A group known as The Swimmin’ Women has taken their fifth annual plunge at Merritt in Eldersburg to fundraise for the Special Olympics of Maryland.

Seven women arrived to the indoor, 82-degree pool around 8 a.m. on Thursday, entering the poolhouse clad in white robes and furry polar bear beanies — a staple outfit combination that their version of the Polar Bear Plunge requires each year. The women have raised $14,000 across five years, according to team captain Mary Lees Gunther, raising about $3,000 this year alone.

“We start [fundraising] as soon as the Special Olympics’ website goes live, which is usually like late October,” Gunther, from Sykesville, said. “We’re all women of a certain age, I don’t need to jump in 30-degree water.”

The women collect donations through word-of-mouth, mostly asking friends and family members for donations every year, Gunther said. It’s a collective effort from 40 women who have become close friends by enrolling in decades of swim classes together, with roughly 10 women taking the plunge each year.

Gunther said most of the women in the group have been members at the fitness center for almost 20 years and have traditions of throwing luncheons and holiday parties together. For them, the Polar Bear Plunge is just one of several annual bonding experiences, first created when the plunge went virtual during the COVID-19 pandemic and plungers were encouraged to submit videos of their own iterations.

“This pool is such a joy; I love to swim here. It’s why I joined,” said participant Carol Shores, from Marriottsville. “I’ve been coming here for forever.”

Shores said she participates in at least four swim exercise classes per week — which range from yoga to variations of aerobics.

A retired grandmother, Shores constantly travels between Baltimore, Houston and Miami, to visit family, which she said takes a physical toll on her body. Her swim exercises prevent her “joints and bones” from aching and improve her balance, she said.

Shortly before 8:30 p.m., the seven Swimmin’ Women gathered around the edge of the pool. Gunther initiated a countdown from three which signaled them to remove their white, fuzzy robes. Another countdown from three was to take the plunge, met with a unified cheer as the women leaped off the ledge of the pool.

The women waded through the pool for several minutes, hitting their snowflake-patterned balloons high in the air and ringing cowbells. Lingering in the water, they laughed and chatted, confessing that their extended celebration was really just a way to pass the time until their next swim class began.

The 2025 Polar Bear Plunge will be held at Sandy Point State Park in Annapolis from Jan. 24 through Feb. 1, according to its website. For information on how to register or donate, visit plungemd.com.

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