Are you brave enough to bare all for a good cause

Organisers for the fourth NorthEast 'Dip in the Nip' is seeking volunteers to bare all for a good cause. The dip takes place at dawn on Sunday, September 6 at a secret location only dippers and volunteers are allowed attend.

According to the organisers, NECRET (the NorthEast Cancer Research & EducationTrust), this dip is a women-only event, 'mainly because the men of the NorthEast have proved to be shockingly shy!'

This year, the money raised by the Dip in the Nip will go towards the purchase of a lifesaving 'Gene Sequencing Machine', which costs approximately €160,000. NECRET has already raised €40,000 for the purchase of the device.

Gene sequencing machine

The transformation of a normal cell to a cancerous cell involves a series of complete changes, that can be identified through genome sequencing. This allows clinicians and oncologists to identify the specific – and unique – changes a patient has undergone to develop their cancer. Based on these changes, a personalised therapeutic strategy can be undertaken.

For a lot of the participants, the Dip in the Nip is more than just a fundraiser.

One Dipper spoke of how being naked in the sea healed her acrimonious relationship with her deceased, alcoholic father, and allowed her to say goodbye to him, something she had been unable to do previously.

Another Dipper, who had had a double mastectomy, echoed the sentiments of many when she said, that after her first Dip, running naked into the sea had given her back her body, her self-confidence and her sexuality. Running naked into the sea seems to re-connect people with their bodies. It’s as though they fall in love with them, and re-discover just how beautiful those bodies are, regardless of size, shape or lumpy bits!

Full information on the Dip in the Nip, and how to register can be had at www.dipinthenip.eu. The Dip can also be found at www.facebook.com/dipinthenip.