With temperatures in the 40s on a sunny January afternoon, some 25 Elon students donned their swimsuits and jumped into Lake Mary Nell.
The lake — which several ducks, geese and even a couple of swans call home — is now the site of Elon’s first-ever Polar Bear Plunge.
In an event that resembled a challenge on the CBS series “Survivor,” students raced to the middle of the lake to capture small boats and race back to shore. The boats had numbers on them that matched gift cards from local businesses. Students jumped around to stay warm as they collected their prizes.
Freshman Katie Radcliffe, who organized the event through the Resident Student Association, says the idea came from a recent RSA conference. “This is the first of many to come, we hope!”
Sophomore Derek Powers wanted to take the Polar Bear Plunge just so he could tell his friends he did it. “It was a fun experience,” he says.
Jon Chuk, a sophomore from Pennsylvania, agrees.
“I missed the Polar Bear Plunge at home on New Year’s Day, and I heard about this and said, ‘Yeah, I’m doing it!'”