Winni Dip encourages cold plunge for Special Olympics New Hampshire

LACONIA — The Winni Dip offers a unique opportunity for people across the Granite State to support Special Olympics New Hampshire. The event, being held Friday and Saturday, March 7-8, at The Margate Resort, will offer the chance for brave fundraisers to jump into the Big Lake in five different spots.

Special Olympics NH President and Chief Executive Officer Mary Conroy said the event is part of the larger Winter Water Sports fundraiser, which had raised over $1.3 million as of Wednesday afternoon, with almost 2,000 contributing fundraisers.

“We have a series that's called the Winter Water Sports. We do a plunge in the ocean and a dip in Lake Winnipesaukee,” she said. “Through those two events, we raise money to support the athletes of Special Olympics New Hampshire.”

Participants can register online to participate in the event and to fundraise, either as individuals or as a team at fundraising.sonh.org/winter-water-sports. The Laconia Police Department is one such team, and will be taking part in the Law Enforcement Dip on Saturday. They have raised almost $1,000. Chief Matt Canfield said the department has participated in Special Olympics fundraisers for as long as he can remember, including participating in the state-wide Law Enforcement Torch Run. He believes the force’s participation in these events is an essential part of community policing, and encourages his officers either fundraise or get in the water.

“As part of our community policing method, we believe that we should participate in events like this to support our community. And we do that with a number of different organizations as well,” Canfield said. “So it's not just Special Olympics, but that's one of the bigger ones.”

Canfield encouraged people to donate to their “Laconia Police Dept” team, to move them up in the leaderboard.

Other plunges include the High School and Middle School dips, along with the Winni Dip, open to anyone in the community. The biggest event is the Mega Dip, where participants will dip into the water every hour for 24 hours starting on Friday.

Inter-Lakes High School is No. 1 on the leaderboard for the High School Dip, having raised over $11,000 as of Wednesday afternoon. ILHS Principal Amanda Downing attributed the fundraising efforts to Jaclyn Clark, who teaches life skills.

"She does take a lot of time to talk to people about why it's important, and really promoting Special Olympics," Downing said. "We also have an incredible community when it comes to supporting students with special needs."

ILHS Student Resource Officer Keith True has raised over $3,000 for the school team, and 10th grader Skylar Clark raised $1,400 so far.

Belmont High School is currently in second place among high schools with over $6,500 raised. Belmont Middle School has a stronger showing still than the high school, with almost $9,000 raised, sitting in the 3rd place spot on the leaderboard in the middle school category. Inter-Lakes Middle School has raised over $6,000, with Gilford Middle School raising almost $4,000.

SONH also hosts an event in Hampton every year in February, where participants take a dip in the ocean. Each body of water provides a different plunging experience, and Conroy said Winnipesaukee is usually colder at this time of year. But holding an event in Laconia is also for convenience.

“It allows, I think, an easier time for folks who want to get from the northern part of the state to get to Laconia,” she said.

The money raised helps Special Olympics athletes in a variety of ways, including supporting the school-based Unified Sports program, happening in over 100 schools across the state. This program helps to increase understanding between athletes with and without intellectual disabilities, by allowing them to play together. The Winni Dip is an event along the same lines.

“Those programs are really changing, I believe, the culture of the school, student by student, class by class, and school by school,” Conroy said. “And the experiences that those students have playing a sport and other activities with people with intellectual disabilities, I think, will be a game changer moving forward, as the high school students get into the workforce and remember the positive experiences they've had, and potentially will provide additional opportunities for the athletes we serve.”

But beyond the good of supporting such a cause, it also has become a city tradition.

“It's tradition at this point,” Canfield said. “Since I've been in Laconia, we've always assisted Special Olympics.”