Vancouver Polar Bear Swim to return for 2023 after multi-year pandemic hiatus – BC | 24CA News
For the primary time in three years, Vancouverites of questionable sanity will collect at English Bay for a frigid dip within the ocean on New Year’s Day, because the organized Polar Bear Swim returns from a multi-year pandemic hiatus.
The occasion had been slated to return to its in-person format final yr, however was switched to a “digital dip” on the final minute amid surging COVID-19 case numbers pushed by the Omicron variant.
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“It feels like it’s a new beginning,” Vancouver Park Board supervisor of aquatics Tony Syskakis advised Global News.
“It’s a really nice way to start 2023. it’s been a tough year, and I think a fresh start is going to be a beautiful thing.”
Vancouver’s final in-person Polar Bear Swim, in 2020, was the a centesimal anniversary of the ritual identified for courageous souls and wacky costumes.
To mark the return of the in-person occasion, Syskakis mentioned organizers will likely be bringing again a number of the celebration-style leisure they rolled out for the centennial — together with meals vehicles and a DJ.
Indoor areas will likely be out there for individuals to alter and warming tents will likely be out there, however the park board recommends individuals arrive “swim ready.”
The occasion runs from midday to 4 p.m., with this system beginning at 2 p.m. and the “official swim” at 2:30 p.m.
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