Santa Cruz Triathlon

Invest in yourself and improve your open water swimming skills for a safer and more rewarding swim experience.

We want you to be prepared too and we want open water swimming to be something you embrace versus something you fear if you are a new swimmer . These clinics are good for you if:

• You're a good swimmer but don't have open water experience or you haven't been in the water for awhile,.

• You're just rusty on your OWS and racing skills

• You're looking for tips and pointers to improve your stroke and technique in open water.

• Swimmers who are new to open water swimming in lakes or ocean venues.

• New triathletes who are trying out a new sport even if you're a good pool swimmer.

• Triathletes and swimmers who haven't been in the water for awhile.

• Open water swimmers looking to improve skills and gain more comfort in the water.

We are segmenting our clinics into two clinics depending on your open water skills and comfort level. However, swimmers of all abilities are welcome to any of the clinics but the first one is specifically targeted to new open water swimmers. If you've got more experience and just want to swim you are more than welcome - just be prepared to share your experience and expertise with the newer swimmers!

Clinics are starting in June this year with one clinics on June27 and one on July 25. That gives you time between the clinics to practice.

Clinic #1 - Basic Open Water Skills - June 27 (Saturday)

We will start the season on June 29 with an introduction to open water swimming for people who have no or limited experience with swimming in open water, or swimmers who are rusty in their skills. This clinic will talk about gear, water and swim conditions, gaining a comfort level in open water, and having an experience with the basics of entry, exit, sighting, breathing, etc. No experience in open water or ocean is necessary to participate but you should be able to swim 100 yards with a focus on freestyle. Starting earlier will give you an opportunity to fully develop your open water skills before you get to your first starting line of the year. You'll meet new swim buddies, have opportunities to seek out additional coaching and open water workouts. You'll also be more comfortable in subsequent clinics. This clinic will be limited to only 25 participants to enhance smaller group coaching.

Clinic #2 - More Open Water Skills and Practice Sessions - July 25 (Saturday)

This clinic is a continuation of the beginning clinic and will focus on intermediate skills. If you have open water skills and would like to improve them and prior experience in open water but you're not quite comfortable and need to improve your skills, you've not been in the water for awhile, or you started with the earlier clinic and want to continue improving your swim, and swim some longer distances away from the shoreline. This is an opportunity to improve your skills for sighting, group swimming and drafting, race entry and exit, fine tuning for your stroke and gear.

Most people attend both clinics if they can because it's an opportunity to build new skills or fine-tune your existing open water skills.

You can select to register for the swim clinics individually as clinic 1 and 2, or both clinics. Clinics are $50 for each for the two clinics. There is a 10% discount for registering for both.

All clinics are USA Triathlon sanctioned clinics and a one-day license or annual membership is required for participation. Because these clinic are taught by USA Triathlon certified coaches you only need to purchase one USAT one-day membership for both clinics if you are not already a member. Additionally, the one day membership can be deducted from a future purchase of an annual membership in 2026. If you are already an annual member you will not need to pay for the additional one day membership license.

All Open Water Sessions will meet at Cowell Beach in Santa Cruz. You will receive specific email instructions and directions as well as gear lists before each clinic session.

Year 41 — and America's 250th Birthday!

This is the one you don't want to miss.

The Santa Cruz Sunrise Rotary Club is fired up to bring you the 2026 Firecracker — and this year is unlike any other. Our nation is celebrating its 250th birthday, and we're throwing the party Santa Cruz style: lace up your shoes, hit the pavement, and kick off Independence Day the way this community has for over four decades at Harvey West Park, Santa Cruz CA.

We're calling all runners, walkers, families, and friends — our goal is 1,000+ runners this year!

That's right. We want to make the 2026 Firecracker the biggest in our history. So grab your crew, sign up your neighbors, rope in your coworkers, and let's pack Harvey West Park on the Fourth of July. Whether you're chasing a PR or pushing a stroller, there's a course for you.

The Loyalty Registration window is from Wednesday, March 25th at 7am until Monday, March 30th at 5pm. If eligible, you will have an access code emailed to you on March 25th at 7am when registration opens. Your code does not guarantee or reserve you a space. However, those eligible can register with their code any time during that window. While your code will only work 1 times, you are allowed to register up to (5) participants under one transaction using the code.

Who is considered Loyal?

• Participants who registered for 6 of the past 10 live Wharf to Wharf Races (2014 - 2019, 2022 - 2025).

OR

• Participants who registered for the 2025 Little Wharf 3-Miler.

How do I verify my Loyalty Status?

1. Click "VERIFY LOYALTY STATUS" button below.

2. Type in your first and last name.

3. If you are eligible, your name will appear with the words: "You are eligible."

If you are not eligible, your name will NOT appear and you will see the words:

"Your name or email was not found on the eligible list, if you feel this is in error please click "DISPUTE FORM" on right side of page."

What are the next steps if I am eligible for Loyalty Status?

1. Hang tight! Loyalty Registration will not open until Wednesday, March 25, 2026 at 7:00am PDT.

2. If you are eligible, you will be emailed a unique access code on Wednesday, March 25, 2026.

3. Those eligible who received their code will have until Monday, March 30th at 5:00pm PDT to use their code to register.

Why might my name not appear in the database if I meet the criteria?

Our Loyalty database requires an exact match of your first name, last name and email address in 6 of 10 Wharf to Wharf registrations. Your name might not appear if:

1. You changed your last name.

2. You spelled your name wrong during registration.

3. You registered under a nickname.

4. You registered under different email addresses.

Please fill out our Dispute Form to resolve the issue. Dispute Forms must be submitted by March 22nd at 11:59pm PDT.

Still have questions?

Please email [email protected].