Whitby's Boxing Day dippers set to take plunge again after record-breaking year

Whitby Lions Boxing Day Dip is back for 2023 with the December 26 Whitby tradition of taking a refreshing morning dip in the North Sea.

It’s a unique and memorable experience that has now been running for 49 years, raising lots of money for Whitby area charities.

Fancy dress is a must, for many dippers, with prizes available for the best, with costumes in previous years from dinosaurs to Batman and Robin, Christmas trees and even a team of traffic cones – and a fancy dress wedding proposal.

Entry costs £10 per person paid directly to Whitby Lions.

To pay your entry fee and request a sponsor form for the dip, visit www.whitbylionsclub.org.uk and go to the Boxing Day Dip page to pay by PayPal.

Alternatively, you can enter and pay at The Whitby Pet Shop on Station Square and collect a sponsor form.

You can also enter and pay on the day by credit/debit card at the registration tent near the Bandstand on Pier Road.

People who wish to raise sponsorship for their chosen charity, with 100% of the money they raise going to the charity/organisation of their choice, will be fully responsible for collecting and then distributing their sponsor money to their chosen charity.

Whitby Lions will not be involved in the process.

This method of running the event has hugely increased the numbers of people wanting to take part.

Over the past half a century, the event has soared from a handful of brave citizens to more than 250 eager individuals travelling from far and wide, running into the ice cold waves of the North Sea, with big numbers witnessing the excitement from the sidelines.

The Boxing Day has become a traditional family friendly event with many families meeting up after Christmas Day to spending Boxing Day morning together.

Brian Harrison of Whitby Lions said: “Our 2022 dip was the biggest ever with a record-breaking response with more than 250 dippers taking part and at least a thousand spectators supporting the event and joining in with the fun.

"As a result, the club directly raised nearly £4,800 to support their work helping local organisations and charities.

"The dippers themselves would have raised many thousands of pounds for various local and national charities.

"During our 2019 dip, we also featured on national TV with BBC Breakfast filming live at the event on Boxing Day morning.

"We hope for another equally successful event this year.

"Thank you to our community who generously support ourselves, our dippers and the many charities involved by donating to our bucket collection.

"Keep an eye out for our festive street collectors.”

To keep up to date for the latest event information visit the Whitby Lions Facebook, Twitter or Instagram pages.

The club thanks everyone who enters, volunteers and The Whitby Pet Shop for taking the time to register the dippers, Whitby Diving Club which helps to ensure the safety of our dippers and Whitby’s RNLI inshore lifeboat.