Polar Bear Swim

A Polar Bear Swim is a quintessential ‘easier said than done’ situation. Essentially, one wakes up early in the morning and runs into the water sometime in January. Oftentimes this is done in Canada on New Year’s Day to celebrate new beginnings.  On Saturday, Brentwood did our own version of a Polar Bear Swim. A crisp 7:45 on coveted sleep-in morning brought only the bravest of students to the shores of the Pacific Ocean. It is possible that the pizza promised to the house with the most students participating was the main draw, although I would like to think that it was the sheer excitement of the swim.  The majority of the swimmers simply ran in and out with speed reserved only for situations like that. Perhaps a better way to motivate the soccer or basketball team would be with cold water and pizza; it really seemed to work. Except for the rowers. They are always the exception. Picture all the students sprinting out of the water, except five rowers standing as the physical embodiment of stoicism.  “We are doing an ice bath, eight minutes at least,” yelled one of the rowers after I asked why they insisted on staying in. I know that idea lies somewhere between brilliance and utter insanity, but I cannot seem to figure out where.  At the end of the day, Whittall House took home the cup, or rather the boxes of pizza. Really though, I think that everyone who participated had a great time, despite the cold. These kinds of things are more about the bonding and the build-up rather than the actual, kind of horrible, event. As far that goes, this event was a raging success.  Amelia, Allard ‘20