Little did these Tenby Boxing Day dippers from 1971 realise that they were the pioneers of the famous festive event that has taken place every year since (apart from Covid)!

The 1971 swim raised £400 for new radar equipment for the Tenby lifeboat and this year's event will also have a strong RNLI focus, as to mark the charity organisation’s 200th anniversary year, and in honour of its brave men and women, all the money raised from the 2024 Swim will go to Tenby RNLI.

Tenby’s Boxing Day Swim this year will have a special ‘superhero’ fancy dress theme for fundraisers - to pay respects to voluntary lifeboat crew members.

The seaside town’s famous Boxing Day Swim splashed out into its second half-century with a record-breaking Disney-themed dip back on December 26, with over a thousand dippers once again taking to the choppy seas at North Beach for the annual charity event.

Between online entry fees and the bucket collection, more than £3,900 had been raised for the Tenby Sea Swimming Association (TSSA) funds, and earlier this year, swim organisers were able to give donations to three organisations who have helped the event’s success and safety over the years, with a presentation of £1,000 cheques to Tenby RNLI, Tenby Surflink and St John Ambulance Cymru.

There were also some outstanding individual fundraising efforts, such as even-year-old Teddy Gomez who raised £892 for the Shooting Star Children’s Hospital; while St Clears RFC Under 14s raised £1,500 for Glangwili Hospital Chemo Unit.

This took the swim’s fundraising total to nearly £6,500, meaning that over its lifetime, the swim has raised a total of £301,500 for charities and good causes!

The event is organised by Tenby Sea Swimming Association, whose new chairman is Sam Skyrme-Blackhall, after Chris Osborne whose family have been associated with the swim since its inception, announced earlier in the year that he would be stepping down from the role.

Chris had previously said that his time as chairman had been ‘huge fun and extremely rewarding’ - and will now become life president of TSSA, following in the footsteps of his late mother, Gly Osborne, and late uncle, Idris Morgan.

Cllr Skyrme-Blackhall said: “What the volunteers of the RNLI do is incredible and in their honour we have chosen Superheroes as the theme for the fancy dress.”

Swimmers and spectators are encouraged to assemble on the North Beach at 11am on Thursday, December 26.

Festive music from DJ Steve Briers will add to the atmosphere ahead of the 11.15am fancy dress parade and the 11.30am signal to stampede for the sea.

On their return from the briny, swimmers can look forward to hot soup and a commemorative medal, as well as the happy atmosphere of celebration and camaraderie on the beach.

Sponsors of the swim are as follows: Harbour Wealth; ND Toy Insurance; Qube Group; Harbwr Brewery Tap & Kitchen; Tenby & District Lions; Lowri’s Shop.

Entry to the swim is a minimum £10 (plus £1. 55 fee) via Eventbrite.

To find out more, and how to sign up to take part and donate, head over to www.tenbyboxingdayswim.co.uk