The St Ives Surf Lifesaving Club Biathlon 2017 is 2km run race from St Ives to Carbis Bay followed by a 1.5km open-sea swim back.

The Junior Race (12-16) starts from the slipway in St Ives Harbour, following the coastal path through to Porthminster Beach, where they’ll then swim back to the slipway in St Ives Harbour.

The Novice Race for those that want a taster of what the full biathlon would be like will follow the same route as the junior race.

The Open (17-40), Vet (40+) and Super Vet (50+) race starts from the slipway in St Ives Harbour, following the coastal path through to Carbis Bay Beach, where competitors will enter the water and swim back to the slipway in St Ives Harbour.

All registrations will be at the Fisherman’s Lodges located in St Ives Harbour. All registrations will close 30 minutes before the selected race.

The 17^th Biathlon is an event organised to raise much needed funds for equipment and kit for its many members. For those of you not familiar with surf lifesaving, it’s the sport that keeps beach lifeguards fit and ready for action, with many of the club’s members going on to qualify as beach lifeguards when they are old enough. The club sessions also teach sea competence and safety awareness to local children alongside competing against other clubs in Cornwall, Devon and Wales.

The atmosphere of the Biathlon grips the whole town. Around 200 competitors take part each year, and the area in front of the Sloop on the harbour front starts to fill up with twitching, nervous athletes from early afternoon. These athletes study each other and the sea conditions, many already wearing the iconic Biathlon T-shirt given to all competitors. Some of the cooler ones wear a T-shirt from a previous year – a good way to psyche out the opposition! There is anticipation for the race itself, but even those not competing look forward to Biathlon night as a great celebration when St Ives is in party mode. There is a stage outside the Sloop with live music to coincide with the event, and as everyone who competes gets a free beer token, the night always goes with a swing.

To book click below 🙂

https://www.stives-cornwall.co.uk/events/st-ives-biathlon/