Accessibility push ahead of annual plunge
White Rock’s annual New Year’s Day Polar Bear Swim is being made more accessible this year thanks to work by a local councillor who uses a wheelchair. The event draws thousands each Jan. 1 to White Rock Beach to take part in the icy-water plunge, a long-standing B.C. tradition.
New features help more people join
Councillor Susan Bains has arranged for a wheelchair-accessible mat to be placed from the beach down to the water so that people with mobility challenges can more easily take part in the swim. A local disability advocacy group is also providing beach wheelchair equipment for the event to help participants get closer to the shoreline.
Bains said she hopes these changes inspire more people to attend and show that the event can be inclusive of a wider range of participants, reflecting the idea of “nothing about us without us” by involving people with lived experience in planning.
Event tradition and turnout
The White Rock Polar Bear Swim is part of a broader New Year’s tradition of cold-water dips across British Columbia and Canada that dates back decades. Thousands have taken the plunge at this and similar events sometimes between 2,000 and 3,000 people at White Rock alone making it one of the region’s signature ways to ring in the new year.
Registration for many of the Polar Bear Swim events, including the one in nearby Vancouver at English Bay, typically opens in advance and may include options such as certificates and participant perks, while warming areas and family-friendly spaces are offered on site.
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