Coney Island polar bears—not just New Year’s
When TV news-watchers saw hundreds of brave bathers ringing in 2014 with a plunge into the icy ocean off Coney Island, many were unaware that the Coney Island Polar Bear Club sponsors cold-water swimming every Sunday morning throughout the winter season.
The club, president Dennis Thomas told the Eagle, has about 135 members, about 80 to 100 of whom are active. They range in age from their teens through their 70s. They meet at the nearby New York Aquarium, and their average time in the ice water is 10 minutes.
On New Year’s Day, members of the Polar Bears, as well as the smaller Ice Breakers Clubs, stripped down to their trunks or dressed in costumes on Wednesday for the annual New Year’s Day splash.