And as the rain fell on the Albury Swim Centre a sigh of relief was felt by the Border community after a horror start to the year.

The seventh annual event, raising money for headspace Albury-Wodonga and Survivors of Suicide and Friends, had a focus on recovery after the bushfires and more teams than ever took part.

Although spectators were down, those who take part every year were just happy to be involved, and weren't complaining about the rain.

Bree Cross, from headspace, said the focus of the event is "always about looking after one another".

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"Especially after the bushfires, we know a lot of people are going through some troubles so we need to reach out and help them," she said.

"Community is an important thing with everyone's mental health and this event, year after year, shows just how strong our community is."

Organisers said the donations at the gate were down on previous years, but were still hopeful for a big tally.