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Zac Gauthier and Josh Korten have been training for this. Week after week, they've been going down to Kelowna's City Park despite the recent cold snap and building a tolerance for the frigid February waters of Okanagan Lake. They're preparing to raise some cold cash for the homeless both here in Kelowna, and abroad.
With a "3,2,1" the pair plunged into the lake Tuesday morning. This was the last of their 8 weekly training sessions as they prepare for their fundraiser on Saturday, the 23rd. "Around the 3 minute mark you start to basically go numb," said Zac Gauthier. The object is to stay in the lake as long as possible on the big day. The effort aims to raise funds for two groups of people experiencing homelessness in different ways. "One for the homeless here locally who experience cold on a regular basis being here in Canada," said Josh Korten, "and also for people abroad in South Africa who's mud huts were flattened in a storm a couple of weeks ago."
The event will be broadcast on Facebook Live. "There will be a whole donations section and you can bet," said Gauthier. "If you want to bet you can say, 'if the boys can stay in for two minutes, I'll give $200, or something like that'", he suggested.
At the 4:20 mark "Toes are the coldest," admitted an obviously cold Gauthier. "Starting to shiver in the voice."
Perhaps our interview was a distraction, because the pair exceeded their goal for the day, staying well over 6 minutes in the water. On Saturday, they plan to put a cap on how long they endure the cold to make sure no-one winds up with a serious case of hypothermia. Lisa Redl of Kelowna-based Real Deal TV will be the host.
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