During the evening on 3 February Porthcawl Carnival’s Kerry Marlow presented cheques to Sandville, Porthcawl Counseling Service, Bro Morgannwg Baby Loss Support, Porthcawl Athletic, Fire Fighters Charity, Porthcawl Coastguard Unit, National Deaf Children’s Society, HCPT Group 55 and a charity chosen by Porthcawl Ukelele Band.

The largest donation was made to the Swim’s main beneficiary, Wales Air Ambulance. Also receiving cheques from the Chairman of the Swim, Nicola Willis, were the following local organisations, Porthcawl and Pyle Pumas Amateur Boxing Club, Porthcawl Stroke Club, Ogwr & District Talking Newspaper Association, Porthcawl Mayor’s Civic Fund, Trinity Care Club, Porthcawl Athletic Club, Newton Lifeguard Club, Porthcawl YMCA, Porthcawl Parkinson’s Support Group, Sker and Pink Bay Lifeguard Club, Porthcawl Kidney Research and Rest Bay Lifeguard Club.

Spokesman for the Organisers, Ian Stroud told guests, ‘Thanks to the generosity shown by swimmers and spectators on Christmas Morning we had our best ever bucket collection. Our funds were also boosted more than normal this year as quite a number of swimmers raised money for us via sponsorship. Added with the money raised by our committee before Christmas, this all helped to boost the amount we were able to donate. The following organisations were also presented with a donation by Deputy Mayor of Porthcawl, Councillor Alana Davies in thanks for their help with safety during the Swim; St. John Ambulance, Porthcawl Coastguard Association, The Fire Service Benevolent Fund, Porthcawl Lifeguard Club and Porthcawl RNLI Lifeboat’.

Nicola Willis said ‘As an organising committee we were delighted in the way we have been supported again this year. We would like to thank all swimmers, spectators, individuals, businesses and organisations who help us in so many ways to make the swim such a successful event in Porthcawl’s calendar. During the months leading up to this year’s event we had meetings with and merged with Porthcawl Buccaneers. From our perspective this has been a positive move and we look forward to drawing on each other strengths to support both Porthcawl’s Carnival and the Swim’.

Commenting on the evening the Buccaneer’s Martin Owen said, ‘There was tremendous goodwill demonstrated at the presentation and whilst we and the swim committee consider we work hard to put on our respective events many of our guests, representing local organisations, spend many hours for the benefit of our community and we were very pleased to offer them some financial help’.

With one of the larger tides of the year and the tide at low water, more than 900 swimmers walked and ran almost a quarter of a mile down the beach to get to the sea and took the traditional Christmas morning dip at Sandy Bay Porthcawl whilst an estimated 2000 to 3000 spectators cheered them on.

With a crowded beach Porthcawl Coastguards signaled the start and cleared a path down the beach for the swimmers. Many were in fancy dress as they walked through a couple of thousand spectators from the Hi-Tide Inn to the sea at 11.45am. The procession of swimmers of all ages, male and female, were led from the Hi-Tide Inn to the beach by Victor Davies and Chris Hughes each with 45 plus swims to their name. Spectators gave their full support by applauding all those taking part in this the 47th annual event. Swimmers from all over the UK took part, amongst our regular entrants’ veteran swimmer Ken James of Ogmore Vale, Bridgend, claimed to be the oldest entrant at 85 and 33 previous Christmas swims to his credit. At the other end of the age spectrum there were many young children and their parents taking part.

Amongst today’s swimmers were four male visitors from Australia who were guests of Chris Parry of Bridgend; Chris said, “I thought that they would appreciate the conditions here, I think they felt homesick when I reminded them that they could have been enjoying a totally different swim in the Australian summer heat”. The swim is a truly family event with many different generations of the same family taking to the sea and many in fancy dress. Collections are made during carol singing and during the swim itself.

A spokes person from the swim Committee, Ian Stroud, said, “Once again we have been grateful to all who supported our swim and the number of people that turned up was fantastic. I was concerned that with the tide being so far out, actually in line with the break water, that this would deter some swimmers from taking the long walk to the sea. The number of swimmers today though has disproved my earlier thoughts. We hope the bucket collections and swimmers sponsorship this year will help us to make some generous donations in the New Year to the Swim’s beneficiaries. Our main beneficiary this year will be the Wales Air Ambulance”.

