Divers in fancy dress splashed for charity in the 8^th Annual World Bombing Championships at Ponds Forge, Sheffield.

Nine teams, comprising of four bombers each, donned costumes ranging from Oompa Loompas to Wizard of Oz characters with an appropriate theme tune to boot.

Four rounds of bombing, one per team member, ensured the crowd was not disappointed as the divers flung themselves from three metres to try and create the biggest splash.

A three-strong judging panel graded them on style, splash, height and costume in an event that aimed to raise between £7000 and £8000 for Macmillan – which equates to 300 hours of nursing care in Sheffield.

MMA Allstars, dressed as pop band LMFAO, claimed victory with an impressive 92 out of a possible 120. Fat Boys, the winners of the previous year, dressed as Union Jack came second this year.

Rob Turner, Fundraising Manager for Sheffield and Chesterfield, said the event was a real experience.

“When people say they’re going to dress up as Oompa Loompa’s you don’t really know what to expect, but walking into a room full of people dressed up is slightly unusual and it’s quite a sight,” he said.

“The event is known throughout the world. I’ve just spoken to Transworld Sport and a Russian station bizarrely so it does seem to have a rep worldwide now.”

He added that there was room for 14 teams in the future and praised MacMillan’s volunteers.

“Everything you’ve seen tonight has been put together by people giving their own time, so that’s pretty impressive,” he said.

Team Da Bombs who came third said winning their bronze medals was emotional and first place was next year’s target.

“We really wanted to raise lots of money for Macmillan. In 48 hours we raised £700,” they said.

MacMillan Cancer Support in Sheffield is aiming to raise £400,000 in 2012.

The spirit of charity

This is the eighth year of organising water bombing competitions for raising funds for the Macmillan Cancer support.

"It probably raised about 6000 pounds this year, a little bit less than the last year's, but every 25 pounds is raised for one extra hour in Macmillan's nursing care, it's still really good," said Steve Loane, area fundraising manager for Macmillan of South Yorkshire and Derbyshire.

He added that the most attractive part of this event is the spirit of charity. "Although it's really a competitive championship, everyone is friendly to each other as it's a charity event. It is not like other similar sporting events."

Check out the great video below, made by Thalia Xiong.