The charity swim which only requires your birthday suit
GOING for a dip in the nip in October may not sound that appealing – but, in this case at least, you’ll be doing your bits for charity.
The Strip and Dip sees thousands of women come together and strip down to their birthday suits to raise money for cancer.
Over the years, the event has raised hundreds of thousands of euro to support the cause but this year is a particularly special one. Having already raised €925,000 by the end of August the organisers are going for the €1million milestone.
It all began with Deirdre Featherstone who was undergoing treatment for breast cancer nine years ago. After undergoing a heartbreaking mastectomy she had a light bulb moment and hit upon the idea of doing the Strip and Dip.
She said of the initiative: ‘There are a lot of women undertaking this who have been through cancer and of course lots of people who have been affected by it. With laughter, scars, dodgy boobs, or in a lot of cases only one or none, we would like to send a clear message that there is life after cancer and also raising awareness of how important it is for ladies to get checked.
‘It’s a magical day for all involved and a closed format. Remember, only ladies allowed!’
The Strip and Dip has grown from just 80 women in the first year to over 2,500 in its sixth year and has been namechecked in the Guinness Book of World Record.
This year’s Strip and Dip takes place on Magheramore Beach in Wicklow on Saturday, October 1 at noon.
Shuttles are available from the Arklow Bay hotel meeting point and over 650 women have already registered to take part.
For more information see stripanddip.ie and if you can’t be there in person, you can still donate to the cause. And if you can, don’t forget your birthday suit...