Are you brave enough?

No wetsuits are allowed

WEST HAVEN — Organizers are seeking hearty souls to brave the frigid waters of Long Island Sound for the city’s 10th annual Icy Plunge for the Cure, which benefits breast cancer research.
Presented by the city’s Breast Cancer Awareness Committee, the event is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. Jan. 16 on the beach just east of the Savin Rock Conference Center on Rock Street.
Registration in the conference center starts at 8 a.m., when participants must submit their completed registration forms.
The first 100 registered plungers will receive official "plungewear," and the top fundraiser will receive a prize.
Participants will gather on the sand near the conference center and then wait for a signal to dash into the Sound. No wetsuits are allowed.
Over the last decade, the plunge and Walk for a Cure, the committee’s other fundraiser, have collected more than $350,000 for their cause, said committee member Beth A. Sabo, who also is the city’s public works commissioner. Last year’s plunge raised about $42,000.
About 200 people participated in the plunge last year, and organizers anticipate another good turnout this year.
Once again, several city, police and fire departments are forming teams and issuing challenges to one another to help raise the stakes — and more money.
Sponsored by Texas Roadhouse and Country Portables, the plunge is a celebration of survivors and a remembrance of those loved ones who died of the disease, Sabo said.
State Attorney General Richard Blumenthal has accepted Mayor John M. Picard’s challenge to take the plunge.
Registration forms are available in the Department of Public Works, 355 Main St., and the Police Department, 200 Sawmill Road, and by calling Charlene Morgal at 203-937-3586 or Sgt. Susan See at 203-937-3914. Businesses interested in sponsoring the plunge also can call Morgal or See.
In the past, proceeds have gone to the Hospital of Saint Raphael’s Father Michael J. McGivney Center for Cancer Care and its Looking Forward program, Y-ME of Connecticut in Branford and the Yale-New Haven Breast Center.
To make a donation, send checks to West Haven Breast Cancer Awareness, Department of Public Works, City Hall, 355 Main St., West Haven 06516.