Golfing greats, Bat Boy, a buffalo and even a Jayhawk took the Polar Plunge into the frigid pool water at America’s Best Value Inn in Hays Saturday morning.  It was all part of the fun in a fundraiser for Special Olympics Kansas.

Ten teams participated, the divers dressed in crazy costumes while the cheering crowd surrounded the pool dressed in coats to ward off the 37 degree air temperature, plus a light wind, at the start of the annual event

Ice melt still lingered on the cement surrounding the swimming pool, ensuring a safe surface for the divers who wasted no time in exiting the pool and scurrying indoors to climb in to the much warmer water of a hot tub.