MPSF Holds Second Open Water Championship, GOLS to Stream
For the second consecutive year, the MPSF will contest a one-day open water swimming championship on Saturday, October 19, 2024 at Marine Stadium in Long Beach, California. This year’s field includes Biola, Cal Baptist, Concordia, Fresno State, Grand Canyon, Idaho, Pomona-Pitzer, San Diego, UC Santa Barbara, Westmont, and Whittier. The University of Utah men and women posted the team titles in the nation’s first-ever open water intercollegiate conference championship in 2023.
The collegiate championship meet will consist of four events, beginning at 9:00 am with the Men’s 5- Kilometer race. The Women’s 5K will follow at 10:30 am. The collegiate events resume in the afternoon with the men’s and women’s 2,000-meter relay events at 1:45 pm and 2:15 pm, respectively. The relays will consist of four competitors per team, each swimming 500 meters.
Team scoring in the collegiate events will be made up of results achieved in both the 5K and relay events. The top-three individuals and top relay team from each institution will contribute to their team score. Additionally, the top-three collegiate swimmers in the men’s and women’s 5K races will automatically qualify for the 5K USA Swimming Open Water National Championship as well as the CSCAA National Championship in December.
In between the collegiate 5K and relay events, a Masters 5K and 1K race for adults 18 and over will take place at 12:00 pm and 12:05 pm, respectively. The MPSF welcomes all masters/open swimmers to join in the second edition of these events. Interested swimmers for the Masters 5K and 1K races should sign up through the following link:
Masters 5K and 1K.
Open Water Swimming has been in the Olympics since 2008. Alumni from institutions invited to the MPSF Championship have participated in every one of these Olympic Games and have medaled in both the men’s and women’s events. Marine Stadium will serve as the host for rowing and canoeing at the 2028 Olympic Games, while the city of Long Beach will also host open water swimming, sprint canoe, water polo, sailing, and triathlon events in the 34th Olympiad.
“Last year’s inaugural championship was a tremendous success, and we view the second edition as a prelude to LA28,” says MPSF Associate Commissioner for Championships Kaia Hedlund.
Game On Live Studio (GOLS) will provide live video stream coverage of the full day’s event. Fans can access the MPSF Championships through a pay-per-view option found on the GOLS’ MPSF Championship event page. More Information about GOLS Live Streaming can be found on its website
https://gols.co and on social media @gameonls.
Speedo, Gatorade, and Malmsten will once again sponsor this event, in addition to District 3 Long Beach Councilmember Kristina Duggan. Malmsten, which also provides the equipment and lane lines for the Olympics in swimming and water polo, will provide the MPSF Championship buoys and course setup.
Further MPSF Open Water Swimming Championship information, including Marine Stadium details, live stream and live results coverage, and registration links are housed on the
conference website’s championship central page.