MADISON, Wis. -- While many in the area are bracing for more cold and winter weather, thousands turned out at Olin Turville Park Saturday afternoon to jump into the frigid water of Lake Monona for the 2008 Polar Plunge in Madison.

The annual polar plunge is a fundraising effort benefiting Special Olympics Wisconsin. Polar Plunges are held in several areas around the state each year, and all proceeds collected by plungers benefit Special Olympics athletes in their areas.

Organizers said that a record number of participants registered for the Polar Plunge in Madison this year. Around 2,000 people took the icy dip Saturday.

"We've got about 2,000 athletes in the local area, and what Polar Plunge means is it's basically our biggest fundraiser and it provides funding to provide sports training and competition to those athletes year round," said John Weichelt, spokesman for Special Olympics Wisconsin.

The vast majority of participants formed teams to raise money and jump as a group. Many opted to take the jump decked out in colorful or goofy costumes.

There were so many participants and supporters around noon Saturday that cars were directed to the nearby Coliseum Bar for parking and shuttles to the event.

Sean Moran, a University of Wisconsin-Madison graduate student, took the plunge for the first time this year. He said he got involved when a friend of his pressed him to sign up.

"He said, 'When are you going to be able to say that you did this?'" Moran said. "When I jumped in, it was so cold I felt like I was going into cardiac arrest and could hardly move."

Even so, Moran said he would do it again and wants to raise more than the $210 he raised this year.

Last year, 1,570 Polar Plungers raised more than $264,000.