EUGENE, Ore. (KMTR) -- Freezin' for a reason, hundreds took the icy plunge Saturday morning into the Willamette River to benefit Special Olympics in the Eugene area.
About 230 people made a splashdown Saturday morning, February 4th, 2012, at Maurie Jacobs Park in Eugene.
This is the third Polar Plunge in Eugene. The more than 200 plungers taking part raised around 27,000 dollars for Special Olympics.
The money helps the programs rent facilities, pay for uniforms, equipment and more.
“We really admire what special olympics does for the local community and we like getting wet and its fun and the weather's decent, what's not to like?” says Tom Lininger, a University of Oregon Law professor with the “Oregon Law's” plunge team.
Volunteers say Special Olympics is very important to the athletes.
“The athletes get sports training, conditioning and they get to compete,” says Ted Barker, a Special Olympics volunteer.
An athlete, Steven Barone will hopefully be competing in the next year, as he is recovering from a leg injury.
“I love golf and I want to be like Tiger Woods,” says Barone.
“To everybody in Oregon, thank you very much,” says Barone.
The water temperature for Saturday's plunge was hovering around 42 degrees, while the air temperature with wind chill was hovering around 40 degrees.
