Santas, T-Rexes, and ‘Trump’ Dive into English Bay for 97th Polar Bear Swim
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Vancouver’s first polar bear swim was in 1920, started by Peter Pantages, the nephew of the famous Greek American vaudeville Alexander Pantages. Only 10 swimmers participated that year.
This year, despite a surprisingly cold and snowy start to winter on the Lower Mainland, over 1,500 made it out to English Bay for the annual swim. Check out the video above by YouTuber Susan Lu for a look at the plunge.
Many came out in swimwear. Many also dressed up in costumes for the occasion. There were Christmas offerings like Santas and reindeer, but also some unconventional choices: t-rexes, Vikings, the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man, a Trump and some Mexicans, and a man dressed up as a giant golden prickly ball of... actually, we’re not sure what he is. Skip to the 3:27 mark and decide for yourself.
The city’s all-time record of swimmers was a crowd of 2,550 in 2014.