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'It was really cold,” says Heart Kids Bay of Plenty chair Rachael Parkes of her time in the icy sludge at this year's Heart Stopper Challenge at Coronation Park in Mount Maunganui this morning.

She was part of one of 21 teams taking the plunge, and staying in the freezing pool for five minutes, to raise money in support of children with heart conditions and their families.

Young people over the age of ten can take part in the Heart Stopper Challenge. Photos: Tracy Hardy.

She had done this challenge once before. The bulk of the money raised will stay in the Bay, but a share will go to Heart Kids New Zealand to help them and other branches do their work, says Rachael.

'A lot of teams are made up of people who are related to a child with heart issues, but companies we deal with have also put together teams.

'Children could take part in the challenge, but they needed to be at least ten years of age and have permission from their parents.”

The icy plunge simulated the situation surrounding any heart surgery, where a patient is put on a by-pass machine and the heart is slowed down to a crawl using icy slush and this also brings down the person's metabolism.

The water in the pool has an average temperature of nine degrees. St John's Ambulance staff were on hand, as they always do at major events, just in case the cold got too much for someone.

BoP Heart Kids looks after 120 families in Tauranga and the Western Bay of Plenty and was established in 2001.

Dads go wild.

Heart of gold team members Savannah Wise,16, Michelle Logie,13, Shannon Green,13, Jessie Griffiths,13,and Crystal Withey,14.

The Morphines.

Jodie Houltron,Susan Shaw, Ange Durham, and Karen Wood.