Chairman, Nicola Willis commented

“As a small committee we are delighted the way we have been supported once again this year, I would like to thank all swimmers, spectators, individuals, businesses and organisations who help in so many ways to make the swim such a successful event in the towns calendar. To have such a crowded beach, at this time of the year goes to prove that some of our departed founder swimmers were looking down on us and provided us with good weather for a swim that saw more people in the water than most summer bank holidays”.

Welcome to our 47^th Swim, as usual we have ordered sunshine for Christmas morning. Those who were able to get to Porthcawl last Christmas morning were greeted with sunshine and about 50 metres of lying snow at the top of the beach. Even the snow conditions did not deter the 607 registered, hardy swimmers who again, with the spectators, created another very successful swim. With our supporters help we succeeded in raising and giving away £6000 to 19 local charities and organisations, many of whom find it difficult to raise funds for their worthy causes.  We thank all those who help the ‘Swim’ in so many ways.

This year we are hoping to exceed last years figure and as a committee have chosen the Wales Air Ambulance as the main beneficiary. We hear and read so often how the work of these dedicated crews save vital time in getting patients to hospitals thereby saving so many lives. The Wales Air Ambulance is an all Wales charity providing a vital service through emergency air cover for those who face life-threatening illness or injuries. The charity needs to raise over £5 million per year to operate the service with each mission on average costing £1500.

In the months running up to Christmas our small committee work very hard, trying to raise enough money to fund the cost of the Swim, the souvenir programmes and the much sought after Swim mugs. To achieve our aim of making this the best year ever for our beneficiaries, we are relying on you to help, either by swimming and getting sponsorship to support us and the Wales Air Ambulance or, if you are a spectator by giving generously to our bucket collection; the more money we collect the more we can give away.  Our promise is to give every penny that is collected on Christmas morning via the bucket collection and through swimmer’s sponsorship back to our chosen beneficiaries.

On an official note we need to point out that the Christmas Morning Swim Committee hold the license to collect money on Christmas Day, therefore any collecting or raising of money at the event, other than by our official collectors, is prohibited.

‘Swimmers – please get sponsored and support us – don’t get cold for nothing’

During the Presentation on 11 February, donations were made to, Porthcawl Stroke
Club, Ogwr & District Talking Newspaper Association, Porthcawl and Pyle Pumas
Amateur Boxing Club, Porthcawl Mayor’s Civic Fund, Trinity Care Club, Porthcawl
Athletic Club, Porthcawl YMCA, Porthcawl Parkinson’s Support Group, Sker and
Pink Bay Lifeguard Club, Porthcawl Buckaneers, 1st Porthcawl Scout Group and
Crossroads.

Spokesman for the Organisers, Ian Stroud told guests, ‘A few swimmers raised money
for us via sponsorship and together with the monies raised by our committee this
helped to boost our collections, therefore allowing us to donate more to local groups
and organisations. The following also received a donation in thanks for their help
with safety during the Swim; St. John Ambulance, Porthcawl Coastguard Association,
The Fire Service Benevolent Fund, Porthcawl Lifeguard Club, Porthcawl RNLI
Lifeboat and Rest Bay Lifeguard Club’.

He went on to say, ‘Last month our community and two families in particular were
struck by a terrible tragedy. I refer to the accident on the M4 which left young Logan
Michael Evans an orphan. We rarely support individuals but decided unanimously,
this was a special case and like many in Porthcawl wanted to help’. Karen Evans
received the donation on behalf of the Logan Michael Evans Trust Fund.

Nicola Willis, Chair of the Swim said ‘As a small committee we were delighted in the
way we have been supported again this year. We would like to thank all swimmers,
spectators, individuals, businesses and organisations who help us in so many ways to
make the swim such a successful event in Porthcawl’s calendar. We are also aware
of other organisations that will benefit, as a result of the ‘Swim’. We would ask that
they contact us so that we can record the full amount raised during our 46th Swim’.

