The 23nd Annual Chicago Polar Plunge happened March 5 at North Avenue Beach on Lake Michigan, Chicago. The Polar Plunge benefits the thousands of local athletes in the Special Olympics Chicago / Special Children’s Charities program.

Polar Plunge 2023 by Paul Sager, on Flickr


Participants were encouraged to register in groups and to compete for individual and team awards for costumes.

Polar Plunge 2023


The Chicago Polar Plunge attracts people of all ages, demographics, and abilities, just like the athletes of Special Olympics Chicago. Corporations, longtime supporters, family members, friends, and public figures “Take the Plunge” each year in support of Special Olympics.

Polar Plunge 2023


All images were captured in RAW from an EOS 5D III and the Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM. Processing was performed in Adobe Lightroom 6. The title of each image is a URL link to the host Flickr page for the EXIF details of each image.

Polar Plunge 2023


At 23-years, the Chicago Polar Plunge has become the must-attend winter event in the city.

Polar Plunge 2023 by Paul Sager, on Flickr


The main idea of the 'plunge' is to rush into the icy cold lake and then jump right out of it smiling. There is no need to take the full plunge. You can just go ankle high or knee deep and you're done for the day.

Polar Plunge 2023


Personally, I hadn't thought about people and groups repeating, not just in annual participation, but also the same outfits. In reviewing images from 2023, I realized many people from 2022 were here again in 2023.

Polar Plunge 2023


ComEd, Peoples Gas, Old National Bank, and a host of Chicago's corporations are annual sponsors with teams that participate every year.

Polar Plunge 2023