BIRCH BAY, WA (MyBellinghamNow.com) – The results are in for Birch Bay’s attempt at breaking a Guinness World Record to ring in the New Year.

Alas, it’s not the outcome organizers and participants were hoping for.

Officials from Guinness told the Birch Bay Chamber of Commerce that their attempt at breaking the Largest Polar Bear Dip record was unsuccessful. Their decision was based on two factors.

It was determined that a high number of participants didn’t go deep enough in the water.

Guinness also wasn’t able to get accurate starting numbers for the event because non-participants were crowding the designated plunge zones.

The Birch Bay Chamber of Commerce says that their event surpassed personal expectations and thanked everyone for showing up and supporting their local economy during an otherwise quiet season.