Organisers of the Broughty Ferry New Year’s Day Dook say they fear people have forgotten about their event since the pandemic.
The endurance test takes place on the first day of every year, with brave swimmers plunging into the freezing Tay for charity.
At its height the dook, which dates back 140 years, had 400 annual participants but twice fell victim to coronavirus restrictions.
The event, organised by Ye Amphibious Ancients Bathing Association (YeABBA), had to be cancelled in 2021 due to Covid-19.
It was allowed to go ahead this year, however due to restrictions and lingering fears about the virus, only 53 dookers took part.
Entries for next year’s swim are now open – but just 14 people have signed up so far.
Broughty Ferry Dook has taken ‘retrograde step’
Joyce McIntosh, YeABBA lifetime president who has been with the group for more than 40 years, is worried people may have forgotten about the tradition.
She said: “We do like to have a good turnout, but now we need to take a look at what we’re doing.
“For me personally it feels like a bit of a retrograde step.”
She added: “When I first joined YeABBA there were only three of us, but it grew over time.
“We brought the dook up to this level and this is where we want to be – we don’t want to go back.
“I think we took that for granted a bit, but it’s not like that now.”
Plea for dookers to sign up ahead of 2023
Joyce and her fellow YeABBA members are now looking to boost attendance for the next dook, otherwise they may have to scale it back
They’ve called for anyone with an interest to sign up online, and those who take part are invited to raise money for a charity of their choice.
Entries cost £15 for adults and £10 for kids.
Joyce said: “The dook will always go ahead, no matter how many we’ve got.
“Obviously from a financial point of view that’s like a suicidal statement, but it’s up to me and my fundraising committee to work hard and encourage people to come into this.
“It’s like opening up a shop with a full stock of goods and only having half a dozen people coming in.
“Do you close down the shop for the rest of the day? No, you think of other ways of marketing.
“There are so many costs we could look at pruning, but we don’t want to do that.
“We still want to bring that feel-good factor on New Year’s Day, keep up a 140-year-old tradition and get people having a fun time.
“We would never close down and I hope we never get ourselves in that position.”
