Long Beach Polar Plunge for Make-A-Wish postponed until March due to frigid weather, organizers say

For the first time ever, the annual polar bear plunge that draws thousands to Long Beach’s boardwalk and raises hundreds of thousands for the Make-A-Wish Foundation will not take place on Super Bowl Sunday.

The Long Beach Polar Bear Club’s 27th annual Super Bowl Splash has been postponed to March 15 due to frigid temperatures and dangerous conditions, organizers announced Monday.

The chilly water temperatures are not a concern this time around, said Pete Meyers, who co-founded the annual dip that became a fundraiser in 2000. But lifeguards and other volunteers who make the event possible would have to bear "brutal" low temperatures and wind gusts, he added.

"Whoever volunteers is out in the weather early in the morning, around 8 a.m., and they’ll be outside till like 2 p.m.," Meyers, 62, of Long Beach, told Newsday. "It’s a really long day to be out in the cold like that. We just thought this is the best for everybody to be safe."

Meyers, cofounder Kevin McCarthy and their fellow organizers considered just moving the location of the event to the western end of Long Beach, beyond its boardwalk. But they remained "a little nervous" that spectators, whose ranks last year surpassed 15,000, will still gather on the boardwalk.

"With all the snow on it right now, the boardwalk’s really slippery," Meyers added. "We really just don’t want anyone to get hurt."

The annual fundraiser honors 4-year-old Paulie Bradley, who had hoped to become a lifeguard for his native Long Beach before his death in 1997, according to the Long Beach Polar Bear Club's website. Bradley’s relatives joined Meyers and McCarthy for their annual Super Bowl Sunday dip into waters off Long Beach in 1999, spawning the idea for a fundraiser.

Since 2000, the event has raised more than $11 million for Make-A-Wish Metro New York, Meyers said.

The only other disruption to the annual affair arrived in 2021, Meyers said. To avoid a massive gathering during the COVID-19 pandemic, organizers decided that Super Bowl Sunday plunge would be a virtual polar plunge and fundraiser.

Safety tackled tradition once again.

"The safety of our participants and volunteers is always our top priority," Caroline Ver Planck, director of community fundraising and alumni engagement for Make-A-Wish Metro New York. "In partnership with the City of Long Beach and the Polar Bears, and in response to below freezing temperatures and strong wind gusts, the decision has been made to reschedule the Long Beach Polar Bear Splash to March 15. This change allows our community to continue fundraising and coming together safely to support children with critical illnesses through Make-A-Wish."

Last year, the Long Beach Polar Bear Club drew more than 15,000 to the boardwalk — about a third of whom ventured into frigid waters — and raised over $800,000, Meyers said. The new date would still have "the same vibe," but it could impact turnout, he added.

"I think we’ll get a much larger crowd on March 15, only because of the weather," Meyers said. "It’s right around St. Patrick's Day, so I think people will be in festive moods. You’re almost at spring but it’s still considered a winter dip."

Regardless of the success of the new date, Meyers said he hopes the event will take place on Super Bowl Sunday in 2027. It’s a great day to "get out of the house for a little bit," he said, because, after all, "how much pregame can you watch?"