Posted on 12/31/2002 2:52:06 PM PST by Cagey
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Every day is a good day for the beach, the head of the Coney Island Polar Bears Club likes to say, and this New Year's Day will be no exception. The club, whose members frolic in the chilly surf off Coney Island in Brooklyn the first day of each year, is marking its 100th anniversary with Wednesday's holiday swim. As many as 200 people are expected to take the plunge, although most only brave the water up to their ankles, club member Louis Scarcella said recently. True Polar Bears -- there are 50 full-fledged members -- stay in the water 10 or 15 minutes, he said, playing games, tossing a football and even conducting club meetings. "The president calls for a meeting, and we'll discuss business in the water, like upcoming events," Scarcella said. That business is conducted loudly, he added. "It helps to scream in the cold water," he said. "You have to scream." To become a full-fledged member, "cubs" must take 15 dips with the club, which swims each Sunday between October and April, and five of those must be on the coldest days of the year, Scarcella said. Founded in 1903, the Coney Island club is believed to the oldest cold-water swimming club in the United States, according to president Ken Krisses.
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