Cops, Friends, Prepare To Plunge For The Special Olympics

SOUTH HARWICH – Maybe there’s no better way to say goodbye to the savage cold of 2025-2026 than to embrace it, one last time. That’s what organizers of the annual Law Enforcement Torch Run Polar Plunge are hoping.

 On March 14, members of the Harwich Police Department and their many supporters will gather at Red River Beach to take a brisk dip in Nantucket Sound, raising money for the Special Olympics. 

 For swimmers, it’s the culmination of weeks of pledge-gathering, with each committing to collect at least $100 in donations. As of early this week, participants had already raised nearly $35,000 toward their goal of $65,000.

 In past years, the plunge drew more than 150 participants and another 150 observers, and teams from other Lower Cape police departments have taken part. 

The swim is an offshoot of the Law Enforcement Torch Run, generally held in the late spring, when police departments across the Cape take part in a relay run to raise funds and draw attention to Special Olympics events. Police officers start in Provincetown, with officers from each town carrying the torch to the next town, ending in Bourne. 

For more information about the polar plunge, call 508-430-7541 or visit www.fundraise.specialolympicsma.org/events/964.