With snow still standing above the high water line and with bright winter sun, more than 606
registered swimmers took the traditional Christmas morning dip in the sea at Sandy Bay Porthcawl
whilst an estimated 2000 to 3000 spectators cheered them on.

With a crowded beach Porthcawl Coastguards signaled the start and cleared a path down the beach for the
swimmers. Many were in fancy dress as they walked through a couple of thousand spectators from the
Hi-Tide Inn to the sea at 11.45am. The procession of swimmers of all ages, male and female, were led
from the Hi-Tide Inn to the beach by Mayor, Councilor Mary Emment-Lewis and her consort who both
went into the sea; they were joined by Victor Davies and Chris Hughes each with 40 plus swims to their
name. Spectators gave their full support by applauding all those taking part in this the 46th annual event.
Swimmers from all over the UK took part, amongst our regular entrants’ veteran swimmer Ken James of
Ogmore Vale, Bridgend, claimed to be the oldest entrant at 84 and 32 previous Christmas swims to his
credit. At the other end of the age spectrum there were many young children and their parents taking part.
The swim is a truly family event with many different generations of the same family taking to the sea and
many in fancy dress.
Collections are made during carol singing and during the swim itself.
A spokes person from the swim Committee, Ian Stroud, said, “Once again we have been grateful to all
who supported our swim and the number of people that turned up was fantastic, considering the freezing
conditions. I checked our garden thermometer this morning at 9:00 and it showed
minus 10c, I was concerned for our event and what effect the cold would have on our numbers. With
many different events cancelled this year due to all the snow and ice the number of swimmers far
exceeded our expectations. We hope the collections will not be too effected by reduced numbers but with
many swimmers being sponsored again this year there should be able to provide financial support for our
chosen local charities and organisations.
Chairman, Nicola Willis commented “As a small committee we are delighted the way we have been
supported once again this year, I would like to thank all swimmers, spectators, individuals, businesses and
organisations who help in so many ways to make the swim such a successful event in the towns calendar,
amongst the spectators was our local MP, Right Honorable Madeleine Moon. To have such a crowded
beach, at this time of the year and in such harsh cold conditions goes to prove that some of our departed
founder swimmers were looking down on us and provided us with very sunny conditions for a swim that
saw more people in the water than we thought possible, considering the snow conditions that have lasted
for more than a week now”.

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”.

Welcome to our 46^th Swim, following a very successful 45^th in which we had 860 registered swimmers.  We succeeded in raising and giving away £7415 to fifteen local charities and organisations which included two main charities.  This amount was a record and it is all thanks to those who helped the ‘Swim’ in so many ways.

The committee are very grateful to Phillip and Carol George of ‘Traveland’ cruise specialists Porthcawl and Swansea who have generously agreed to sponsor the souvenir mugs. Visit their website here: www.traveland.co.uk/

This year we are hoping to exceed last years figure and as a committee we aim to provide financial help to a broader number of local charities and organisations.  To achieve this aim, we rely on you to help, either by swimming and getting sponsorship to support our chosen charities, or if you are a spectator give generously to our bucket collection.  The more we collect the more we can give away.  Our promise is to give to our local community every penny that is collected on Christmas morning via the bucket collection and through swimmer’s sponsorship.

‘Swimmers – please get sponsored and support us – don’t get cold for nothing’

With a crowded beach Porthcawl Coastguards signaled the start and led swimmers down the beach, many in fancy dress, through the thousands of spectators from the Hi-Tide Inn to the sea at 11.45am. The procession of swimmers of all ages, male and female, were led from the Hi-Tide Inn to the beach by Victor Davies and Chris Hughes each with 40 plus swims to their name. Spectators gave their full support by applauding all those taking part in this the 45^th event. Swimmers from all over the UK took part; Kathryn and Rob Jones and family from Tasmania were visiting relatives in Blackwood and had contacted Swim Organisers earlier in the year to plan in the ‘Swim’ into their visit to the UK.

Amongst our regular entrants’ veteran swimmer Ken James of Ogmore Vale, Bridgend, claimed to be the oldest entrant at 83 and 31 previous Christmas swims to his credit. At the other end of the age spectrum there were many young children and their parents taking part; one of the youngest being 4 year old Blake Jones with his father Nigel from Porthcawl. The swim is a truly family event with many different generations of the same family taking to the sea and many in fancy dress.

