Crutches don't deter plunge in icy waters
By THOMAS J. PROHASKA
NEWS NIAGARA BUREAU
3/6/2006
OLCOTT - There's something about the Polar Bear Swim that keeps people coming back year after year - even on crutches.

"It's been a longtime thing, 18 years or so," said Kevin Parker, a mortgage broker from Albion, as he emerged from the icy water on crutches, with a plastic garbage bag wrapped around the cast on his left ankle. He ruptured his Achilles' tendon playing softball last fall, but his injury didn't deter him from joining the rush across Olcott Beach on Sunday.

"It's just fun, something different to do," Parker said.

The 37th annual event, officially called the Olcott Lions Club Swim for Sight, was the most popular since formal registration of swimmers began several years ago. Chairman Bill Clark said 481 people paid $10 each to jump in Lake Ontario, smashing the previous record by almost 100.

Swimmers were asked to raise money in pledges as well, and the total profit for the Olcott Lions Club's sight-related charities may top last year's $12,000, although a full tally wasn't available Sunday.

"It's fun, thinking you're in Hawaii when you're in Olcott," said Heather Longfritz, 19, of Appleton. She was named Polar Bear Queen for the second time; she also won the crown in 2002.

A cloudless blue sky and temperatures slightly above the freezing point probably tempted many newcomers into the 34-degree water, but a stiff west wind blew over the ice surrounding the pool.

Some connoisseurs griped about the conditions, saying the water had too many chunks of frozen slush and the pool was too small.

Clark said there was no ice at all until about a week ago, but a cold snap took care of that. The Town of Newfane's backhoe hacked a pool more than 100 feet long out of the ice Thursday, but it froze over again.

The backhoe returned Sunday morning and smashed through the new ice, but Clark said he instructed them to clear only 65 to 70 feet, because there weren't enough frogmen from the Olcott and Miller Hose fire companies to watch the larger area or to hold the crowd back until the countdown was completed.

The divers weren't needed for any rescues, but many a swimmer emerged from the lake with legs cut by the ice.

"It's not very deep this year," said Tim Durfy of Lockport. "You can't go under unless you lay right down on your belly. I got a few cuts on my legs and my belly."

Durfy was named the first Polar Bear King. Clark said, "He's swum for 30 years, and I think they just wanted to fuss over him down there, so they decided impromptu to make him king."

Joseph Speer of Gasport, making his 14th consecutive swim, said the conditions could have been a lot worse. "I jumped in one year and there was too much ice," he said. "We jumped in anyway, but it wasn't broken. We were a little bit drunk and we hit the ice. We didn't actually hit the water."

Speer said this year's swim was a comparative cakewalk.

"The water's really cold, but the air is nice, so it's not bad," he said.



-- Edited by kspeer at 11:56, 2006-03-06