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The Polar Plunge for mental health and addiction services awareness is set for New Year’s Day at Sarnia’s Canatara Park beach.
Published Dec 30, 2025 • 2 minute read
A crowd makes the plunge into the Bay of Fundy at Mispec Beach, Saint John, New Brunswick, on New Year’s Day 2024. Photo by Cindy Wilson /Postmedia NetworkArticle content
The Polar Plunge for mental health and addiction services awareness is set for New Year’s Day at Sarnia’s Canatara Park beach.
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Plungers will gather at the beach, weather-permitting, at 11 a.m., said Nessa Nahmabin, who is organizing the event along with her partner, Trevor Beatty. She’s a yoga teacher and he’s a massage therapist. They are both part of the Sarnia Cold Plunge Community.
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The annual New Year’s Day plunge was initially organized by Southwest Counselling Services and the Sarnia Cold Plunge Community was asked recently to “carry on the torch,” Nahmabin said.
Last year, about 100 people showed up but “I don’t know what to expect” this year “just because of the weather,” she said.
“I’m a little bit worried about that,” Nahmabin said. “Even if we go out and put our feet in, that’s perfect enough.”
Participants are encouraged to make donations to Bluewater Health Addiction Services.
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Nahmabin and Beatty started the local cold plunge group in 2022, meeting at Canatara Beach in the off-season Wednesdays at 7 a.m. and Sundays at 10 a.m.
“It started because we wanted to improve our own mental health,” she said.
“For the first year, there were a few people that would show up here and there but we just kept doing it,” Nahmabin said.
Sessions begin with 10 minutes of guided breathing and then “we would push ourselves to stay in the lake for two minutes,” she said.
“Over the years, it has just grown and grown. There’s about 20 of us that meet every single week and still jump in the lake,” Nahmabin said. “We’re past the two-minute mark now.”
The regular plunges begin around mid-September and “we do it as long as we can,” often until the end of June, she said.
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If the lake freezes over or there are days when conditions appear unsafe, the plunges don’t go ahead, Nahmabin said.
“We decided collectively,” she said. “It’s really community driven.”
Anyone joining the New Year’s Day plunge is encouraged to “bring a friend and wear something cozy,” Nahmabin said. They should also bring a towel and a blanket to sit on for the guided breathing session before going in the water.
The breathing “helps us just warm up the body” and get the blood circulating so “it’s not such a shock when we jump into the lake,” Nahmabin said. “It really helps.”
Those taking part say they’ve noticed benefits from the practice, “and we all experience them differently,” she said.
“This is something you can continue doing in the new year, if you want to meet with us” at the regular weekly sessions, she said. “We meet right beside the lifeguard building.”
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