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A polar bear plunge is an event held during the winter where participants enter a body of water despite the low temperature. Polar bear plunges are usually held to raise money for a charitable organization. In Finland, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia the ice swimming tradition has been connected with the sauna tradition. Unlike dousing, it is not seen as an ascetic or religious ritual, but a way to cool off rapidly after staying in a sauna and as a stress relief. Ice swimming on its own is especially popular in Finland. There is an Avantouinti (ice-hole swimming) Society, and swimming holes are also maintained by other groups such as the Finnish skiing association (Suomen Latu). The Finnish Sauna Society maintains an avanto for sauna goers. There are lots of places where you can swim without sauna in Finland during winter. Helsinki has several places for avantouinti, with dressing-rooms and sometimes with saunas. Tampere area has a number of ice swimming and winter sauna locations. The members of Canadian and American "polar bear clubs" go outdoor bathing or swimming in the middle of winter. In some areas it is unusual or ceremonial enough to attract press coverage. "Polar bear plunges" are conducted as fund-raisers for charity, notably the Special Olympics. Cosmo Kramer briefly joins a New York polar bears club in the sitcom Seinfeld. The oldest ice swimming club in the United States is the Coney Island Polar Bear Club of Coney Island, New York, who hold their annual polar plunge on New Year's Day. The Plungapalooza event in Maryland, the largest polar bear plunge in the United States, held annually at Sandy Point State Park, raises funds for the Special Olympics. Sponsored by the Maryland State Police, in 2007, Plungapalooza raised $2.2 million and had 7,400 participants. In 2008, an estimated 12,000 people participated. [READ THE REST OF THIS ARTICLE]
