Chase, a Salem native who started the plunge in 2015, said he is discontinuing the event because, for the first time, Salem City required him to obtain an event permit and event insurance, which he opted not to pay for. 

“It got to the point where the city felt like there were enough people showing up that they needed to, I guess, be covered as far as liability goes,” he said.

Chase said he was a “little bit shocked” he needed an event permit because the plunge did not make money, promoted the city in a good way and was not an LLC but rather an informal gathering.

“On any given Saturday or weekday in the summer, there’s hundreds of people there kayaking and swimming and everything else,” he said. “And the liability, I guess, already falls on the insurance of the city. I wasn’t sure why I had to get additional insurance when it’s just people gathering.”

The city contends that the plunge had grown to the level where an event permit was necessary.

Salem Parks and Recreation Director Jen Wright, who said she knows Chase and is a fan of his from his years of coaching his kids in rec sports, said the city was aware of the annual plunge but did not realize the extent of it until ABC4 covered the event last year and captured hundreds of people at the pond. KSL.com also reported on it and estimated there were 300 participants.

“And once we really saw the size of it, we’re like, hey, this is not just a couple of people getting together,” Wright said. “This really is an event. 

“The city officials actually think it’s a cool event, but with the growth of it, we were just to the point where it need to be made official, so the city is being fair with others who want to hold special events, and the liability on the city side is covered.” 

She said she reached out to Chase earlier this year to tell him he needed to fill out a special event permit and reminded him in September, and that the two discussed it further in November, but that no permit was ever filed.

Wright estimated if a permit was filed for, it would have cost around $500 to rent the pond pavilion and other required services, which may include EMS and a portable toilet.

The events fee would have been another expense for Chase, who said he has spent $6,000 to $7,000 over the last decade to host the plunge, providing donuts, hot chocolate and fishing tents for people to change in, among other items.

The efforts Chase put into the plunge appeared well-received by the growing number of community members that participated in it. Chase said he started the plunge as a way to have some New Year’s fun with his friends, but that it morphed into something where relationships were formed and people found personal motivation. 

“Everybody says how crazy it is of us jumping in here,” he said. “But there is something more to it about empowering yourself to get uncomfortable and to do something challenging.”

This year’s cancellation may serve as an inflection point for Chase, who said he needs to decide whether to hold it as a formal event next year — potentially charging a small participation fee to cover event charges.

Since he announced the discontinuation of the plunge on Monday, Chase said he’s received a number of comments from people expressing disappointment, and some offering to raise money to cover the event fees.

“I don’t see this being the end of the line,” he said.

Wright said the city is willing to assist by keeping fees low, but giving a permit at no cost would not be fair to other events who pay for them throughout the year.

If Chase determined not to continue putting his own time and money into it, would the city ever sponsor it?

Wright said she’d have to do some research first.

“My first plan would be to see if polar plunges statewide and nationwide are run by private entities, or if they’re run by cities,” she said. “If they’re run by cities, I would start by, ‘Tell me what you’ve learned. Tell me if this is worth it. Tell me if it’s hard. Tell me what are your challenges? What’s going to make it easier for us if we decide to do it?'”