Yeee-ow! Polar Bears take 100th annual plunge

Air and water temperatures were in the lower- to mid-40s, according to the National Weather Service.

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VIDEO Polar Bear clubs from New York and Massachusetts take their annual dip into the frigid Atlantic Ocean (January 1) PLAY VIDEO

NEW YORK (CNN) -- The Coney Island Polar Bear Club observed its 100th anniversary Wednesday the same way it celebrated the previous 99 -- with a New Year's Day plunge in the Atlantic Ocean.

Hundreds of spectators clad in rain gear cheered the swimmers -- men, women and children -- while they took a dip in the gray, wintry waters off Coney Island for several minutes Wednesday afternoon.

The National Weather Service reported air and water temperatures in the lower to middle 40s.

"It signifies life and doing crazy stuff," said swimmer Jim Walsh of Brooklyn. "It's about living your life."

The club was founded in 1903 by health advocate Bernard Macfadden, according to club Vice President Tom McGann, and is one of the oldest cold-water swimming clubs in the country.

The Polar Bears' rivals, the Coney Island-Brighton Beach Ice-Breakers, also celebrated New Year's Day with its annual chilly swim in the Atlantic off nearby Brighton Beach. Those hardy souls hit the waves at noon, but McGann said he wasn't impressed.

Several members of the Polar Bears Club do this type of swim on a weekly basis, McGann said, so the Ice-Breakers "aren't so much."

"They aren't a real club," he said. "We are the only real official swimmers."

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