For the sixth year the event will take place on the first Wednesday in March at the Albury Swim Centre.

The entries of hundreds of people competing in a series of races will go to headspace Albury-Wodonga and Survivors of Suicide and Friends.

Committee member Stephen Mamouney has been in talks with Aligned Leisure about the running and significance of the event since they took over management of Albury and Wodonga’s pools.

“I first met with them in August last year to speak about the event and they indicated headspace was an organisation they were really keen to support,” he said.

“They will provide the facility and staff on the evening, and they have been terrific.

“In the five years we’ve run the event, we’ve raised more than $75,000.

“The money is great, but raising awareness of mental health issues is even more important.”

Optus is sponsoring the fundraiser for a second year and Hume Bank’s new chief executive Stephen Capello is already planning out his team’s lineup.

“We’ve been involved in this for six years now,” he said.

“(Mental health) is unfortunately such a prominent issue … if there’s a need for the community to come together and raise awareness and funds, we want to support it.”

There will be an eight-race program this year, tailored to schools, workplaces, sporting groups and “celebrities”.

Mr Mamouney said the fun of the evening was always in the outfits and friendly competition.

“To keep things interesting, we’ve introduced two new races – a medley relay, which will probably be attractive for the serious swimmers, and a ‘get your footy socks on’ race where swimmers will wear socks for their favourite club,” he said.

“We’re hoping that will draw in some sporting clubs and add some colour to the event.”

Registrations are now open at www.alburywodongabigsplash.com.au.