With a high near 76 degrees, a Polar Plunge might have seemed out of place in Chattanooga. Still, Southeast Region athletes, volunteers and supporters smiled, danced and took the plunge together. At the The Hotel Chalet at the Choo Choo, the heated pool only added to the irony of this year’s event.
The sun shone down on volunteers, supporters, and plungers as they readied themselves to take a not-so-polar plunge. Music and laughter filled the air with excitement for the event.
The Special Olympics Polar Plunge is a signature fundraiser for the nonprofit. Participants “pledge to take the plunge” by donating $10 and raise additional money from sponsors who donate “to their plunge.” The proceeds benefit both Special Olympics Tennessee and the Greater Chattanooga community it serves.
“This event helps both our area and our state...and our schools in the area,” said Tina Gower, co-director for the Southeast Region. “It brings money into different avenues of Special Olympics.”
Funds raised support state programs and Unified Champion Schools in the area. One of the avenues the plunge helps fund is the upcoming 2026 Special Olympics USA Games in the twin cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota. Gower will travel to the games as an additional staff member with Special Olympics Tennessee, alongside competitors and area ambassadors.
The collaboration between local, state and national Special Olympics programs creates pathways for athletes to access opportunities that might otherwise be out of reach. Fundraisers like the Polar Plunge help turn community support into travel, competition and national-level experiences for local athletes.
“Some of our athletes have never traveled,” Gower said. “So, they get to see other places, they get to compete with other people, they get to make friends that they may not have.”
Andy Canney is one of the ambassadors who will travel to Minnesota to represent Special Olympics Tennessee Youth Leadership.
“I can’t wait to have fun in the polar plunge,” Canney said.
Canney and his partner, Mason Tate, will attend the games as a Youth Leadership Unified pair representing Tennessee. The pair will take part in volunteer opportunities, leadership development sessions and networking with youth leaders from across the country. The Polar Plunge helps make that experience possible for them and for other athletes and volunteers from the Southeast Region.
“This particular event, the Polar Plunge, funds our Special Olympics… It gives individuals with disabilities an opportunity to compete at their highest level,” said Deborah Duncan, chairperson of the Chattanooga Mayor’s Council on Disability.
Many individuals with disabilities are not always given equal opportunities to compete. Special Olympics seeks to change that and challenge the status quo.
“Most of them don’t come to it as athletes or as winners, but they learn how to be winners. And that’s what Special Olympics means,” Duncan said. “We have a very strong Special Olympics presence (in Hamilton County)....the county provides all these opportunities for outdoor activities for individuals with disabilities.”
So while this year’s plunge may have felt more refreshing than polar, its purpose remained clear. Beneath the warm Tennessee sun, athletes, volunteers and community members jumped into the water to create opportunities far beyond the pool.
For many athletes, the plunge marked not an ending, but the beginning of new experiences waiting beyond Chattanooga.
“I’m excited about a lot of stuff,” Canney said.
Follow along with Team Tennessee here and support athletes from the Southeast Region heading to USA Games here.
Photos by Cj Copeland
