Hundreds take plunge for Boxing Day Dip
27/12/2007
Sexy sailors, Spongebob Squarepants and Borat were among the hundreds braving the freezing waters at this year's Boxing Day Dip.
The event at Seaburn – the biggest of its kind in Europe – raised tens of thousands of pounds for good causes.
After parading before the judges of the fancy dress competition, the dippers filed out of the Seaburn Centre and on to the seafront for a procession down to the sand before plunging into the water.
Organisers Sunderland Lions Club say 794 of the 1,146 registered to take part in the dip took to the water, with a total of £63,000 raised for charities.
A further £1,813 was collected by the Lions on the beach and promenade, with thousands of spectators gathering on the coast to watch the 33rd dip and admire the costumes.
People from as far away as Northallerton, Saffron Walden in Essex, Shrewsbury, Southampton and Nottingham were among those who joined locals to take part.
Among the first-time dippers were a group of classmates from Hylton Red House School.
Tammy Bates, Amanda Yates, Sarah Marriner, Laura Watson and Tammy Lumsden, all 14, and Stacey Moon, 15, dressed in their pyjamas to help raise money for Cancer Research UK.
They managed to raise £700 in just a week for the charity.
Tammy Lumsden said: "It was good going in, really fun. It's great when you all go in together. Everybody should do it. We'll do it again."
One group of friends were turned blue before they even hit the water when they dressed up as Smurfs.
The Dippy Girls, a group of friends who met when they went to Monkwearmouth School, once again used their imaginations to put together their outfits.
Last year they donned costumes to become Adams and Eves, with sailors the theme of choice this December.
Lauren Flaxen, Charlotte Phillips and Nesika Stirling, all 23, and Amber Stirling and Julie Lynn, both 22, from Sunderland, raised £500 in aid of the Great North Air Ambulance.
One of the winners of the best fancy dress competition was a team made up of Northumbrian Water employees and their friends and family, who huddled together as penguins to raise money for WaterAid.
A total of £2,000 was collected through sponsorship, which will go towards projects in countries including Africa and Asia to provide safe and clean water, sanitation and hygiene education.
The effort paid off when the group, made up of people from County Durham, Washington and Tynemouth, was awarded the Echo Cup for best team prize.
Other winners were The Queens, which won the Swallow Cup for the best pub team; Phil Pendleton, who won the Sarah Cheverton Trophy for best individual with his panto dame dress; the Go For It team, which won the Seaburn Centre Trophy; a group of characters from Shrek, who won the Shields Gazette prize for best South Tyneside team, and All Saints' Ranger, who won the Lions Special Merit award.
Sixty people also took part in Seaham's dip, which was held at the slope beach in the town's North Docks.
It was run by the East Durham Round Table with help from groups including the HM Coastguard, councils, St John's Ambulance and the local sub aqua club and has raised more than £5,000.
The full article contains 554 words and appears in n/a newspaper.Last Updated: 27 December 2007 12:51 PM
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