actually because I feel like it made me want to be a more adventurous person. Sometimes I’m like, if I can just jump into the ocean in the middle of the winter, there aren't a lot of things I should be saying no to because  I like to just say yes to life you know? Just go out, have a good time, and do things that make you feel like they matter. It’s important to me because I am raising awareness for a wonderful cause and challenging myself at the same time.”

Stella: “I agree. It’s a way to not only feel alive but also a way to really live your life and to challenge yourself. I like the idea of “love over fear.” So I think it’s really fun to challenge yourself to these things that may feel really hard, because they are really hard but afterwards, you feel really accomplished. It allows you to say yes more to things in life and let your love for life conquer the fear of whatever the scary thing is going to feel like.”

Me: “Did the experience teach you guys anything about yourselves?”

Adam: “I learned that I get sick pretty easily but on top of that, I learned that I am a little more resilient and a little more crazy than I thought because you kind of do have to be crazy to participate. And the other thing for me was that most polar plunges are done in groups but all the times I have done it have been either alone or with Stella. So there’s no group rally component of doing it which signifies for me, self resilience.”

Stella: “I have a lot of anxiety sometimes and so I think that I was really anxious going into it and about the idea of getting into the cold water but once we got there and saw somebody surfing (in a wetsuit) I felt better about it. Being able to just be in the present moment feels nice because it can be so easy to not be in the present moment and things that force you to just focus on making it through a certain experience allow you to be so present and just appreciate the world around you. I really remember getting out of the water and how beautiful the sky was. The sun was shining and along with the surfer, it is a really positive thing to look back on.”

The overall interview is a great insight on the benefits and wonderful experience you can gain from participating in the Polar Plunge. Whether you choose to do it with a group at Splish Splash on the 26th , alone, or with a partner, the challenge is a great way to support and raise awareness for the Special Olympics. To participate in the upcoming challenges, follow the link listed ttps://events.nyso.org/site/TR?fr_id=3240&pg=entry to learn more and register. Special thank you to Adam and Stella for participating in the interview and giving us this great insight on what it’s like to participate in a Polar Plunge.