FAIRMONT– On March 13 Fairmont High School will be hosting its annual Cool School Polar Plunge. The event will see dozens of people jump into near-freezing water to raise money for Special Olympics Minnesota.

“It’s a huge part of what allows us to do things like unified sports and it supports our Martin County Special Olympics teams … but it’s also a way to help promote the message of inclusion,” said Mark Hernes, a math teacher at the high school and one of the organizers of the event.

Selma Bleess is a senior at Fairmont High School and has participated in polar plunges since she was in the 7th grade.

“The experience is really inviting and heartwarming to see everyone interact with everyone because it’s all about inclusion,” said Bleess.

The event aims to raise $12,000 for Special Olympics Minnesota and at the time of writing is sitting at just over $7,300. Eighty-two people have registered for the plunge, including high school co-principal Chad Brusky and Fairmont superintendent Andy Traetow.

Fairmont schools have encouraged students to take the plunge since 2015 when a group began to participate in an event held in Minneapolis. After the start of the pandemic plunges were put on hold but returned in 2022 with the first event held at Fairmont High School.

While conventional polar plunges are held at natural bodies of water, Fairmont’s event will be held outside the high school and will use a mobile plunge unit or ‘Plungester;’ a custom-built trailer capable of holding 2,100 gallons of water. When filled the water will be four feet deep, roughly the same depth as a lake-based plunge.

“The upside of that is that we don’t have to travel to Minneapolis and take a school day off, so instead of having 40 to 50 kids that participated, we were up to 100 kids who participated last year,” said Hernes.

This year student participation has been boosted by a donation from Affinity Plus Federal Credit Union which promised $50 to 2,000 plungers across the state to help cover the cost of registration. The limited availability of this assistance was one factor that helped encourage students to sign up early.

Another factor which has driven sign-ups has been a persistent positive peer-pressure campaign undertaken by the event’s participants.

“I’d say I did it for the first time because Hernes is really good at … encouraging (people) to do it,” said Abi Peyman, a junior who will be participating in her fourth plunge.

Bleess noted she’s oftentimes been the one who encourages other students to register.

“No one really wants to do it voluntarily, but after you do it once you understand why people want us to do it,” said Bleess.

“If you are scared of it, (of) doing something new, that’s okay but you got to be comfortable with the uncomfortable,” said Adrian Sanchez, another senior plunger.

Currently the forecast for the day the event predicts a temperatures in the mid-20s with cloudy skies and a chance of light precipitation.

“You’re never guaranteed good weather on a plunge day. I don’t think there’s ever been a great plunge day. It’s always way colder than they say, windy, or snowing,” said Bleess.

Participation in the event is not limited to those related to Fairmont Area Schools; anyone who can raise the required $75 can register and plunge.

“I’m hoping there will be a last minute rush because the more the merrier,” said Hernes.

Registration is open through the day of the event and can be done online at plungemn.org. Participants can wear whatever clothes they would like, but are required to wear shoes while doing the plunge. After plunging participants can dry off and change in the high school locker rooms. Towels are not provided.