Fourth graders dash toward the water at the Patriots Plunge Sunday, which raised more than $6,000 for spring sports at the middle school. Jason Speakman
PORTSMOUTH — Though fewer students participated this year in the extra-frigid Patriots Plunge to benefit middle school sports, the swimmers raised more than enough money to keep the spring teams afloat.
Fifty-five students braved the 27 degree weather and fierce wind gusts at Sandy Point Beach Sunday to raise $6,257 for the Portsmouth Middle School Athletic Boosters Club, said club president Kirk Volk.
Had the club not met its $6,000 goal, the softball and title-holding baseball teams (open to sixth through eighth graders) might not have been able to play this year.
This year’s total raised was several hundred dollars more than last year’s, when 135 students participated.
For the second year in a row, Ailish Cafferty, now a seventh grader, won the “Most Money Raised” award with $400. She was awarded an iPod docking station.
Also aiding in reaching the goal was a family who donated $500 to the cause even though they have no children at the school.
It is nice to know that others also see the value of having sports there, he said.
Of the students who participated, 20 were in the fourth grade, winning their grade an ice cream party for having the most participants, he said.
Pledges from the 46 pre-registered plungers ranged from $50 to $200, said organizer Becky Armin.
“It is nice to see the community coming together for this,” said Ms. Armin, who just moved to the district with her husband and sixth and eighth grade daughters.
Most recently from San Diego and Florida before that, “our polar plunges are a little bit warmer,” she said.
The cold did deter some families, but most stuck it out with students in their winter gear until the very last second.
“What was I thinking?” said fourth-grader Gus Nightingale moments before the big plunge, clad in a winter coat and swimming trunks.
The dash lasted only seconds; students did not dawdle in the water this year.
Just out of the water, fourth-grader Justin Parsons said that it was “a lot” harder than last year, when he participated as a third grader.
Only two adults participated — Student Assistance Counselor Lawrence Hill and Mr. Volk — but they made their time worth it.
Mr. Volk, who has daughters in the school, wore a hat into the water and planned to turn around before the water was waist-high. But once he was in knee-deep, he thought “Why not?” and went all the way under.
Practices for the softball and baseball teams will begin next month.
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