Despite the current weather conditions Organisers are still expecting approximately 1000 registered swimmers and over three thousand spectators to enjoy the festivities at Sandy Bay and the Hitide Inn Porthcawl.

Spokesperson for the Swim, Ian Stroud said, “Plans are all in place to make this a great morning out for all the family. Staff at the Hitide Inn have been busy clearing snow from the car park area and gearing up for what usually is a very busy time at the venue. I have inspected the beach at Sandy Bay this afternoon and with glorious sunshine today the conditions look near to perfect. We are very conscious that snow is currently lying in Porthcawl, as well as across South Wales, however we are still getting enquiries about timings etc from far and wide. I have checked the latest forecast which is showing clear skies and sunshine for Porthcawl on Christmas day so if you can get here safely we are looking forward to making our 46^th Swim a memorable one.”

Swim Chairman, Nicola Willis said, “Our dedicated committee of just six people work very hard all year round giving a lot of their time to making the ‘Swim’ the successful event it has become. Christmas morning is the culmination of several months of preparation and we hope to provide people with a great couple of hours out, on what promises to be a sunny Sandy Bay.  As usual we will have a few loyal supporters helping us with official bucket collections on the morning.  We are also aware that some swimmers raise money for their own charities, but we hope swimmers taking part will consider obtaining sponsorship to support us, so that we can give away as much money as possible to our chosen groups and organisations all of which are local.”

The proceedings will start again this year at 11.00am at the Hi-Tide Square, Mackworth Road,  swimmers are requested to sign-in between 10:45 and 11:15 am; Coastguards will signal the start of the swim at 11.45am.

To-date people’s generosity has allowed the swim committee to donate in excess of £64,000 to local organisations, last year we gave away a record amount of over £7300. Sponsorship forms for those people raising money for the Swim’s chosen beneficiaries can be downloaded from this website or picked up at the Town Council Office, Victoria Avenue, Tourist Information, Jane’s Cards and several businesses in town.

Swim Chairman, Nicola Willis said, “We are especially grateful this year to Traveland Cruise Specialists of Porthcawl and Swansea who have sponsored the cost of the souvenir mugs.

Father and Mother Christmas and their helpers will give away 1500 Swim mugs to the swimmers and children.  Students from Porthcawl Comprehensive and St. John’s school submitted designs for this year’s brochure and the souvenir mugs; we are pleased to announce the winner of this years design was James Cowdery from St. John’s school Newton”.

Last year 15 beneficiaries received a share of the record money generated by the swim. This year rather than choosing one or two main charities the committee have decided to support several local charities and organisations. If you could help to raise some money towards these it would be appreciated, our motto this year is, ‘Swimmers – please get sponsored and support the SWIM’S CHARITIES, all of which are local this year   - don’t get cold for nothing’.

Swim Treasurer, Marilyn Richards said, “This year, we want the swim to be even more successful and use the money raised through our ‘festive dip’ to help local organisations who may need financial support, especially during this economic climate. We wish to thank the many local businesses and organisations, various individuals, the swimmers and the public for their support, without which this charitable event would not be possible.  We wish everyone a very happy and peaceful Christmas”.