Wantagh boys' varsity swimmers raise over $2,000 in Long Beach Polar Bear Plunge

It requires mental fortitude to dive into the Atlantic Ocean in the middle of February, but it’s easier to talk yourself into it when you have friends to share the experience with.

Members of the Wantagh High School boys’ varsity swim team took part in the 24th annual Super Bowl Splash in Long Beach on Feb. 11. According to team member Stephen D’Amato, it was a memorable way to bond.

“It was a great experience, obviously, but it was more of just the fact that everyone was there together,” D’Amato said. “It was mostly a group thing.”

The idea to participate in what’s also known in Long Beach as the Polar Bear Plunge came from Wantagh swimmer Andrew Pascucci, who took part last year with some of his friends. This year he reached out to his teammates, who agreed to join him for a swim in the frigid Atlantic to help raise money for the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

“As a team, we have chemistry already,” Pascucci said, “but when we’re there, outside of swimming, doing it for a good cause, it feels nice knowing that we’re doing something bigger than a sport.”

The Splash traces its origin to 1998, when Long Beach friends Pete Meyers and Kevin McCarthy took a bracing dip in the ocean on Super Bowl Sunday. The following year, they invited their neighbors, two of whom were Mike and Patty Bradley, whose son, Paulie, had died of leukemia at age 4 in 1997. Paulie always wanted to swim at the beaches in Puerto Rico, but never had the chance.

To honor Paulie’s memory, the swim became a fundraiser for the Make-A-Wish foundation in 2000, and thousands of brave swimmers now take the plunge each year. Since its inception, the event has raised over $9 million to help make wishes come true for children with serious illnesses.

“Wishes have proven physical and emotional benefits that can lead to better health outcomes for kids with critical illnesses,” Phil Lussier, president and CEO of Make-A-Wish Metro New York and Western New York, said. “The commitment and generosity of this community is making a life-changing difference for these children. We cannot thank them enough.”

The Wantagh swimmers said they raised over $2,000 for the cause. Each team member donated when they signed up, and asked friends and family members to do so as well. They said they recruited more than 20 people to participate, and those who didn’t want to take the cold plunge donated money instead.

Before the whistle blew to signal the start of the event, D’Amato said, he and his teammates huddled on the beach to pump themselves up. When they heard the whistle, the swimmers and thousands of other participants rushed into the ocean. In the moment when they dived in, D’Amato added, he and his teammates were one.

“It felt like we just jumped off the Titanic,” he recounted. “It was kind of a shock when I first jumped in. I couldn’t breathe, but after I was able to catch my breath, it was such an exhilarating experience.”

Pascucci said his body went numb when he jumped in, while teammate Joseph Panella said he felt the cold mostly in his feet.

“I went in and I was immediately numb, and my feet were just so cold, like a sharp pain,” Panella said. “You didn’t know if you just stepped on a shell.”

After he and his teammates made their way back to the beach, Panella said, some dived back into the water.

“We would all get out, then we would be freezing, and then ask who wants to go again,” he said.

After a couple of plunges, Panella said, he was charged with adrenaline, and barely noticed the cold as he walked back to his car, soaking wet and shirtless.

Teammate Thomas Taggart had a similar experience — but for his feet. “I had to walk back to the car, and it was a block away,” Taggart said. “I was like, barefoot, and I could not feel my feet.”

D’Amato said the experience brought the team together, especially because it took place at the end of their swimming season. D’Amato and Pascucci, who are both seniors, said they hoped their younger teammates would come back next year, and make the plunge an annual tradition for the team.

Wantagh High Principal Paul Guzzone commended the swimmers for taking part in the event and raising money for a good cause. Guzzone himself has taken the plunge in the past, and knows exactly what they experienced.

“I couldn’t be more proud of them,” he said. “This is something that they kind of did on their own. They didn’t necessarily do it connected to a school-affiliated event. They’re just a bunch of young men that wanted to make a difference, have fun and make some waves, which they did.”