Hundreds of brave bathers are tuning up for a crazy Christmas, as a musical theme is sounded out for Pembrokeshire's 2009 Tenby Boxing Day Swim.

The fancy-dress code of ‘Seasonal Songs' should strike just the right note with fans of wacky costume, encouraging We Three Kings, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and Frosty the Snowman to take to the water.

There will also be a special prize for the best fancy-dressed group of singers at the event.

The swim, now in its 39th year, is one of Britain's top festive highlights, and attracts crowds in their thousands who enjoy the silly spectacle from every vantage point around Tenby's North Beach.

Fun on the beach gets underway at 11am with a lifeboat launch, sailing, dinghy and rowing races and a crazy raft race. Swimmers sprint for the sea at 11.30am, and emerge to collect their commemorative medals around a blazing beach bonfire.

Event organiser, Tenby Sea Swimming Association (TSSA), has just gained a further three years of sponsorship from Tenby-based FBM Holidays.

The headline charities supported by TSSA this year are:

• Pembrokeshire Stroke Club
• Pembrokeshire's Hope Multiple Sclerosis therapy centre
• Pembrokeshire Special Needs Gymnastics Club
• Ty Hafan Children's Hospice for Wales
• Leukaemia Research, Tenby and district branch

TSSA alone has raised approaching £200,000 over the years, with many thousands more by swimmers who collect for their own chosen charities and good causes.

TSSA chairman Chris Osborne, whose family have been involved in the Boxing Day Swim from its beginning, admitted: "I continue to be amazed by the lunacy of the event, at its ridiculous popularity and its expanding legacy. It's hard to even contemplate seasonal celebrations without it!"

He welcomed the continued sponsorship of FBM Holidays and added: "It means that the core costs are paid for, so everything can go to the beneficiary charities. That makes it, in today's difficult economic conditions, a sustainable swim as well."

FBM Holidays partner Tim Brace said: "We're delighted to support the event - it gives us the opportunity to put something back into the community, with the knowledge that we are helping to keep this wonderful Tenby tradition going.

"It's even more important, when times are hard, that people support events like this. We are stronger as a community when we work together and the Tenby Boxing Day Swim helps to make the town a place that locals and visitors can enjoy over the festive season."

Sponsor forms are now available from www.tenbyboxingdayswim.co.uk or the Fourcroft Hotel, Tenby. For more information, visit the website or call 01834 842886.

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