Nearly 200 crews from 21 clubs across eight regions are set to compete at La Playa de los Náufragos in Torrevieja (Alicante) this weekend for the fifth edition of the Spanish Beach Sprint Rowing Championship. The discipline will notably make its Olympic debut at the Los Angeles 2028 Games.
Taking place from Friday to Sunday, the speed event features 235 athletes, comprising 120 women and 115 men. Competitors represent the Andalusian, Asturian, Cantabrian, Catalan, Valencian, Galician, Murcian and Basque communities. The format requires rowers to start running from the sand to cover a 500-metre marked course in the water before finishing back on foot at the starting arch, featuring direct head-to-head confrontations between two boats.
Organised by the Spanish Rowing Federation and the Valencian Community Rowing Federation, the 2026 event covers absolute, para-Olympic, junior, cadet and veteran categories. Competitions will run across male, female and mixed disciplines in solo, double and four setups.
A total of 19 national titles will be decided over the weekend. The line-up includes members of the Spanish national team, who recently secured five medals at the 2027 World Championship venue in Portugal. Notable participants include local club rowers Ander Martín and Esther Briz, alongside Nacho Ramón-Borja and Nadia Felipe from Alicante (Club de Mar Clot de L’Illot El Campello), Salvador Díaz from Málaga (Real Club Mediterráneo), Alejandra García from Cádiz (Club Remo de Mar La Línea), Maialen Mielgo from the Basque Country (Raspas del Embarcadero), and Mª Ángeles Macián from Murcia (Real Club Regatas de Cartagena).
The event also marks the conclusion of the four-stage Filippi National Beach Sprint League, a new addition to the national calendar launched in March.
Action begins today, Friday 7th August, at 8:00 am with time trials to determine the first qualifiers for the elimination stages. Racing continues until 6:46 pm, followed by repechages and knockout rounds from 7:00 pm to 8:25 pm. Saturday’s schedule opens with further rounds between 8:00 am and 1:45 pm, with quarter-finals and the first nine title deciders taking place between 2:45 pm and 8:35 pm. The top three boats in each category will receive medals, and the top-performing club in the women’s categories will be awarded the Iberdrola Trophy.
The remaining 10 title finals, featuring quarter-finals, semi-finals and B and A finals, will take place on Sunday between 8:00 am and 3:27 pm, followed by the closing ceremony. Live streaming of the final stages on Saturday and Sunday will be broadcast on the Spanish Rowing Federation’s YouTube channel.
Saturday: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p2GPi0OTXfY
Sunday: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7fX9izA5VxY
