Polar Bear Swim 2005 (85th Annual)

Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
January 1, 2005

• History
• Safety Tips
• Statistics

The Vancouver Polar Bear Swim Club is one of the largest and oldest Polar Bear Clubs in the world. Its first initial swim was in 1920 when a small number of hardy swimmers took the plunge into English Bay on New Year's Day. Led by their founder, Peter Pantages, the swim has grown from around 10 swimmers in that year to the record number of 2,128 official entries in 2000.

Today, the swim takes place at 2:30pm on the first day of each new year. Costumes and the Peter Pantages Memorial 100 yard swim race are the highlights of this event. To be a club member you must register before the swim. Registration takes place in front of the English Bay Bathhouse from 12:30pm - 2:30pm each New Year's Day. You may also register by clipping out the coupon in the Province Newspaper and presenting it at the registration desk the day of the swim. Your free membership includes a commemorative button after you take the plunge.

2005 Event Photo Gallery

Click on thumbnail to view full-size image

1. Time to get chilly!	2. STOP and rescue me!	3. Beauty and the beast?	4. Young roosters or old woodpeckers?
5. Santa and one of his reindeer say "Hello"!	6. First place - 100 yard swim winners, Male: Tyler Wall, Female: Kristi Zychowka with Park Board Commissioners Suzanne Anton (left) and Anita Romaniuk	7. Rocco and Gail, "Just Married" 15 minutes before the Polar Bear swim accepting congratulations from Polar Bear President Lisa Pantages.	8. Dave Bobenic, of 99.3 the FOX/MOJO Radio, our m/c for the day.
9. Lifeguard Ria confers with P.C. Mike and Mike about the event	10. P.C. Mike and Mike with Daryl Palmer, Province Newspaper event marketing coordinator	11. Prepping for the swim!	12. MC Dave Bobenic and a Red Cross volunteer address the crowd about Tsunami Disaster fund raising
13. Beached penguins!	14. SpongeBob SquarePants meets Flash Gordon	15. Police officers and Lisa Pantages, President of Polar Bear Committee and niece took a commemorative plunge for Ivy Granstrom	16. Ivy Granstrom companion Paul Hoeberigs, accepting a presentation from Polar Bear Club president Lisa Pantages
17. Boyz in Blue?	18. Sombrero girls	19. The crowd rushes the water	20. Moments before the plunge...

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2005 Event Statistics

	2004	2005
Air Temperature	4°C / 40°F	3°C / 38°F
Water Temperature	6.5°C / 44°F	9°C / 48°F
Weather	Sunny	Sunny
No. of Registered Swimmers (record 2,128 in 2000, previous record 2,095 in 1983)	1,410	1,600
Oldest Participant	Ivy Granstrom Age 92	Donald McAllister Age 84
Winner of the Peter Pantages Memorial Trophy	1st: Trevor Olson 2nd: Marcel Lopes 3rd: Glen Cooper 1st Female: Alysha Loney	1st: Tyler Wall 2nd: Trevor Olson 3rd: Dan Strutt 1st Female: Kristi Zychowka
President Polar Bear Swim Club	Lisa Pantages	Lisa Pantages
Past President	Basil Pantages	Basil Pantages
Announcer	Dave Bobenic	Dave Bobenic
Promotion and Commemorative Buttons	Province Newspaper, Vancouver Park Board, Pantages family, 99.3 the FOX	Province Newspaper, Vancouver Park Board, Pantages family, 99.3 the FOX
P.A. and Music	99.3 the FOX	99.3 the FOX / MOJO
Safety and First Aid	Vancouver Park Board	Vancouver Park Board
Event Information	Glenn Schultz Vancouver Aquatic Centre 1050 Beach Avenue Vancouver, BC  V6E 1T7 Phone: 604-665-3418 Email: glenn.schultz@vancouver.ca

2005 Event Prize Winners

The following names were drawn for prizes from the signed entry forms received at English Bay Beach

Kati Ackerman Vancouver Nadia Baldin Vancouver Mickey Borason Vancouver Sebastien Fauvet Vancouver Emily Flack Burnaby

Larry Harrop West Vancouver Jaiminder Kang Burnaby Wen-her Ku Vancouver Sean Lakeman Langley Nicole Mantei Surrey

Susan Marsh Vancouver Christopher Muir Coquitlam Bruce Nichol North Vancouver Pascal Poudenx Vancouver Kelsey Robinson North Delta

Karen Smith Vancouver Deborah Stead Vancouver Rayne Voyer Vancouver Jelayne Wiebe Surrey Dominic Yun Vancouver

Prize Donors

Many thanks to the following companies who donated prizes to the 2005 swim

Coca-Cola 99.3 the FOX / MOJO Radio Lifesaving Society Province Newspaper Purdy's Chocolates Sit and Sleep Gallery Vancouver Park Board

Spectra Foods Keg Boathouse Macaroni Grill Kingston Taphouse and Grille Stepho's Souvlaki Greek Taverna Sylvia Hotel Westin Bayshore Hotel

T-Shirts and Buttons

We have Polar Bear t-shirts and sweatshirts for sale at the Vancouver Aquatic Centre, 1050 Beach Ave. Sweatshirts are $15 and t-shirts are $10 while quantities last. Also, Polar Bear Swim 2005 buttons can be picked up at the Vancouver Aquatic Centre if you participated in the swim and didn't recieve one.

For further information about the Vancouver Polar Bear Swim Club, contact: Glenn Schultz of the Vancouver Aquatic Centre.

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