In a tradition that spans back more than a decade, swimmers will take to the chilly waters of the Midcoast to support another group of swimmers.

Swimmers will take to the sea at 3:30 p.m., Thursday, March 14, at Hendricks Head Beach in Southport during the annual Leprechaun Leap, which benefits local Special Olympians.

The money raised from the leap is kept in the community and put toward a good cause, organizer Sue Witt said.

“About 10 years ago we had a lot of people doing the plunge in Portland,” she said. “We got to talking and we have several Special Olympians in our region so we thought, 'Why not just have our own plunge?'”

The Portland-based plunge spread the money out to a wider area, but Witt said the original goal of the Southport swim was to keep donations local.

“With the school budgets, there's only so much they can do,” she said. “(Boothbay Region teacher) Toby LeConte does a great job with our Olympians and we just wanted to help out any way we could.

“We wanted to help Toby's cause.”

Now, local Special Olympians compete in events ranging from soccer, basketball, swimming and skiing. Some local athletes have gone on to compete in national events, Witt said.

LeConte oversees the Special Olympics program in the Boothbay Region and the funds raised help offset any costs, Witt said.

“It doesn't cost anything, but we like pledges of $10,” she said. “Some folks pledge $5 and some people can raise hundreds. Last year, we had about $5,000 total.”

Originally the swimmers went into the water around Valentine's Day as the “Passion Plunge” but the start date was moved back a month for warmer weather.

Thursday's forecast calls for a mostly sunny day with wind and a high near 41 degrees, according to the National Weather Service.

In other words, perfect weather for a dip, Witt said.

“We typically have a good turnout,” she said.

Ben Bulkeley can be reached at 207-633-4620 or bbulkeley@boothbayregister.com. Follow him on Twitter: @BBRegisterBen.