Thousands of people in B.C. will be running into the frigid ocean to ring in the New Year at events across the province Wednesday. But for others, every day brings a new chance to take a polar plunge.
Barbara Bialokoz braves the chilly waters off Oak Bay’s Willow’s beach in a daily ritual she calls invigorating.
“Right now, I feel incredible,” she said on Tuesday after emerging from the ice-cold sea.
She’s not alone in embracing a freezing dip in the ocean on a regular basis.
Seven hundred students at the University of Victoria charged into the sea at a recent event organized by the UVic Polar Dippers, one of the university’s most popular clubs.
“It boosts your adrenalin and it gives you this feeling for the rest of the week of just excitement,” said the club’s co-president, Pierre-Olivier McGeough.
McGeough says the low temperatures make the experience uniquely social.
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