On November 30, over 100 students ran into the frigid waters of Wreck Beach. With the air temperature hovering around 5 degrees Celsius and the water temperature around 8.7 degrees Celsius, many students braved the risk of hypothermia and got a sweet, sweet dose of adrenaline. Here’s an account of what happened from the brave souls who took the plunge.
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“I only came to UBC for the polar bear swim and I can drop out now and feel at peace.”
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“It was peer-pressure.”
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“I had a friend running like two metres in front of me and I saw him take a dip and I wasn’t ready and it was just like, ‘Oh my god, I have to, I have to, I have to’ and then I did it. And it was of course super horrible, but it was also really nice.”
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“We’re on exchange and we thought it would be nice to join in on the cultural tradition.”
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“Literally I couldn’t even think — it was just so cold.”
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“I’ve done polar plunges like this before, but never this cold.”
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“We’re gonna do one little swimmy boy and walk back out.”