They say when it’s New Years day, the Polar Bears come out and play. Well, this year was no exception, as mighty brave Singhs and Kaurs represented the Toronto Maple Sikhs at the Toronto Polar Bear Dip on Jan 1, 2011 in the frigid cold waters of Lake Ontario.
Bleeding Maple Leaf blue, the team had three goals, the first goal was to have more participants on the team this year and that was easily achieved when we more than doubled the size of our team to 24 dippers; the second goal was to have women participate and we had 6 Kaurageous ladies take the dip, they include Mandip Kaur Sandher, Swaranjit Kaur Sandher, Harmeet Kaur Rai, Amarjit Kaur Dhadda, Ramann Kaur Patara, and Kiran Kaur Rai; and finally the most important goal was to be the top fundraising team, and we more than achieved that by raising over $7000 in support of Habitat for Humanity Toronto to help raise funds to build affordable housing in Toronto for families living in need. In fact, we have raised over $10 000 the past two years in support of this worthy cause.
Some of the highlights of the dip included the presence of Lord Stanley, the Stanley Cup, Gurmit the imposter Hab, Gurpreet the no tabla in the water guy, Lakhdeep I live in Paneeloo (Waterloo), and the skippers instead of dippers - we know who you are.
Congratulations to all the dippers, especially the first timers, all the friends and family that sponsored the Toronto Maple Sikhs and those who came out to cheer us on in the rain and cold. We look forward to seeing you again on Jan 1, 2012!
Check out CP24 news coverage of the dip featuring some of the Toronto Maple Sikhs at:
Watch video below:
Contact:
Pardeep Singh Nagra
416-587-5498
Polar bear dippers take icy swim for charity
Hundreds of people dove into the new year along the GTA lakeshore on Friday in two annual polar bear dips to raise money for charity.
Braving a bitter wind chill and falling snow at Sunnyside Beach, nearly 200 so-called "dippers" ran for the icy water. Most were wearing only bathing suits, although some had warming wetsuits and others opted to accent their outfits with silly hats.
It was the fifth annual Sunnyside Beach Polar Bear Dip in support of Habitat for Humanity. Before the run even began, the event had raised more than $15,000 thousand dollars for the charity and much more is expected to trickle in.
Meanwhile in Oakville, another group of about 500 swimmers took to the icy waters to raise money for World Vision Canada. They were cheered on by about 5,000 spectators.
"I'd say the worst part is your feet they turn to practical ice cubes," Crystall Shortall told the Canadian Press as her teeth chattered.
"You always regret doing it after, but for some reason you forget what it's like and you want to do it again," she said, shuffling about inside a giant, decorated cardboard box, which was meant to look like a Christmas present.
Called the Courage Brothers' Polar Bear Dip and held in Coronation Park, the event has raised $430,000 since 1995, which has funded water projects around the world.
The GTA isn't the only place that holds cold-water plunges on new year's day.
Comedian Ron James was one of about 100 people to take the plunge off a government wharf in a Halifax suburb on Friday in an event to raise money for a food bank.
Web Staff, cp24.com
http://www.cp24.com/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20100102/100102_polar_swims/20100102/?hub=CP24Home
With files from The Canadian Press