Craig Baird
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thread 1/9
It is the first day of the year, but its also something else...Polar Bear Swim Day, also known as the Polar Bear Dip!

As for the first Polar Bear Dip, well that may have been in Vancouver in 1920!

Let's learn more!

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11:08 AM - Jan 01, 2024
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Craig Baird
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thread 2/9
That first Polar Bear Dip occurred on Jan. 1, 1920 when 10 people followed organizer Peter Pantages (pictured) into the Pacific Ocean at Vancouver.

Peter loved to take a dip into the cold ocean each day.

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11:08 AM - Jan 01, 2024
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Craig Baird
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thread 3/9
He had an agreement with the Pacific Steamship Company that if he was on an ocean liner, the ship would stop every day so he could take a swim.

In 1928, Ivy Granstrom took part in her first Polar Bear Dip.

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11:08 AM - Jan 01, 2024
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Craig Baird
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thread 4/9
She went on to do 76 more, with her last Polar Bear Dip occurring in 2004 only months before her death. She became known as the Queen of the Polar Bear Swims.

The organizer of the original Polar Bear Swim, Peter Pantages, died in 1971 but his Polar Bear Swim continued on.

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11:08 AM - Jan 01, 2024
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Craig Baird
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thread 5/9
The swim continued to grow in popularity and about 2,000 people took part by the 21st century. In 2000, 2,128 people took part, while in 2014 2,550 people ran into the water.
On the 100th anniversary in 2020, 7,029 people took part.

That is only registered participants.

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11:08 AM - Jan 01, 2024
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Craig Baird
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thread 6/9
The number of participants each year could be much higher, as high as 10,000 in some years.

In 2016, Lisa, the granddaughter of Peter, took part in her 59th Polar Bear Dip. To commemorate the event, she wore her grandfather's original wool swim suit.

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11:08 AM - Jan 01, 2024
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Craig Baird
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thread 7/9
Each year since 1973, the temperature has been about six degrees. The coldest in that time was three degrees in 1982 and 1985. The warmest was nine degrees in 1992.
The colder the day, the less people who take part. Vice versa, the hotter the day, the bigger the participation.

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11:08 AM - Jan 01, 2024
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Craig Baird
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thread 8/9
Now, polar bear plunges are held in nearly every single major city in Canada on January 1.
Yellowknife takes a different approach and does its plunge in May as the spring thaw occurs. It calls its polar bear plunge Freezin' For A Reason.

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11:08 AM - Jan 01, 2024
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Craig Baird
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thread 9/9
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📸CityNews, Vancouver Archives

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11:08 AM - Jan 01, 2024
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