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Monday, January 2, 2012

Annual Polar Bear Swim

A group of unidentified people jumps into the icy water of Lake Wissota, Saturday, Dec. 31, 2011 at the Polar Bear Plunge held near Chippewa Falls, Wis. (Eau Claire Leader-Telegram, Steve Kinderman/AP)
 
Rather than pledge to shed unwanted pounds or make more money, Al Peterson decided to be realistic, as usual. He opted to start 2012 with a dip in 7 C ocean water.

For the 34th year in a row, the 58-year-old was down at Vancouver's English Bay with his family for one of the oldest polar bear swims in the country.

"Rather than a New Year's resolution, which we don't keep anyway, we just wash off the old and start with the new," Peterson said, standing on wet sand among hordes of participants.

"And wash off that nasty hangover," joked his 23-year-old son Jason, who took his first dip at the turn of the millennium.

The father and son joined more than 2,100 people on Sunday for the annual dip that has spawned sister events across the country since it began 92 years ago. Many raise money for charity or, in Vancouver, food for the food bank.

Thousands more camera-clicking spectators gathered on the balmy 5 C day under a bright sun to watch the spectacle.

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