St Ives Biathlon Set for 6th June as Entries Open for 2026

Banners are about to start appearing around St Ives, and for anyone who knows the town’s sporting calendar, that means one thing. The countdown to the St Ives Biathlon is on.

The event, sponsored by Cornish Riviera Holidays and organised each year by St Ives Surf Life Saving Club, returns on Saturday 6th June. Online entries are already flying in, and one competitor has registered from as far afield as Barcelona.

A Town Tradition Picks Up Pace

Posters and banners go to the printers this week, and according to organisers, that’s the moment things really start to feel real. Every entrant, sponsor and volunteer receives a t-shirt, and the design for 2026, kept under wraps until race day, is also now heading to print.

Chris Simpson, Chair of St Ives Surf Life Saving Club and Biathlon Lead, said: “It’s all starting to get very exciting! This is a key time in the organisation of the event, where previous months’ groundwork comes together as various printed materials hit the press. The banners popping up always alerts people that the event is imminent and prompts an influx of online pre-entries. So we’re looking forward to the excitement building in the coming weeks as we get out and about with banners and posters.”

Sponsors Keep the Event Afloat

Over 30 businesses are backing the Biathlon for 2026, and without them, organisers say the event simply couldn’t run.

Duncan Wilson, Treasurer for St Ives Surf Lifesaving Club, said: “The many businesses that support the Biathlon each year are key to the events’ success, enabling us to meet the many costs involved. We would like to say a huge thank you to them all: A1 Cars; Aspects Holidays; Ayr Holiday Park; Bespoke Sports Medals; Carbis Bay Holidays; Carbis Bay Hotel; Cohort Educational Trips; Cornish Bakehouse; Cornish Riviera Holidays; Cornish Spliced; CVC Solicitors; Dales Cornwall; Eventy – Marketing & Sponsorship; Greenwood Wilson; Hager-Vor; Hub St Ives; Jollys; Luxury Coastal; Meor; Penwith College; Polmanter Touring Park; Poynton Bradbury Architects; RRL; Shaun Paisley Photography; SplashRobe; St Ives BID; St Ives Signs; Symons Construction; Tegen Mor Fisheries Consultants Ltd; The Custom Clothing Experts; The Sloop; Tregenna Castle; W J Winn Funeral Director; and the Yellow Canary. Without their support, the event wouldn’t be possible.”

Chris added: “We are extremely grateful to all of the businesses and volunteers that help to organise the Biathlon, from our committee and volunteers, to the wide range of other organisations and businesses that support us with assistance and gifts in kind. This helps us to keep costs down as much as possible, but there are still expenses for the event which we have to meet, and the businesses that sponsor the Biathlon are vital to enable us to do this.”

More Than a Race

The Biathlon raises the profile of St Ives Surf Life Saving Club and brings in vital funds for the charity. It also helps recruit new members, including the town’s lifeguards of the future.

For many, it’s a fixture in the calendar. Locals return year after year, and the event pulls in competitors from across the UK and beyond as part of their Biathlon and Triathlon schedules.

Categories and How to Enter

There are six categories on the day:

• Main Event, aged 17+
• Novice, aged 17+
• Juniors, aged 12 to 16
• Vets, aged 40 to 49
• Super Vets, aged 50 to 59
• Senior Vets, aged 60+

Online pre-entries are open until roughly two weeks before the event, and entering early guarantees a commemorative t-shirt along with a discounted entry price. Competitors can also sign up on the day at the harbour slipway between 3pm and 5.30pm.

The entry form, along with sponsorship details for businesses interested in getting involved next year, is available via the St Ives Surf Life Saving Club Facebook page.

📷(from left to right) Christine Simpson and Duncan Wilson from St Ives Surf Lifesaving Club, organisers of the St Ives Biathlon 2026, along with some of the sponsors: Cornish Riviera Holidays, Carbis Bay Holidays, Jollys Drinks, Penwith College, Luxury Coastal, Ayr Holiday Park and Aspects Holidays.