Winni Dip starts first day without middle, high school divisions due to lake conditions

LACONIA — The Middle and High School Dips on the first day of the Special Olympics New Hampshire Winni Dip were abruptly cancelled after sustained winds of up to 35 miles per hour, and gusts up to 40 mph, pushed ice to the shore at the Margate Resort on Friday morning.

Andrea Barnes, a paraprofessional at Prospect Mountain High School in Alton, had mixed feelings about the event cancellation.

“I’m a lot bit disappointed, but a little bit relieved,” she said. “The thought of freezing is intimidating.”

Mark Ericson, senior manager of Special Olympics NH, said canceling the dip was unprecedented.

“We've had years when we've had to have the fire department come in at the last minute and break up some ice for us, but we've never had to actually, officially, not do any of them.”

Laconia Fire Chief Tim Joubert said the cancellation was necessary, especially for children.

“The wind was just really, really strong, and the broken pieces of ice where they would have to go into the water are moving pretty fast,” he said. “People that age taking a bump from one of those pieces of ice could be very, very dangerous.”

Because the students had already arrived for the event, organizers decided to throw them a party in the resort ballroom. A few kids joined organizers on the dance floor, while others danced at their tables where they would soon be eating soup in bread bowls for lunch. This year’s theme for the Winni Dip was Alice in Wonderland, and many students and school staff dressed up in costumes. They also had a parade in the ballroom, showing off their costumes, and a costume contest. Kelley Jon “KJ” Scruggs won the individual category for his King of Hearts costume. Gilford Middle School won best team costume.

The high school and middle school teams raised $119,523.12 for the Winni Dip, and 353 people came to the event, representing 20 schools.

The highest individual fundraisers are eighth grader Hannah Duboc from Merrimack Valley Middle School with $3,329; Inter-Lakes High School Student Resource Officer Keith True who raised $3,324; and ILHS 10th grader Skylar Clark raising $2,232.

Belmont Middle School is in third place for fundraising with $8,881. Merrimack Valley Middle School is in second place with $11,127, and ILHS is first with $13,760.

While the students were partying inside, the Mega Dip was on. Joubert went into Lake Winnipesaukee in cold water gear, moving ice out of the way for about 25 people.

“We were able to move just one small section of ice, versus, if the kids were going, we're going to have to get all that ice out. And it was just going to come back,” he said.

Josh Letourneau, of Manchester, said he’s done the Penguin Plunge in the ocean in Hampton for four years, but never the Mega Dip before, going into the water 24 times, once per hour. He did his first dip at noon on Friday, and it was not easy.

“It wouldn't have been bad. It's the wind. The wind just cut you,” Letourneau said. “Makes it infinitely worse.”

Saturday’s events still are green-lighted, and Joubert said he will come himself to clear the ice each time. The wind has also occupied firefighters across the Lakes Region. They are tending to things like fallen power lines, and downed trees.

“The whole Lakes Region in general right now is a really busy place because of the weather,” Joubert said.

Despite the weather complications, Ericson is happy with the success of the event's fundraising.

“The fundraising is done. That's really what this is all about,” he said. “We did the best we could to turn it into as much of a party upstairs as we could without the actual dip taking place for the high school students and the middle school students. We appreciate them all coming out, and we appreciate all the amazing fundraising that they've done.”

For more information, visit fundraising.sonh.org/event/winni-dip/home.