Brave, or silly, souls (depending on your viewpoint) will hit Departure Bay waters on Boxing Day for the annual Frank Ney Memorial swim. (File photo/NanaimoNewsNOW)

By Alex Rawnsley

boxing day shock

‘They’re all brave souls:’ hundreds expected for Nanaimo polar bear plunge

Dec 26, 2025 | 6:03 AM

NANAIMO — A holiday tradition for over 60 years will write another chapter on Boxing Day.

Well over 300 people are expected to brave chilly Departure Bay in Nanaimo on Friday, Dec. 26 for the annual Frank Ney Memorial Polar Bear Swim, with registration at 11 a.m. and people hitting the water around 1 p.m.

Head pirate and organizer Brad Ney said it’s a unique event which tests the resolve of those who participate.

“They’re all brave souls, and some people won’t do it, some people are really excited to do it, so it’s a 50/50 kind of thing. We do have a good turnout, I’d say last year was around 300 to 350 or something like that jumped in the water.”

The event held in 2024 was the first organized affair since 2019 due to the pandemic and other operational challenges.

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Temperatures are expected to be relatively seasonal for this time of year, with favourable conditions overhead.

Ney will be hard to miss, dressed in his now-famous pirate attire and firing the starter’s pistol at 1 p.m.

He said some swimmers take a quick plunge to shake out the post-Christmas cobwebs while others take a slower approach.

“Shawn Weldon, he holds the record on staying in the longest, I think it was over, over 45 minutes. So we’ll see if there’s any young ones that want to try and break that record. We’ll have a few prizes for costumes and stuff like that.”

Those in Oceanside, or some keen for a double dip in the winter water, can head to Parksville on New Year’s Day for the Polar Beach Splash, with swimmers running into the bay around 12 p.m.

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