$15.8m raised for Fight MND for Big Freeze 9

A grand total of $15,821,644 has been raised for Fight MND across the Big Freeze 9 events in 2023.

Announced at the MCG on Wednesday morning, the grand total encompasses multiple Big Freeze events around the country, headlined by the annual Big Freeze at the ‘G clash between Melbourne and Collingwood on the King’s Birthday public holiday.

As part of the pre match celebrity slide, nine prominent Australian personalities took the plunge into the icy water all in the name of raising funds for Fight MND.

This year’s sliders included:

• Mick Fanning as The Silver Surfer
• Sean Burgoyne as Spider-Man
• Tayla Harris as Sam Kerr
• Aaron Finch as Captain Feathersword
• Tony Shaw as Beetle Juice
• Abbey Gelmi as Maleficent
• Jason Dunstall as Aquaman
• Michelle Payne (with Stevie Payne) as Wonder Woman and the Hulk
• Eric Bana as Carl Ditterich

The match itself provided a thrilling contest between the two Top 4 teams, with Melbourne inflicting Collingwood’s second loss of the season in a four-point thriller.

Fight MND is a charity co-founded in 2014 by Essendon and Melbourne legend, Neale Daniher, following his diagnosis with Motor Neurone Disease (MND) in 2013.

Since then, Big Freeze at the ‘G has been an annual fixture at the MCG – excluding the COVID-19 years – where prominent Australian personalities take the plunge down the Big Freeze slide, while the now-iconic blue beanie is donned by everyone in attendance creating a sea of blue around the ‘G.

You can find out more about FightMND here.