The biggest weekend of the year for aquatics sports in Santa Barbara is here.
Semana Nautica, an annual summer sports festival that dates back to 1933, will host a plethora of competitions open to swimmers of all ages on East Beach this weekend.
The weekend begins on Saturday morning at 9 a.m., when East Beach will play host to the Mullen & Henzell 2-Mile Swim, the East Beach Run and the 1,000-Meter Surf Teams Swim.
The East Beach Run is a 5K race that begins at the East Beach Bathhouse and heads towards Stearns Wharf before returning to the Bathhouse.
Meanwhile, the Surf Teams Swim event consists of two- and three-person relay teams competing in a 1,000-meter ocean swim. Those competing in the 2-Mile Swim without a wetsuit will be in the running for Semana Nautica Ocean Swimmer of the Year.
Later in the day will be the always competitive Stud Ironman and Ironguard Relay events at East Beach. The Stud Ironman is scheduled for 12 p.m., while the Ironguard Relay has a start time of 1 p.m.
The Stud Ironman is an event where the competitors alternate between ocean swims and runs along East Beach. Those competing will swim approximately 1,000 meters (five 200m swims) and run about 2 miles (four total runs).
The Ironguard relay will be an 800-meter course that features two beach sprints, one swim leg and one leg of a board paddle race.
Sunday is an even busier day on East Beach, beginning with the 1 and 3-Mile Paddle Board races beginning at 8 a.m. 150 paddle boards will be made available for the races.
The East Beach Biathlon will kick off at 9 a.m., beginning with a run that starts from the Cabrillo Pavilion and ending with a 1-mile ocean swim.
The swimming competitions continue on Sunday morning, as the 1-Mile Surf Teams Swim, the Mullen & Henzell 3-Mile Swim and the 500-Meter Ocean Swim are all scheduled for 9 a.m.
At noon, the events will shift away from purely swimming as locals will compete in the Paddle Sprints, a 600-meter course in which competitors paddle out to buoys and return to the beach before running across the finish line.
The Ironguard Individual event is also scheduled for noon on Sunday, which features the same format as the relay event but will feature one competitor for every leg.
The weekend will also feature the annual CBVA Men’s and Women’s Santa Barbara Open Beach Volleyball tournament, which will run all day Sunday at East Beach.
For the full schedule of events and descriptions, visit https://semananautica.com/events-1.