Collections are made during carol singing and during the swim itself. A spokes person from the swim Committee, Ian Stroud, said, “Once again we have been grateful to all who supported our swim, the number of people that turned up was fantastic, it far exceeded our expectations especially with the very recent freezing conditions we have endured across the UK. We hope the collections will surpass previous years and with many swimmers being sponsored this year there should be even more financial support for our two main beneficiaries, ‘Y Bont’ and ‘Forces in Afghanistan Comfort Fund’. Whilst the latter is self explanatory ‘Y Bont’ is a charity “Enabling babies and preschool children with disabilities to lead rich, fulfilling lives”.

Chairman, Nicola Willis commented “Several other local organisations will also benefit., as a small committee we are delighted the way we have been supported once again this year, I would like to thank all swimmers, spectators, individuals, businesses and organisations who help in so many ways to make the swim such a successful event in the towns calendar. To have such a crowded beach, at this time of the year goes to prove that some of our departed founder swimmers were looking down on us and providing very sunny conditions for a swim that saw more people in the water than on most summer days”.

Y BONT
	Y BONT is a purpose built family centre situated on Ewenny Rd in Bridgend. Y BONT is a unique service that aims to provide care & support to children with a disability. This is achieved through high quality, play, support and medical services. Y BONT is able to offer advice, support and information regarding issues relevant to disabled children and their families and to signpost to other like minded agencies. CLICK HERE TO FIND OUT MORE
We will also be donating to ‘Forces in Afghanistan Comfort Fund’

We urge you to support these two charities by downloading our sponsorship form. If you could help to raise some money towards these it would be appreciated; if however you chose another charity then we would ask, as it says on our sponsorship form, that you let us know how much you raised and for whom, so that we can collate a ‘grand total’ of the money raised by the Swim.

As a result of a very successful Porthcawl Christmas Morning Swim, the Presentation Evening held at the Hi-tide Inn, Porthcawl saw the formal handing over of monies raised by the committee, totalling £4,850, to local organisations chosen to benefit this year. 

The main beneficiaries were Macmillan Cancer Support who received £1500 and The Wales Air Ambulance who received £1000.  Cheques were presented by Deputy Mayor of Porthcawl Town Council, Councillor Rosemary Deere, on behalf of the swim committee.  

Chairman Mel Bishop, presented donations to, Porthcawl YMCA, Porthcawl Stroke Club, Ogwr District Talking Newspapers Association, and Kidney Research Unit for Wales Foundation (KRUF). He then thanked the many people who had helped out on Christmas Day and presented donations to the following, The Fire Service Benevolent Fund, Porthcawl Buckaneers, Porthcawl and Pyle Boxing Club, St. John Ambulance, Porthcawl Coastguard Association, Porthcawl RNLI Crew Fund, Gilgal Church 14/11 Youth Club and Rest Bay Lifeguard Club

Spokesperson Ian Stroud, said, “On behalf of the Organisers I wish to thank both Vic Davies and Chris Hughes for their support in leading out the swimmers once again this year.  They were accompanied to the waters edge by Porthcawl Town Council’s Mayor, Councillor David Newton-Williams and his Mayoress Gaynor, who took to the water and ‘enjoyed’ her first swim. This has been our most successful swim ever, with over 930 swimmers taking part.

The list of entries made interesting reading; for example entrants came from Northants, Suffolk, Middlesex, Birmingham, Bath, Hereford, London and internationally Holland, Ireland, France, USA, Switzerland, Germany”. 

Treasurer, Marilyn Richards, said “One area helping to boost donations to our chosen beneficiaries is that of swimmers sponsorship and I would like to thank them for their extra support.  Unfortunately not all swimmers notify us of their individual sponsorship and donations so we can only estimate that the community probably benefits by at least a further £5000.  

Chairman, Mel Bishop, said “We would like to thank all swimmers, spectators, individuals, businesses and organisations that help in so many ways to make the swim such a successful event in the town’s calendar. The atmosphere on the day was very special, there were individuals, families and groups who entered the swim, many of whom were in fancy dress and all seemed to be enjoying themselves.”