Swimmer Will Gammell smiled as he stepped out of the Forest Park Pool on Jan. 8. He wanted to go in a second time.
“It feels good,” Gammell said. “There are benefits to swimming in the cold. I don’t know them yet, though.”
Fort Worth Drowning Prevention Coalition Vice President of Operations Carol Boehnke, left, Amanda Houdashell, center, and Executive Director Tara Reed, right, welcome people to the Forest Park Pool on Jan. 8. (Cristian ArguetaSoto | Fort Worth Report) 
City of Fort Worth employee Alex Ritzhaupt checks pool’s temperature. The water was 48 degrees at the Forest Park Pool on Jan. 8. (Cristian ArguetaSoto | Fort Worth Report) 
Lifeguard Aaron Conrad sets up a chair in the pool. (Cristian ArguetaSoto | Fort Worth Report) 
Alex Ritzhaupt, left, and Aaron Conrad, right, set up a lifeguard post in the middle of the Forest Park Pool on Jan. 8. (Cristian ArguetaSoto | Fort Worth Report) 
A heating room is set up for divers. (Cristian ArguetaSoto | Fort Worth Report) 
Food truck Warrior Tacos on site at the Arctic Dip event at Forest Park Pool on Jan. 8. (Cristian ArguetaSoto | Fort Worth Report) 
Lifeguards prepare for swimmers to get in the pool. (Cristian ArguetaSoto | Fort Worth Report) 
Swimmer Jessica Brigati, right, helps Max Malloy, left, put on a swim cap. (Cristian ArguetaSoto | Fort Worth Report) 
Swimmers prepare to dive into the Forest Park Pool on Jan. 8. (Cristian ArguetaSoto | Fort Worth Report) 
Swimmers are instructed to swim from one end of the pool to the other on Jan. 8. (Cristian ArguetaSoto | Fort Worth Report) 
Participants dive into the pool. (Cristian ArguetaSoto | Fort Worth Report) 
Swimmers Jessica Brigati, left, and Max Malloy, right, swim at Forest Park Pool on Jan. 8. (Cristian ArguetaSoto | Fort Worth Report) 
Swimmers Max Malloy, left, Amy Bender, center, and Jessica Brigati, right, gather after their dip in the Forest Park Pool on Jan. 8. (Cristian ArguetaSoto | Fort Worth Report) 
Fort Worth Dive Rescue member Alan Lake helps swimmers out of the pool. (Cristian ArguetaSoto | Fort Worth Report) 
Fort Worth Drowning Prevention Coalition President Corey Stuhmer steps out of the Forest Park Pool. (Cristian ArguetaSoto | Fort Worth Report) 
Swimmer Will Gammell heads into the heating room after dipping in the pool on Jan. 8. (Cristian ArguetaSoto | Fort Worth Report)
The City of Fort Worth Park & Recreation department and the Fort Worth Drowning Prevention Coalition hosted their second annual Arctic Dip event Jan. 8 at the Forest Park Pool. About 15 of the 25 swimmers registered showed up for the dip.
The first dip event was in 2020, and the pandemic prevented the coalition from having one in 2021.
Arctic Dip is a fundraiser for the coalition, which provides drowning prevention training and swimming programming. Founded in 2012, the coalition is going on its 10th year.
The coalition focuses on prevention training.
Texas usually ranks at the top of the country for most pediatric drownings, City of Fort Worth Pools & Aquatics department and Fort Worth Drowning Prevention Coalition President Corey Stuhmer said. Tarrant County ranks at the top for most drownings in the state. In 2021 in Texas, there were 77 fatal pediatric drownings and eight times more non-fatal drownings.
“We do in-water programming, where we basically teach self-rescue. So, when kids fall in the water, or adults fall in the water, they know how to back-float and how to swim short distances,” Stuhmer said. “So, it’s all about making the community safer.”
Cristian ArguetaSoto is the community engagement journalist at the Fort Worth Report. Contact him by email or via Twitter. At the Fort Worth Report, news decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here.
Republish our articles for free, online or in print, under a Creative Commons license.
